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Her Excellency Dr. Shaikha Rana Bint Isa Bin Daij Al Khalifa, Director General of the Institute of Public Administration, affirmed that the “Innovative Housing Solutions Lab Hackathon” represents a fundamental step toward activating the role of youth in developing impactful and sustainable solutions to housing challenges, through an innovation-driven environment that applies Design Thinking as a strategic tool for building practical and implementable solutions. Her Excellency noted that hosting the hackathon at the Institute of Public Administration reflects the Institute’s commitment to investing in human capital, empowering young talent, and guiding them to contribute to the development of vital sectors, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Government Work Program. This came during her attendance at the “Innovative Housing Solutions Lab -A Youth Vision for Future Cities” Hackathon, organized by the Institute of Public Administration in cooperation with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, Eskan Bank, and the Ministry of Youth Affairs, in conjunction with the Innovation in Social Housing Conference and Exhibition. Her Excellency emphasized that youth empowerment extends beyond merely involving young people in events; it includes granting them the space to think, design, and make decisions. She highlighted that the hackathon serves as a strategic platform that enables youth to develop innovative housing solutions across areas such as smart cities, enhancing citizen housing experience, and proposing innovative financing options within a framework that strengthens partnerships between the public and private sectors and embeds innovation as an integral part of the government work ecosystem. She added that the hackathon represents a significant step toward achieving excellence in the social housing sector by leveraging national youth talent and motivating them to present creative solutions that meet contemporary needs, improve quality of life, and enhance service sustainability. It also contributes to developing participants’ skills and building national capacities capable of innovation and teamwork within a competitive environment.