Giving Youth a Seat at the UN Table
Turned youth participation from a symbolic presence at a UN congress into a formal contribution to global policy on crime prevention and criminal justice.
The 13th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice was held in Doha from 12 to 19 April 2015. Its agenda covered the rule of law, public participation and the social and economic conditions that shape crime prevention and justice.
Qatar Foundation, the Congress Organizing Committee and UNODC created the Doha Youth Forum as a Qatari initiative. The purpose was not simply to invite young people to observe an international event, but to involve them in the substance of the Congress and give them a structured route to contribute recommendations.
The Youth Forum took place from 7 to 9 April 2015, immediately before the Congress. It was the first forum of its kind in the history of the UN crime congresses.
Global policy events often struggle to engage young people in a meaningful way.
The challenge was to recruit a diverse group of student delegates, prepare them to engage with complex themes and ensure that their participation created more than a symbolic youth presence.
The outreach had to attract young people from different countries, backgrounds and disciplines, build awareness of a first-time forum linked to a complex UN policy agenda, explain why crime prevention, justice, education, public participation and the rule of law mattered to young people, and take delegates through registration, selection, orientation and event participation.
Relevance: the UN policy agenda on crime prevention and criminal justice appeared distant from students' daily concerns
Reach: the forum was a first-time event with no existing community or recruitment channel
Readiness: delegates had to move from awareness to substantive contribution on complex global themes
Representation: the group needed to include diverse countries, disciplines and backgrounds
Influence: participation had to result in credible recommendations heard at the main Congress
Youth engagement works when young people are treated as contributors, not an audience.
The Forum was designed around the same themes as the UN Congress. Delegates were not invited to discuss crime in abstract terms; they were asked to work on solutions related to the rule of law, crime prevention, criminal justice and public participation.
That changed the role of outreach. The task was not only to fill seats, but to recruit young people who could contribute diverse perspectives, engage in structured dialogue and carry their ideas into a global policy forum.
We developed an enrollment and outreach program that connected youth participation with the substance and legacy of the UN Congress.
The program moved delegates through four stages: awareness and recruitment across student communities and institutions; selection and enrollment of a diverse international group; orientation and preparation on the Congress agenda and working methods; and Forum-to-Congress participation, where selected delegates presented the Doha Youth Forum Statement to the main Congress.
- Campaign and outreach strategy
- Youth enrollment strategy
- International delegate recruitment
- Registration and selection journey
- Student communications
- Orientation program
- Forum participation support
- Marketing through the UN Congress
- Translated the UN agenda into an accessible student proposition that connected crime prevention, justice and the rule of law to young people's lives
- Reached out through student communities and institutions to recruit diverse delegates
- Managed recruitment, selection and enrollment for the three-day Forum
- Delivered orientation that prepared delegates to engage with Congress themes and work across cultural and academic differences
- Used a model-Congress format so delegates could develop recommendations through structured dialogue
- Supported the path into the main Congress, where selected participants presented the Doha Youth Forum Statement
The official Congress report records the Doha Youth Forum as the first Youth Forum in the history of the UN crime congresses.
123 student delegates from more than 30 nationalities took part.
Three Youth Forum participants presented the Doha Youth Forum Statement, with recommendations for global, regional and national action, to the main Congress.
The Doha Declaration formally stressed the fundamental role of youth participation in crime prevention.
A wider institutional legacy followed. The State of Qatar supported UNODC's Doha Declaration Global Programme, while Japan's Ministry of Justice later invited me to share the Forum experience ahead of the 14th UN Congress in Kyoto in 2021.
Student delegates
Nationalities represented
Delegates presented to Congress
I led marketing, youth enrollment and outreach as part of a special task force assigned by Qatar Foundation and Qatar's Ministry of Interior. My role covered campaign planning, outreach, enrollment, orientation and marketing support through the Forum and the UN Crime Congress.
- Client: Qatar Foundation, Ministry of Interior Qatar and UNODC
- Youth enrollment and outreach: Houssam El Zein
- Event organisers: Qatar Foundation, UNODC and the Organizing Committee of the 13th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
- Project period: 2015