Doha, Qatar - December 13, 2012: Fifteen HEC students (Grande Ecole and MBA) took part in the first edition of the Doha Goals, world's premier platform for world leaders to create initiatives for global progress through sport. Founded under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, the forum took place between December 10th-12th 2012 in Aspire Doha, Qatar.  Top stakeholders- CEOs, government officials, athletes, NGOs, federation heads, urban developers, coaches, managers, and medical experts- gathered to discuss how sport can have a positive impact on social and economic development.

More than 1000 participants, including athletic legends such as Carl Lewis, Ian Thorpe, Oscar Pistorius, Marc Spitz, François Pienaar, Jonathan Edwards, and Marie-José Pérec have participated in the debates and created a roadmap of initiatives capable of addressing issues such as the welfare of athletes, federation governance, sport as a tool for the education of youth, the integration of women and minorities through sport and cross-culture cooperation.

Doha GOALS is passing the baton to the next generation of leaders with the launch of the Student Ambassadors Programme.  The Forum hosted the 400 best students from the top high schools and universities around the world (40 institutions representing 30 countries) including HEC students. Each student was put forward by their principal or dean for consideration after displaying outstanding academic, athletic and leadership skills. They have also been asked to develop a proposal that will be submitted to a jury. Among those presented by HEC students is a proposal that offers young people the chance to pursue higher education and a career in sport at the same time, whatever their financial means or social environment. Another discusses the creation of an e-community called 'Sport Echoing', setting up a social network to mobilize professional sportspeople and organizations.  Another suggests that we create micro-soccer clubs for children living in semi-rural areas in Africa.

Professor Bertrand Moingeon, Deputy Dean of HEC Paris, was also among the speakers at Doha Goals said: "HEC Paris is honored to be represented at Doha GOALS by its highly

talented students. The forum is an ideal platform for them to be able to express their passion and commitment to sports." He has also invited the students to take advantage of this great opportunity to discover a country for which the development plan and vision are a perfect illustration of the concept of strategic innovation.

Visit the Doha Goals' site: http://www.dohagoals.com/en/home

HEC Paris in Qatar
HEC Paris joined Qatar Foundation in June 2010, bringing world-class Executive Education programs and research activity to Doha and the region. Qatar's first international EMBA was launched by HEC Paris in Qatar in February 2011. The HEC Executive MBA (EMBA) is a part-time program which provides executives with a set of fundamental skills to expand their knowledge and leadership capabilities. The course is taught in English, and is offered in five different locations, including Doha. In addition to the EMBA, HEC Paris in Qatar provides a Specialized Master Degree in Strategic Business Unit Management. The institution also offers non-degree management programs for executives, in the form of open enrolment programs as well as custom-designed programs for individual companies. HEC Paris in Qatar's programs and research activities build corporate competitiveness within the global economy and are fully aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030 to support the transformation of Qatar into an advanced, competitive and knowledge-based economy. HEC Paris has been ranked as one of the top Business Schools in Europe since 2006, and was ranked second in the world for Executive Education in 2012.

http://www.exed.hec.edu/locations/qatar

HEC Paris
A leader in Europe, HEC Paris specializes in management education and research. HEC Paris offers a full, unique range of courses to the leaders of tomorrow: Masters Degrees, MBA, PhD, Executive MBA and Trium Global Executive MBA. Founded in 1881, HEC Paris has a permanent faculty of 109 professors, 4000 students on its campus (40% of whom are foreign) and over 8500 managers and executives trained in executive education programs each year. HEC Paris has been ranked as one of the top Business Schools in Europe since 2006 and #2 worldwide for Executive Education by the Financial Times. http://www.exed.hec.edu/

Qatar Foundation
Founded in 1995 by decree of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, Qatar Foundation is a non-profit organization focusing on education, scientific research and community development. Under Qatar Foundation's umbrella are Education City which comprises elite universities, academic and training programmes and Qatar Science and Technology Park which boasts more than 26 world-class companies involved in scientific research and development. Chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, Qatar Foundation also aims to enhance lives through community development initiatives including Doha Debates, Reach out To Asia and Al Jazeera Children's Channel.  Joint venture partnerships in the areas of design, ICT, telecommunications, policy studies and event management contribute to fulfilling the objectives of the Qatar Foundation. http://www.qf.org.qa/

Media inquiries:
Salwa Ghorayeb
Account Manager, Action Qatar
Tel: 00974 44361499
Email: salwa.g@actionprgroup.com

© Press Release 2012