Youth centres, girls’ centres, and sports club youth committees across Qatar are broadening their offerings for the 2026–2027 academic year, providing students with a wide array of sports, cultural, technological, creative, and volunteer activities. These programmes aim to foster skill development, talent discovery, and constructive use of leisure time among young participants.

Officials overseeing the initiatives emphasized that the schedules are carefully tailored to align with students’ academic commitments. Activities are primarily held during evenings and weekends, with adjustments made during examination and revision periods to minimize disruption to study time. The programmes include a variety of options such as sports competitions, camps, recreational trips, and workshops focused on leadership, teamwork, digital technology, artificial intelligence, and content creation. This mix seeks to combine entertainment with practical learning and awareness-building to maintain student engagement.

Saleh Mohamed al-Obaidli, head of the Madar Youth Team and a volunteer work advocate, highlighted the importance of timing in driving programme success. He noted that shorter activities during weekdays fit better with school hours and religious practices, while weekends offer more opportunities for extended events like tournaments and trips.

At Al Arabi Club’s Youth Committee, Ali Mohamed, director of activities and events, explained that the committee collaborates with schools to conduct awareness lectures during the school day, while camps and competitions usually take place on weekends. He said longer-term initiatives, which can span three months, are effective in reinforcing key messages and evaluating programme impact. Mohamed also emphasized the role of social media and the Shabab Ladz3m application in promoting activities, noting that success is measured not just by participation but by the tangible benefits and feedback gathered from participants.

Girls’ centres are also expanding their focus to include personal development, creativity, technology, and digital content production. Sheikha Hussein Babsail, head of the Doha Girls Centre, said the centre offers mainly evening and weekend sessions designed to be flexible, interactive, and practical. Meanwhile, Najla al-Hajri, director of Alreyada Girls Center, pointed to the role of close engagement with students and advisory committees in shaping relevant programmes, including specialised workshops on early financial planning.

At Al Khor Girls Center, Director Jana Jassim Khamis al-Muraikhi described an annual planning process aligned with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education calendar. The centre conducts morning workshops in partnership with schools and schedules evening activities that conclude by 8 p.m. She also highlighted a new digital fabrication laboratory developed with the Qatar Scientific Club, enabling students to explore technologies like laser cutting and 3D printing.

Youth centres in other regions reflect diverse interests. Khalifa Mohsen al-Shahwani, director of Al Jumailiya Youth Center, noted strong enthusiasm among students for football, table tennis, billiards, electronic games, horse riding, swimming, as well as training, community service, and scouting camps. Meanwhile, Dr. Hussein Buhaliqah, director of youth activities at Al Ahli Sports Club, said programmes are customised according to students’ ages and academic responsibilities, featuring specialised workshops focused on leadership and teamwork.

Overall, the expanded and diversified programmes across Qatar’s youth centres and clubs seek to complement academic schedules while promoting holistic development and positive community engagement.