Daiwik Dhar

Before Daiwik was born, his family lost everything – home, community, and life savings – during the conflict in Kashmir. Two different communities that shared common values and coexisted peacefully for centuries were turned against each other in a matter of years; hatred, intolerance and propaganda sowed the seeds of conflict. This tragedy had a profound impact on Daiwik’s core value system and beliefs: his family’s experience helped him recognise, understand and truly appreciate the importance of dialogue and discourse in creating a peaceful world.  

As a result, Daiwik became interested in debating and has now become one of the top competitive debaters in Qatar. During four years on his school's debate team, he has been recognised nationally over 20 times, with more than 10 national debating awards. Alongside these achievements, Daiwik has also founded his own non-profit, Debating404, aimed at helping students to think critically about modern-day issues that affect them. With chapters in 15 countries and a team of more than 50 students actively working within its operations, Debating404 has partnered with over 300 organisations, received over 500,000 blog views, and impacted close to 10,000 students. Its success has emboldened Daiwik to dream of a world where democracy and discourse prevail over violence. 

Daiwik is also a co-founding member of the Middle East's first Inner Development Goals (IDG) Hub, which aims to empower young people with critical soft skills like collaboration and cultural understanding. In collaboration with the Qatari Government, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, the Qatar National Research Fund, and the United Nations, Daiwik has been working on the gamification of Sustainable Development Goals for students across the country. His team’s efforts were presented at Doha Expo 2023 to an audience of 500 students, as well as pitching to top-level executives at Qatar's Ministry of Education. Daiwik is currently working with a range of organisations to plan the largest-ever soft skills conference in Qatar in September 2024. Amongst other achievements, he has also gained admission to the New York Academy of Science's prestigious Junior Academy Program, and won the National Entrepreneurship Challenge from IIT Bombay's Incubation Cell. 

With the Global Student Prize award, Daiwik would donate to a number of institutions and charities that helped him find a path to achievement – including Qatar Debate, THIMUN Qatar, and Hamad Bin Khalifa University. These organisations helped set him on his debating journey and provided platforms for him to express himself, as well as encouraging him to challenge his views, think critically, and speak up on issues he cares about.