Nasser Al-Khori is the driving force behind Generation Amazing, the foundation is a legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
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00:00Nasr Al Khoury believes sport has the transformative power to change people's lives.
00:07He's committed to harnessing that power to create positive change for marginalized children around the world.
00:14Generation Amazing serves as a proud legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
00:19Under Nasr Al Khoury's leadership, the foundation aims to inspire a new wave of innovative leaders.
00:26It's not just playing football, it's learning life skills.
00:29We create more inclusive societies and we bring and unite people.
00:34As an influential executive in the global sports community,
00:37Nasr Al Khoury is also the UNESCO Chair on Governance and Social Responsibility in Sport.
00:47Hey Nasr.
00:48Hi Adel.
00:49Got some good talent right here.
00:50Yeah, we do.
00:51The future team.
00:52Exactly.
00:53Watch out.
00:55Nasr, Generation Amazing Foundation has created a safe space here in Doha
00:59for Palestinian children who were evacuated from Gaza.
01:02They participate in weekly sporting activities curated specifically for them.
01:08But this goes way beyond just kicking a ball on a football pitch.
01:12What's the goal of this program?
01:14For the Gaza evacuees here that we have in Doha,
01:17we've been doing a lot of psychosocial support through sports, through football and other activities.
01:22So we create a safe environment for them to be able to express themselves,
01:26talk about hardships and difficult things that they've gone through.
01:31We look at sports as a way to resolve trauma,
01:34but also other conflicts and issues around mental health as well.
01:38We're training coaches to be able to lead these sessions within their community
01:42so it's us unlocking their potential,
01:45giving them the tools and what they need to be able to empower themselves.
01:50What we're also trying to do now is create a young team of Palestinians
01:54to be able to compete in tournaments locally.
01:56So this is kind of in a nutshell what we've done on the sports side.
02:00We've also done writing workshops, again looking at trauma, post-trauma.
02:05Writing is a great way to express yourself
02:07and we have a group that on a weekly basis sits with a professor
02:11that basically looks at writing as a form of expression.
02:15So that's a look at what's happening at the local level,
02:18but Generation Amazing has an international reach.
02:21What's your global vision?
02:23We are the flagship legacy foundation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
02:27We look at how sports could be used as a tool for human and social development
02:32to again embed values, build resilience, create global citizens.
02:37Sports is an amazing platform.
02:39We've all witnessed how sports transcend cultural barriers and boundaries
02:46and I think this is why we utilize sports
02:49and we try to create these programs where we create more inclusive societies
02:54and we bring and unite people.
02:56It's not just playing football, it's learning life skills,
02:59it's learning communication skills, leadership skills, teamwork,
03:02all these values that we believe in.
03:04We're not a football academy, we're not a sports academy,
03:06but we are there to support the development,
03:10the human and social development of the community itself.
03:13Kafu, Beckham, Chavi, just some of the incredible ambassadors
03:17who share Generation Amazing's vision and mission to inspire and empower youth.
03:23What kind of characteristics do you look for in ambassadors?
03:26We're looking for people that share the similar vision of Generation Amazing
03:30that again want to use sports for social and human development.
03:33Then I think this is the power of legends like these individuals
03:37that again are not just lending their name and voices,
03:40but they're going the extra mile.
03:42So we've had Chavi, for example, visiting our community club in India,
03:46visiting Omesh, one of our advocates, going into his house,
03:49playing football with him in his own community.
03:52We've had Kafu do a lot of similar youth activations in Brazil
03:57in the lead up to the World Cup there.
03:58David Beckham has been very engaged obviously in the Doha community
04:01with our different community clubs here, with our festivals.
04:05It's these amazing role models that everybody looks up to,
04:08especially the youth that are able to inspire and are able to create that change.
04:12This is why we are very lucky to be able to work with such legends.
04:22Nasser, we're now inside the Khalifa International Stadium.
04:25Originally built in 1976, this stadium has hosted several historic sporting events,
04:31including eight World Cup matches.
04:33What's your favourite memory here, and why is Khalifa Stadium
04:36such an important part of the legacy of Qatar 2022?
04:39This stadium is historic.
04:40For us, the World Cup was not a 30-day tournament.
04:42It's beyond that.
04:43And going back to your question about my favourite memories,
04:45that was in the lead up to the World Cup.
04:47We had a lot of Afghans transitioning through Doha
04:51during the displacement that took place in Afghanistan,
04:54and we hosted the national women's team.
04:57And after a couple of conversations with the team and FIFA,
05:01we decided to organize a friendly football match
05:03between our team and the Afghan women's national team,
05:07and we did it here.
05:09Now, sports has the incredible ability to strengthen international relations.
05:12We saw that firsthand at the World Cup.
05:14Is sports diplomacy at the core of your role?
05:17You're a generation amazing.
05:18I mean, everything we do, there's that diplomacy thread that connects everything.
05:23But also, top down, we work a lot with UN agencies, with governments, with ministries,
05:27to also make sure that sports diplomacy is on the agenda
05:30and that we can work together bilaterally to kind of, again,
05:34encourage these programs to support youth and underprivileged communities around the world.
05:39You were recently appointed the UNESCO Chair for Governance and Social Responsibility in Sport.
05:44What does that role mean to you?
05:46And tell us a bit about your outlook for that position.
05:49The idea behind the chair is that we are able to kind of influence the policy
05:52and kind of recommendations around research.
05:54We've created some sort of, in a way, it's best practice
05:57in terms of sports and social impact.
05:59So the idea is that we want to kind of make sure that that's shared with the rest of the world
06:02so people can kind of look at us and Generation Amazing, Qatar World Cup as an example,
06:07but also to influence policy and set recommendations for, again,
06:11governments and officials to kind of use sports for social impact.
06:16Now, I imagine you must have heard many harrowing stories during your missions.
06:20And I also imagine sport must help you bring some level of sanity.
06:25But outside of this pitch, what brings you peace?
06:28I love art, especially Middle Eastern, Arab art.
06:32I think some of the artists and works that talk about resilience
06:37and kind of promote culture and dialogue.
06:40And I think there's just beauty in that.
06:43I've also started collecting art over a couple of years.
06:47It's an amazing way for me to disconnect
06:50and kind of also in a way telling the history of the region
06:54and the diversity that exists as well.
06:57I mean, art is a great example of that.
07:00And you're a source of inspiration for a lot of the young people.
07:03What is it about this generation that is so amazing to you and keeps you going?
07:07I think the fact that this generation is like so interconnected.
07:10I mean, it's amazing to see that they can come together and talk about almost everything,
07:14no matter what divides, whether it's culture, whether it's language,
07:18they always find a way to communicate and to be able to kind of talk to each other.
07:22And I think that's so important because, you know, dialogue is really important.
07:27Our cultural understanding is really important.
07:29We've seen it in our festivals.
07:31Every festival that we organize, we bring kids from different parts of the world.
07:35They meet each other, and then we're all nervous because we're like,
07:39OK, what's going to happen?
07:41But in a matter of minutes, they become friends.
07:44And then towards the end of the trip, they don't want to leave,
07:46and they're crying and saying goodbyes.
07:48At the end of the day, they have more in common than differences.
07:51Dialogue is really important, and it's very important for us to have you on the dialogue.
07:54Thank you so much.
07:55Thank you. Thank you. Of course. Thank you.