
Registration for Third Youth Ambassadors Project in Oman opens
Part of Oman's 10th Five-Year Plan, the project prioritises youth empowerment and follows the success of its previous editions in 2023 and 2024.
'The Youth Ambassadors Project is an initiative the ministry is committed to implementing annually, especially considering the strong response and impact observed over the last two years,' said Hilal bin Saif al Siyabi, Director General of Youth Affairs at MCSY. 'We witnessed participation of 75 young men and women in the first edition. That number grew to 100 in the second.'
This year's edition aims to train 120 participants, including 21 from Gulf and Arab countries. Siyabi confirmed that most of these countries have given initial approval to participate.
The programme includes direct engagements between youth and diplomatic leaders, training sessions delivered in partnership with UNITAR and a simulation of Youth Model United Nations. Selected participants will also be nominated to represent Oman in regional and international youth events.
Youth Model United Nations simulates the core functions of UN bodies including the General Assembly, Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. Participants assume the roles of diplomats, debate pressing global issues and negotiate resolutions according to official UN protocols.
'Young people act as ambassadors of the countries they represent, delivering speeches and negotiating outcomes on topics such as human rights, peace and security, climate change and economic development,' the ministry noted.
Applicants must be Omani nationals aged 18 to 29, in good health and willing to commit fully to the programme. Participants of earlier editions of the project are not eligible. The selection process will include a proportional distribution of candidates from each governorate, with a gender balance based on national demographic data.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Muscat Daily
4 hours ago
- Muscat Daily
Majlis A' Shura discuss repercussions of suspension of job security benefit for laid-off workers
Muscat – The Youth and Human Resources Committee of the Shura Council held a meeting on Tuesday, chaired by Younis al Mandhari, to address the implications of suspending the job security benefit previously granted to laid-off workers. The committee expressed concern over the social and economic hardships faced by affected citizens, emphasizing the urgent need to resume disbursement of the benefit provided by the Social Protection Fund. Members highlighted that many individuals have experienced a significant deterioration in living conditions, making it essential to restore the support to ensure psychological and social stability. In their recommendations, the committee called on relevant authorities to take swift, practical steps, including empowering local governorates and decentralizing employment-related decisions. This would allow for region-specific solutions tailored to local labor market needs and redundancy challenges. Members also stressed the importance of offering employment opportunities that align with the qualifications and professional experience of laid-off workers. They proposed the launch of requalification and reintegration programs that promote a dignified and secure return to the job market. To improve long-term planning, the committee recommended the creation of a comprehensive, up-to-date database of job seekers and laid-off individuals. Such a tool would help shape more effective national employment strategies and policies. Further proposals included reviewing or amending existing legislation to enhance workforce protections, reserving job vacancies in government and state-owned entities for laid-off nationals, and accelerating Omanisation by replacing expatriate-held positions with qualified Omani personnel. Raising the cost of hiring foreign labor in the private sector was also discussed as a way to encourage local recruitment. In conclusion, the committee called for a holistic, long-term national strategy to address layoffs, focused on tackling root causes rather than short-term fixes. They emphasised the importance of legal and administrative reforms and the establishment of a national action plan to ensure employment stability and social justice for all Omani citizens.


Times of Oman
7 hours ago
- Times of Oman
Fact check: Are X's community notes fueling misinformation?
New York: On July 9, the US government sanctioned United Nations Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese for what the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said was a "campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States." Albanese has consistently denounced Israel's actions in Gaza since its offensive against the Palestinian group Hamas began in October 2023, as well as the Trump administration's efforts to suppress dissenting voices critical of Israel. The announcement was rejected by the UN, which called for a reversal of the sanctions, and it also prompted a debate online, where Albanese's name began to trend on X (formerly Twitter). Posts poured in both defending and criticizing her work, accompanied in several cases by "Community Notes," X's signature tool to fight misinformation. The notes, which are essentially brief clarifications or extra context attached to posts, can be submitted by anyone. X claims it uses what it calls a "bridging algorithm" to prevent bias, lending more weight to upvotes from users with historically different viewpoints and thus theoretically reducing the chance that a single group can dominate the narrative. But that doesn't make them immune from error. In the case of Albanese, for instance, one community note claimed that "Francesca Albanese is not a lawyer," amplifying arguments by her critics about her qualifications and "ethical conduct." While Albanese did admit in an interview with Vanity Fair that she didn't take the bar exam, which would have qualified her as a practising attorney, she did study law. Her official profile on the website of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) describes her as an "international lawyer" who has authored publications on International Law. What this example shows is that while community notes can be a valuable tool to reduce the spread of disinformation, they are not always accurate and often fail to paint the whole picture. Notes are meant to be a system where users collaboratively add context and verify facts. Research from Cornell University has shown that notes on inaccurate posts on X help to reduce reposts and increase the likelihood that the original author deletes the post. However, according to an analysis of X data by NBC News, the number of community notes being published are declining in number, and DW Fact check spotted several examples of the tool misleading users instead of helping them spot falsehoods. Misleading community notes slipping through In July 2025, a post by Sky News quoting the United Kingdom's Metropolitan Police chief went viral, accumulating over 4.7 million views. The post linked to a Sky News article based on an interview with the police chief, which highlighted structural inequality, noting it was "shameful" that black boys in London were statistically more likely to die young than white boys. The community note was then added; however, it was reframed, stating: "The headline lacks the essential context that despite making up only 13% of London's total population, Black Londoners account for 45% of London's knife murder victims, 61% of knife murder perpetrators, and 53% of knife crime perpetrators." While factually correct, the note introduced unrelated crime statistics from 2022 — subtly shifting the focus from systemic inequality to framing black boys as perpetrators of crime. Instead of clarifying the issue, the note distorted the original message, misleading users who hadn't actually clicked on the link in the post. Community notes and elections Another problem was spotted by experts during the 2024 US Presidential elections. Researchers Alexios Mantzarlis and Alex Mahadevan from the Florida-based Poynter Institute analysed community notes posted on Election Day. Their goal was to assess whether community notes were helping counter election misinformation or not. Their findings raised concerns. Out of all fact-checkable posts analyzed, only 29% carried a community note rated as "helpful." In X's system, a note is rated "helpful" when it is upvoted by a diverse group of contributors and prioritised for public display. But of these "helpful" notes, only 67% actually addressed content that was fact-checkable. In other words, nearly a third of the notes that appeared as helpful were attached to posts that didn't contain factual claims at all. The researchers saw this as a problem of low precision and recall: too few misleading posts were getting corrected, and even when notes appeared, many weren't targeting actual misinformation. As Poynter noted, "This is not the kind of precision and recall figures that typically get a product shipped at a Big Tech platform." Meanwhile, Germany's Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft, a research institute based in Berlin analyzed nearly 9,000 community notes in the run-up to the country's federal elections in February this year, and found that "community notes follow political patterns." The institute said, "Users who write notes are not free of political views. Their assessments and comments may therefore be influenced by their own interests or ideological biases." Poynter's Mahadevan explained in an interview with DW's fact-checking team how people may be gaming the system: when someone new joins Community Notes, X assumes they're unbiased because they haven't rated many notes yet.


Observer
7 hours ago
- Observer
Third Edition of Youth Ambassadors project to kick off in Oct
MUSCAT: The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth has launched the third edition of the 'Youth Ambassadors' project for 2025, in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). The programme will take place in Muscat next October, aiming to enhance youth participation and develop their skills and capabilities in line with the objectives of the Tenth Five-Year Plan concerning youth priorities. The continuation of the project into its third edition follows the success and engagement achieved in its second edition in 2024. The programme has met its goals of qualifying 100 young men and women in leadership and diplomacy, strengthening their presence in regional and international forums, and familiarising them with the foundational principles of the United Nations, its affiliated councils and their operational mechanisms. This contributes to connecting youth with the global community and international and regional organisations. Hilal bin Saif al Siyabi, Director-General of Youth at the Ministry, stated: "The Youth Ambassadors project is one of the initiatives the ministry is keen to implement annually, given its successes in the 2023 and 2024 editions and the positive engagement we observed from participating youth. This has amplified its impact and highlighted its added value, especially with the growing demand for participation each year. The first edition saw 75 participants, while the second edition increased to 100 participants." He noted that this year's edition targets 120 participants, including 21 seats allocated for Gulf and Arab countries, most of which have given preliminary approval to join the project. The project encompasses several key themes, most notably meetings between participating youth and diplomatic leaders, as well as training workshops in collaboration with UNITAR. Additionally, it includes a Model United Nations (MUN) simulation session and opportunities for youth to participate in regional and international engagements. Third Edition of Youth Ambassadors project to kick off in Oct The Model United Nations for Youth is a simulated session mirroring UN discussions, involving 100 young men and women, alongside representatives from government and private institutions, international organisations, academics and young entrepreneurs. The participants simulate the workings of the UN and its principal bodies — such as the General Assembly, Security Council, and Economic and Social Council — by assuming the roles of diplomats and official spokespersons for different countries and organisations. They engage in debates and negotiations on key youth-related issues, ultimately drafting resolutions reflecting the agenda topics addressed. The participants act as ambassadors for assigned countries (as delegation members), delivering speeches that fully represent their designated nation's stance. They then negotiate with allies and opponents on contentious issues, working towards resolutions that serve the international community. Sessions and discussions are conducted according to UN procedural rules. Through this model, the participants research the issues to be addressed by the respective council or committee, gaining insight into how the international community responds to pressing global concerns, including peace and security, human rights, the environment, food and hunger, economic development and globalisation. The ministry has set registration criteria for the project, requiring applicants to be Omani youth (male or female) aged 18–29, with a strong desire and commitment to participate fully in the programme and adhere to all related requirements. The participants must also be in good health, free from chronic illnesses and cooperative with programme organisers, strictly adhering to session schedules. Initial selection and acceptance into the programme will be conducted electronically, with priority given to those who have not previously participated in the first edition of the Youth Ambassadors project. Distribution will be proportional across governorates (based on NCSI data) and balanced between genders within each governorate. Applicants must also complete the registration form, including responses to all required questions. - ONA