Doha Islamic Youth Forum discusses impact of social media on youth

Doha Islamic Youth Forum continued Tuesday its activities for the third day with a main session highlighted the theme "Youth and Social Media".

The Forum, which is hosted by the State of Qatar in cooperation with the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF) brings together nearly 90 young people representing 56 countries of the Islamic world, including 20 young people from Qatar.

The Forum which will run till Thursday aims at creating a space for young people to express themselves and their views on a number of issues that capture their attention.

The main session on Tuesday, which discussed the theme "Youth and Social Media" included a paper presented by Khawla Murtadawi on the new media and its impact on cultural transformation. The paper discussed how the term "new media" emerged as an important and controversial player in the fundamental changes that swept through the Arab and Islamic region, explaining that governments and commercial organizations alike were beginning to take into account the potential of the new media platforms.

The activities today also included three training workshops on the impact of social media on community responsibility and how to promote positive societal cause or behavior; social media in cultural practices; and youth and the safe use of social media.