23 September 2019, DOHA- QATAR:TumuhaTEC, an initiative under the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC), is inviting schools to participate in the 2019 Digital Youth Festival to be held from October 29 to November 1 at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) in Doha. The event is part of Qatar Information Technology Conference & Exhibition (QITCOM 2019), the largest Information and Communication Technology showcase and event in Qatar, being held under the theme “Safe Smart Cities.”
TumuhaTEC promotes digital technology as a dynamic, exciting career choice for young people in Qatar. Now in its second edition, the Digital Youth Festival at QITCOM provides a space for students to explore digital skills and opportunities through various technologies and tools in cooperation with the festival’s partners’ offerings. At this year’s event, students will have the opportunity to enjoy a series of educative and fun-filled activities at the four zones – Creative, Coding, Safe and Tech zones – strategically designed to empower them to be a part of Qatar’s digital transformation.
The Creative Zone is where participants can interact, learn, explore and enjoy different tech activities as using digitally fabricated tools. Some of the activities include Smart Materials, Robotic Kits, Virtual & Augmented Reality and Machine Show. The Coding Zone is designed to inspire an interest in coding by developing problem-solving skills and improving students’ creativity. Activities lined up for this zone include Hour of Code, Codefest, Coding digital art wall and the Girls Can Innovate Competition. At the Safe Zone, students will participate in various cyber-safety games and quizzes and learn how to be safe and responsible citizens online and offline while creative and practical cyber safety activities are being provided by Vodafone.
The Tech Zone, on the other hand, is designed to enable participants experience technology through hands on creative learning and be part of an interactive environment. The advanced tools at the zone will be showcased by TumuhaTEC partners including Microsoft, Kidzania Virtual Reality, Sanea Bus (IBTECHAR) and Rolling robots.
Building on the success of the 2017 event, where more than 1,600 students from 52 schools in Qatar participated, TumuhaTEC hopes to attract 2,500 students at this year’s edition. In addition to participation from educational institutions, TumuhaTEC is also calling on interested volunteers to join them in empowering students digitally during the festival. Schools and volunteers interested in participating can send an email to digitalyouth@motc.gov.qa.
Commenting on the festival, Her Excellency Reem Al Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society Development Affairs, Ministry of Transport and Communications, said: “We look forward to welcoming the students at the 2019 Digital Youth Festival. MOTC is committed to developing a generation of tech-savvy young people in Qatar and we believe that the festival will further stir the interest of our children in in digital technology. The series of activities lined up for the event have been carefully put together to expose the students to the latest trends in digital technology while at the same time educating them in a fun-filled atmosphere.”
The 2019 Digital Youth Festival is proudly supported by Vodafone, Deloitte, Tebyan Qatar, Edutech Middle East WLL, Redrock International, Respond Media and PWC among others.
Since its inception, QITCOM has been responsible for bringing together investors, global digital experts and end-users to understand, envision and build Qatar’s digital future. QITCOM 2019 aims to attract 30,000 visitors, sign MoUs, enter strategic sponsorships and showcase many smart solutions that will drive Qatar’s digital transformation. This year’s event will further contribute towards creating connections across the Smart Cities ecosystem at a national, regional and global level.