Dr. Frank Himpel, Professor for Logistics at Germany’s Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and Director of its Institute for Logistics, alongside Dr. Rafah Alarrouqi, Qatar-based Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Logistics, kicked off the Multilateral Junior Academy on Global Challenges (MJA), with its first session hosted at the German International School in Doha.

The international youth dialogue initiative, supported by UNESCO’s regional office in Doha, the German Embassy Doha, the Goethe-Institut Gulf region, and the international expert platform InStrat, brought together more than thirty young students from Tariq Bin Ziyad Secondary School for Boys and Hassan Bin Thabit Secondary School for Boys in a highly engaging, interactive workshop.

Fostering close dialogue and exchange of daily life perspectives across countries and cultures, the launch in Qatar revolved around topics of sustainability, water, energy, and the climate. The exercise will be mirrored by partner schools in Germany, with students engaging in parallel discussions and later exchanging outcomes for joint reflection and further exploration.

Earlier this year, H E Lothar Freischlader, Germany’s Ambassador to the State of Qatar and Thomas Triller, Deputy Head of Mission responsible for economic affairs, met for a talk with representatives of the Autonomous e-Mobility Forum’s Executive Committee. Providing the perspective of a leading technology exporter and traditional automotive nation, the diplomats shared their observations and views on Qatar’s trajectory as a hub for dialogue, Qatari-German relations, global collaboration for a common good, and the potentials of autonomous e-mobility going forward. The German embassy indeed is the first diplomatic representation in Doha to utilize an electric vehicle as a staff car.