Press Release

Around 40 Young Men and Women… “Muscat Inspires Us” Creates a Space for Dialogue and Listening

20/08/2026

Muscat Governorate organised the youth dialogue session “Muscat Inspires Us” on Wednesday, bringing together around 40 young men and women from various wilayats across the Governorate. Representing diverse backgrounds, specialisations and experiences, the session provided a platform for dialogue, interaction and collective engagement, allowing participants to express their views and impressions of Muscat and to reflect on the places, memories, experiences, emotions and aspirations associated with the city.

From the outset, participants were divided into groups and moved between a number of dialogue stations, engaging in discussions and exchanging ideas and experiences while reflecting on different aspects of their relationship with the city — from places and landmarks to words, practices, customs and characteristics, as well as nature and historical milestones. The groups witnessed active interaction among participants, with each person bringing a personal perspective to the discussion. The diversity of their specialisations and interests also offered multiple perspectives on Muscat, providing an opportunity to listen to different experiences, memories and views of the city.

• “Discovering Muscat as You See It”

Mohammed Al Riyami, a certified facilitator within leadership communities and an organisational development specialist, explained that the design of the “Muscat Inspires Us” session stemmed from a desire to provide young people with a genuine space to express their own vision of Muscat. He said the aim was “to discover Muscat as you see it”, moving beyond a single image or conventional definition of the city.

He explained that the session explored the “vocabulary of Muscat” from multiple perspectives, including places, landmarks, words, practices, customs, characteristics, nature and historical milestones. This enabled participants to recall the details that have shaped their relationship with the city, before moving beyond simply describing how they feel about Muscat to considering the reasons behind those feelings and memories.

Al Riyami added that the dialogue session followed a progressive pathway, taking participants from experience to emotion, from emotion to its underlying causes, and then from the individual to the collective. This approach helps move beyond immediate impressions towards a deeper understanding of the relationship people develop with places and what remains of those places in their memories and emotions.

He noted that the stations were not designed as separate questions, but rather as an interconnected journey, with each station building on the previous one and paving the way for the next. In this way, stories, memories and emotions gradually developed into meanings and insights that could be explored and analysed more deeply.

Al Riyami also highlighted the importance of the diversity of participants in enriching the experience. Young people from different specialisations and backgrounds came together, each with their own way of viewing and interpreting Muscat. The variety of stations helped reveal these differences while also uncovering shared ideas and experiences that may connect participants despite their diverse backgrounds.

He concluded: “We are not only seeking to understand what young people say about Muscat; we are trying to understand why they say it, and what their collective experiences reveal about their relationship with the place.”

• Voices from the Heart of the Experience

A number of participants shared their impressions, each from the perspective of their own specialisation and interests.

Hussein Al Bahrani, a specialist in photography and technology, said that what distinguishes Muscat most for him is its ability to preserve its identity and character despite development and change. He stressed that technology and innovation should not alter the city’s identity; rather, they can contribute to its development and help preserve its distinctive features, while keeping pace with the future and meeting residents’ needs.

Noor Al Huda Al Battashi, a specialist in engineering and design, said that our perception of Muscat is shaped by “the balance between mountain and sea, and between authenticity and modernity.” She described the city’s visual presence through the colours of the earth, stone and sea, the contours of the mountains, the fluidity of its urban landscape and its distinctive Omani details. She considered tranquillity, dignity and warmth among the key characteristics that can express the personality of Muscat.

• Muscat through the Eyes of Its Young People

At the conclusion of the session, the discussion themes offered participants several perspectives from which to view Muscat — from its relationship with people and the city to participation and the individual’s role in their relationship with place.

The value of the experience lay not only in the discussion themes themselves, but also in the space provided for participants to engage with them, share their experiences and listen to different perspectives, in a gathering that brought together around 40 young men and women from diverse specialisations and backgrounds.

Muscat Governorate emphasises the importance of continuing to provide structured dialogue spaces that enable members of the community to participate, express themselves and listen to others, while strengthening direct communication between the institution and the community, with dialogue and community engagement forming an integral part of its approach to participation.

Thus, “Muscat Inspires Us” offered a dialogue-based experience that brought together ideas, interaction and collective discussion, providing young people with a space to participate and make their voices heard, in an experience that places dialogue and listening at the heart of communication with the community.