Qatar Leadership Conference 2015
What do you do when a really serious case of post depression happens? You blog about it while you weep your eyes out thinking about how good the experience was and in my case it was the weekend I just had.
So here goes, it was the 15th of October 2015, which was also my baby sister's birthday. But nobody cares about her so whatever. Jk I love you adikkk and I know you were sad cause I wasn't there for your birthday. Along with some friends and 2 teachers (WHO ARE LIKE THE BEST TEACHERS EVER), I flew to Doha for 2015's Qatar Leadership Conference. QLC is one of the biggest conference that is mainly based on MUN & media leadership skills in the Middle East, it has been an annual event that takes place in Qatar National Convention Centre since 2012 (THIMUN Qatar).
Day 1, October 15th 2015
Left home for the airport few minutes before it turned 7am cause we were supposed to meet up with everyone at 7:30am. When everyone was there, we all said our goodbyes to our parents and of course, there was a mini photoshoot going on. It also wasn't easy to act all cool and say bye to my parents without crying but I succeeded. That was a huge deal even though it was only 3 days of being away from them cause as you can see I'm really spoilt😂😂
DXB ---> DOH
Alhamdulillah, after an hour of being in the midst of clouds, we safely landed in Hamad International Airport. Oh yes, closer to the conference and being dressed up business-y. Ahead of us was however a line that was possibly longer than a kilo meter long and after close to an hour of being in the line to pass the immigration, we finally got to the luggage claim where there were only a few bags left. When everyone got their bag, my bag still did not appear until the point when we all assumed that it wasn't there. Yeah it wasn't there. Instead, there was one luggage left on the baggage carousel which to me wasn't even close to mine but it might be the color that was similar.
Wow, what a great way to start my trip!
By noon, we still did not receive any calls from the airport which meant that I just have to attend the conference wearing my airport outfit. Gosh it felt so weird, when everyone around you is looking all smart and formal and I was there in my sweatshirt and ripped jeans.
The opening remark was made by Dr Amy Kristin Sanders, a professor from Northwestern University in Qatar who spoke beautifully about how you should take risks in life rather than just stay in your comfort zone, which would get you nowhere. The concept of QLC is basically they offer you over a hundred workshops over the 3 days and you get to choose 1 each for your 11 sessions. For the first session, I chose to go for Education, the Great Equalizer. The speaker for that session was a guest speaker who came all the way from Kabul, Afghanistan.
Sulaiman Sulaimankhil is not your average teenager. He is one of the co-founders of an NGO called HELA (Hope for Education and Leadership in Afghanistan) and also a member of Skateistan. Despite only being 17, Sulaiman with his big goals has brought change to the kids in his country in terms of education and many more. You see, that is the kind of people we'd want to have as our future leader. His talk had inspire me in so many ways from making me certain of what I want to be and do in the future to waking me up from my ungratefulness.
I've also got a chance to talk to Sulaiman himself and here is a slight bit of who he is,
Who is your role model?
I have many role models, and I learn from experiences of each of them in specific situations and some of them are: Ghandi , Nelson Mandela, and Ashraf Ghani.
What does peace mean to you?
Peace is to be able to do what you love in a very secured and peaceful situation, peace is to be able to teach and learn in a secure situation and finally peace is to have your independence and being able to share your ideas with people without any fear.
Which time of the past is your favorite?
My favorite past time was Afghanistan 40 years ago which was more developed than today's Afghanistan. However, I feel like our good days are about to come and my favorite days will be our future.
Which country would you like to visit the most?
I'd love to visit Spain and Canada, because I think both of them are very special. (How about Malaysiaaaa D': )
What is something that you will never forget?
One thing that I can never forget is everything that people and my friends did for me, help me achieving my goals and have a brighter future, specially what Mr Peter(country representative at UN Habitat-Kabul, Afghanistan) and Miss Lisa(head of THIMUN Qatar) did for me, I can never forget that.
How would you describe yourself?
The funny thing about me is that I don't know a lot about myself, maybe my friends are better at describing me but still I can say that Sulaiman is emotional, courageous, and very aimful .
What inspires you the most?
Seeing people who work hard and achieve their goals make me inspired to work harder.
The first session was then followed by the second session and then it was time for dinner. After dinner we took the shuttle bus back to our hotel. The original plan was to go stop by the mall so that I could get some clothes for the next two days. From our hotel, we walked to the mall which was a 10-minute walk away from our hotel. As I was thinking about buying a pair of heels, a skirt, a dress, a blouse, lipstick, mascara etc etc, Mr P got a call. Nah, nothing new cause he's a busy man. So I wasn't bothered la.
Before letting us go do our things in the mall, Ms Karen told me to not buy anything tonight cause they'll take me to a better mall the next morning so I can go shopping. But misssssss, we're leaving at 8 tomorrow, I panicked. When I insisted on buying clothes that night, they had to break the news.
Yep you're right, the call Mr P got was from the airport! After almost half a day, the person finally returned my bag. God bless.
Day 2,October 16th 2015
Woke up at 5am (with a delay of an hour) to have breakfast and then get ready and also for Radhika to put make up on for me cause she's just that cool and deserves to win the best bff award. Day 2 had 5 sessions, each 50 minutes long. Stepped into QNCC more confidently than I was the day before cause you know I had my corporate outfit on :P That day was a very productive one, I learned so much from the speakers of the sessions I attended.
The last session ended at 3.40pm that day. At night, our teachers brought us to Souq Waqif, one of the main attractions in Doha that is located near the city's waterfront. This is where I found the significant difference between Doha and Dubai. The very traditional and charming looking souq is divided into parts such as the restaurant area, souvenir shops, garment shops and of course, my favorite was the bird souq, where there were also catsssss.
Day 3, October 17th 2015
That morning, we had to check out of the hotel before leaving for QNCC and it brought me close to tears knowing that it was coming to an end.
Day 1, October 15th 2015
Left home for the airport few minutes before it turned 7am cause we were supposed to meet up with everyone at 7:30am. When everyone was there, we all said our goodbyes to our parents and of course, there was a mini photoshoot going on. It also wasn't easy to act all cool and say bye to my parents without crying but I succeeded. That was a huge deal even though it was only 3 days of being away from them cause as you can see I'm really spoilt😂😂
DXB ---> DOH
Alhamdulillah, after an hour of being in the midst of clouds, we safely landed in Hamad International Airport. Oh yes, closer to the conference and being dressed up business-y. Ahead of us was however a line that was possibly longer than a kilo meter long and after close to an hour of being in the line to pass the immigration, we finally got to the luggage claim where there were only a few bags left. When everyone got their bag, my bag still did not appear until the point when we all assumed that it wasn't there. Yeah it wasn't there. Instead, there was one luggage left on the baggage carousel which to me wasn't even close to mine but it might be the color that was similar.
Wow, what a great way to start my trip!
By noon, we still did not receive any calls from the airport which meant that I just have to attend the conference wearing my airport outfit. Gosh it felt so weird, when everyone around you is looking all smart and formal and I was there in my sweatshirt and ripped jeans.
The opening remark was made by Dr Amy Kristin Sanders, a professor from Northwestern University in Qatar who spoke beautifully about how you should take risks in life rather than just stay in your comfort zone, which would get you nowhere. The concept of QLC is basically they offer you over a hundred workshops over the 3 days and you get to choose 1 each for your 11 sessions. For the first session, I chose to go for Education, the Great Equalizer. The speaker for that session was a guest speaker who came all the way from Kabul, Afghanistan.
Sulaiman Sulaimankhil is not your average teenager. He is one of the co-founders of an NGO called HELA (Hope for Education and Leadership in Afghanistan) and also a member of Skateistan. Despite only being 17, Sulaiman with his big goals has brought change to the kids in his country in terms of education and many more. You see, that is the kind of people we'd want to have as our future leader. His talk had inspire me in so many ways from making me certain of what I want to be and do in the future to waking me up from my ungratefulness.
I've also got a chance to talk to Sulaiman himself and here is a slight bit of who he is,
Who is your role model?
I have many role models, and I learn from experiences of each of them in specific situations and some of them are: Ghandi , Nelson Mandela, and Ashraf Ghani.
What does peace mean to you?
Peace is to be able to do what you love in a very secured and peaceful situation, peace is to be able to teach and learn in a secure situation and finally peace is to have your independence and being able to share your ideas with people without any fear.
Which time of the past is your favorite?
My favorite past time was Afghanistan 40 years ago which was more developed than today's Afghanistan. However, I feel like our good days are about to come and my favorite days will be our future.
Which country would you like to visit the most?
I'd love to visit Spain and Canada, because I think both of them are very special. (How about Malaysiaaaa D': )
What is something that you will never forget?
One thing that I can never forget is everything that people and my friends did for me, help me achieving my goals and have a brighter future, specially what Mr Peter(country representative at UN Habitat-Kabul, Afghanistan) and Miss Lisa(head of THIMUN Qatar) did for me, I can never forget that.
How would you describe yourself?
The funny thing about me is that I don't know a lot about myself, maybe my friends are better at describing me but still I can say that Sulaiman is emotional, courageous, and very aimful .
What inspires you the most?
Seeing people who work hard and achieve their goals make me inspired to work harder.
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| Thanks Iza for the pictureee. |
The first session was then followed by the second session and then it was time for dinner. After dinner we took the shuttle bus back to our hotel. The original plan was to go stop by the mall so that I could get some clothes for the next two days. From our hotel, we walked to the mall which was a 10-minute walk away from our hotel. As I was thinking about buying a pair of heels, a skirt, a dress, a blouse, lipstick, mascara etc etc, Mr P got a call. Nah, nothing new cause he's a busy man. So I wasn't bothered la.
Before letting us go do our things in the mall, Ms Karen told me to not buy anything tonight cause they'll take me to a better mall the next morning so I can go shopping. But misssssss, we're leaving at 8 tomorrow, I panicked. When I insisted on buying clothes that night, they had to break the news.
Yep you're right, the call Mr P got was from the airport! After almost half a day, the person finally returned my bag. God bless.
Day 2,October 16th 2015
Woke up at 5am (with a delay of an hour) to have breakfast and then get ready and also for Radhika to put make up on for me cause she's just that cool and deserves to win the best bff award. Day 2 had 5 sessions, each 50 minutes long. Stepped into QNCC more confidently than I was the day before cause you know I had my corporate outfit on :P That day was a very productive one, I learned so much from the speakers of the sessions I attended.
The last session ended at 3.40pm that day. At night, our teachers brought us to Souq Waqif, one of the main attractions in Doha that is located near the city's waterfront. This is where I found the significant difference between Doha and Dubai. The very traditional and charming looking souq is divided into parts such as the restaurant area, souvenir shops, garment shops and of course, my favorite was the bird souq, where there were also catsssss.
Day 3, October 17th 2015
That morning, we had to check out of the hotel before leaving for QNCC and it brought me close to tears knowing that it was coming to an end.
Before
After...
 |
| Blame Syarifah for that:P |
But it's all cool guys, she's been a great roommate. I was still able to sleep silently without any disturbance because she's such a selfless person :).
Day 3 had 4 sessions and then it was the closing ceremony that sadly, we missed because it was time for us to leave Doha and catch a flight back to Dubai. We all boarded the plane with unwillingness showing on our faces, like Christina said, "my friends and I had gotten emotionally attached to this conference". Let me be honest, at first I wasn't as excited cause I thought it was just 3 days of back-to-back workshops. Yeah, listening to people talk for the entire three days.
But I was wrong. SO WRONG
It changed as soon as I stepped into QNCC on the first day. I must say that QLC15 is an experience I will keep in my memory forever and with all I've learned from the conference I am now sure of what my passion is, MUN, which is one step into being able to change the world into a better one. I am indeed looking forward to attend another QLC next year, and as many MUN conferences as I can, Insyaallah.
Day 3 had 4 sessions and then it was the closing ceremony that sadly, we missed because it was time for us to leave Doha and catch a flight back to Dubai. We all boarded the plane with unwillingness showing on our faces, like Christina said, "my friends and I had gotten emotionally attached to this conference". Let me be honest, at first I wasn't as excited cause I thought it was just 3 days of back-to-back workshops. Yeah, listening to people talk for the entire three days.
But I was wrong. SO WRONG
It changed as soon as I stepped into QNCC on the first day. I must say that QLC15 is an experience I will keep in my memory forever and with all I've learned from the conference I am now sure of what my passion is, MUN, which is one step into being able to change the world into a better one. I am indeed looking forward to attend another QLC next year, and as many MUN conferences as I can, Insyaallah.
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