Doha: Students from Qatar University (QU) College of Law recently presented their local community activism projects during the College’s first Advocacy Skills Final Research Competition on 22 April, 2020.
During the contest, the College’s first online competition utilising QU’s virtual teaching platform, five student teams presented social, legal, political, and media advocacy campaigns that they hope to implement as part of the College’s growing Law Clinic program.
Each student team identified a social issue that they felt was most pertinent for students at QU College of Law to address and jointly researched, prepared and presented an action plan regarding the advocacy campaign they would run to help solve the issue. The five student projects addressed issues surrounding animal cruelty, climate change, women’s education, prisoner rehabilitation, and children’s rights & safety.
“Our students always emphasize their motivation for studying law at QU is to help people and make a difference while making their country proud. They are eager to use their education to solve world problems and this competition was a way to give them that power,” said Melissa Deehring, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law and organizer of the competition.
The competition was judged by Machaille Al-Naimi, President of Community Development for Qatar Foundation (QF); Bianca Kopp, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer/Global Coordinator of the tertiary component of the Education for Justice (E4J) initiative at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); Fatima Al-Ali, Legal Relationships & Partnerships Manager of Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre (QICDRC); Huw Davies, General Counsel of Qatar Free Zones Authority; and Dr. Mohammed Mattar, Head of Legal Skills Department at Qatar University College of Law.
Regarding the event, Machaille Hassan Al Naimi commented, “Qatar Foundation is committed to providing opportunities for young people to explore, discover, create, and grow, and to nurturing within them a sense of citizenship and social responsibility. It is wonderful to see this mindset being reflected by these students from Qatar University, whose advocacy skills mark them out as thinkers, leaders, and active citizens dedicated to helping to improve the world, and I congratulate them all for their efforts.”
Bianca Kopp commented, “UNODC’s Education for Justice (E4J) initiative – funded by the State of Qatar - educates the next generation on the rule of law, and on ethical and social issues affecting our communities. In this inspiring competition organized by the College of Law, students continue to impress with their motivation to engage in matters as diverse as children’s rights, climate change, and the rehabilitation of prisoners. This is the kind of empowerment we seek, one which fosters global citizens and allows them to change the world.”
Fatima Al Ali of the QICDRC added, “The students showed great interest in tackling fundamental topics that have not been tackled previously especially from a legal perspective. They showed a great deal of bravery in engaging in such topics, stressing the fact that many laws are subject to further amendments by time, therefore I feel that through the students’ passion in the chosen subject areas they will be able to reconsider the laws in a more innovative way.”
