The initiative brought together young people, experts and specialists across five cities — Rabat, Sharjah, Cairo, Baku and Kazan — providing UAE youth with an international knowledge experience that transcended geographical boundaries and opened wider opportunities for interaction, participation and engagement in discussions on future-focused issues.

The digital twinning experience, organised by the ICESCO Regional Office in Sharjah, was a key feature of Knowledge Youth Forum 2026, offering a new model for participation in international knowledge events.

The forum atmosphere was extended from its main venue in Rabat to Sharjah, making UAE participants part of a shared knowledge space with speakers, experts and participants from different countries and cities.

The experience demonstrated that digital technologies can expand participation and create new spaces for communication, interaction and knowledge exchange.

The digital twinning went beyond simply broadcasting the forum’s two-day programme or allowing participants in Sharjah to follow its sessions. It was designed to give young people an active role, enabling them to ask questions, take part in discussions, and interact directly with speakers and participants from different countries.

This transformed digital attendance into active participation and reinforced the concept of knowledge engagement that transcends geographical boundaries.

The experience combined physical participation in Sharjah with digital communication with the main forum in Rabat, linking participants in both cities to the sessions and discussions as part of a wider network spanning five cities.

The initiative aligns with ICESCO’s mission to support knowledge, innovation and youth capacity-building, strengthening young people’s contributions to development and future-making while providing modern platforms that enable them to engage with peers and experts worldwide.

Expanding youth participation

The digital twinning experience followed an intensive outreach programme carried out by the ICESCO Regional Office in Sharjah ahead of the forum to engage young people interested in knowledge and development fields and to introduce them to the opportunity to participate in an international experience that combines knowledge, dialogue and communication.

The office contacted a number of UAE universities and invited their students to participate, while also attracting professionals and individuals interested in knowledge and development-related fields. This helped create a diverse audience, bringing together students, young people and those with professional and community interests.

The broad participation in Sharjah reflected strong interest among UAE youth in international knowledge events and in drawing on the experiences and expertise brought together by such forums.

It also demonstrated that when digital interaction is combined with knowledge-based content and direct dialogue, it can become a genuine participatory experience, providing young people with new opportunities to learn, communicate and share ideas.

The participation of UAE youth in the forum sessions demonstrated a high level of awareness, ambition and openness to knowledge, alongside a clear ability to put forward ideas and engage in discussions with the aim of developing valuable perspectives and solutions.

The digital twinning experience also provided participants with a platform to showcase their knowledge, capabilities and creative energies at an internationally connected event and to engage with diverse youth and experts.

The ICESCO Regional Office in Sharjah emphasised its belief in the capabilities and potential of UAE youth and its commitment to providing opportunities that strengthen their participation in regional and international initiatives and events.

A fully integrated digital experience

Throughout the two-day forum, the office provided an organised environment for participants, from registration through to the sessions and interactions with the programme.

This contributed to an integrated experience that combined knowledge engagement, direct communication and access to the forum’s content, reinforcing the value of digital twinning as a comprehensive participation model rather than simple remote viewing.

The Sharjah participation was part of a forum that attracted more than 5,500 young men and women and generated more than 9 million views, reflecting the event's scale of interest and its reach among youth across several countries.

The experience highlighted the importance of digital models in expanding participation and enabling larger numbers of young people to engage in international events, without geographical distance acting as a barrier.

The digital twinning hosted in Sharjah as part of Knowledge Youth Forum 2026 demonstrated how digital transformation can create new spaces for young people to participate in knowledge creation and in the exchange of expertise.

It also showed how international events can use modern technologies to build shared experiences, bringing together participants from multiple cities and countries simultaneously and enabling communication, dialogue and interaction within a common knowledge space.