In order to accelerate positive global change, we need all hands on deck. Young people from all around the world need to communicate and collaborate differently than prior generations—and they need a brave, safe space in which to do so.
The Doha Debates Ambassador Program is a virtual learning experience where emerging leaders from across the globe develop communication, systems thinking, and dialogue skills with an emphasis on personal storytelling and cross-cultural understanding. Personal narrative engages empathy, emphasizes realities and raises urgency for issues that matter to global youth.
At the heart of the program is the concept of the Majlis, a traditional community gathering place to respectfully discuss important issues. In the Majlis, our ambassadors cultivate their own community, embrace diverse perspectives, and ignite their capacity for collective action.
Throughout the course of the program, participants engage with expert facilitators, mentors, and one another to practice the skills they’re learning, including:
We began our first eight-week pilot ambassador program in 2021, with 38 young people representing 17 nations. Since then, we’ve served 686 participants in nine cohorts, continually revising the program content to meet ambassadors’ needs and goals, and building a strong alumni network through special co-created projects, events and online engagement.
Our goal—and challenge—has been to scale the program without losing intimacy and quality. By leveraging our partnership with Shared_Studios, we developed the capacity for two cohorts per year of up to 100 participants per cohort.
Each ambassador cohort completes a 12-week online program, engaging in weekly synchronous sessions with expert facilitators and interacting in an asynchronous online community of practice. The program culminates in a special two-hour virtual event called the World Majlis, in which small groups of ambassadors apply their new skills to conduct debates on critical global issues. Each group’s debate topic emerges from stories of their shared experiences and is chosen by consensus. For example, when one young Afghan woman described the pain of losing access to education, her group decided to debate the role of education in nation-building and the essential role of women in civic life, each citing personal examples and experiences.
Upon completion of the program, ambassadors earn a certificate and are invited to stay engaged with Doha Debates through events, conversations, workshops, debates and more. They may also be selected to serve as mentors for future cohorts. This mentorship model has allowed alumni to not only continue to build their own skills, but to network and share resources with new ambassadors and fellow graduates.
With each cohort of our ambassador program, we add to a growing global community of young changemakers that is based on mutual trust, genuine belonging, and the shared goal of making meaningful, lasting change.
Participant feedback on the program is consistently and overwhelmingly positive. The most consistently named takeaway is a fundamental reorientation of thinking around dialogue itself: arriving to the program with a competitive or adversarial model of debate, and leaving with something quite different. One 2026 ambassador put it directly: "[The program] has taught me that there is no need to 'win' an argument; rather, we must reach a consensus to apply solutions in the real world." (For additional testimonials, please see the video linked in this application).
Another key measure of success is a strong and vibrant network of over 600 alumni. Our graduates make a concerted effort to stay connected to Doha Debates, and use the skills they learn to create their own satellite programs and events. Our alumni have supported emergency relief efforts, co-authored papers, produced podcasts, shared scholarship opportunities and arranged debates at their universities and schools. They plan conference meet-ups and webinar guest appearances. They have hosted each other’s traveling siblings and written to each other’s prime ministers. They enthusiastically welcome new graduates into the fold, sharing successes and advising each other during challenging times.
Additionally, two online alumni-driven programs keep our network engaged and practicing: a monthly World Majlis, in which 60–100 alumni come together to debate a topic of their choice; and the Doha Debates Ambassador ProSeries, in which alumni plan and lead skill-building workshops on critical career-focused topics (e.g., writing a résume that passes automated AI screening; skill-stacking for professional success).
