QF a vision turned into reality: Sheikha Moza
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Tomorrow was made at Qatar Foundation,” Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF), summed up the impact of QF on a nation, as its very first days were revisited by those who were instrumental in turning a vision into reality, during a special panel discussion aired on Qatar TV yesterday on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of QF.
The Untold Stories of QF saw Her Highness Sheikha Moza, who envisioned and founded QF in 1995 with the support of His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, give unprecedented insight into why QF was established and the belief that made it happen. Joined by the central figures in QF’s establishment 26 years ago, the panel recounted the plans, challenges, goals, and milestones that lined the path to creating a globally unique ecosystem of education, science and research, and community development.
“Our belief in the success of Qatar Foundation as a project was deep-rooted, despite the challenges and curves that we faced at the beginning of our journey more than 25 years ago,” she said. “In 2005, on the day Education City opened, we promised that tomorrow would be here. And, indeed, tomorrow was made at Qatar Foundation.
She spoke of how QF’s first school, Qatar Academy – established in 1996 – was born of “two dimensions.” “The first came from my role as a mother who had concerns about the education of my children, and the second was national, reflected by our role in the development of society,” she told the discussion, filmed at QF’s former headquarters.
Among the key figures in QF’s establishment who spoke at the event were HE Yousef Hussain Kamal, former Minister of Economy and Finance, HE Dr Ibrahim al-Ibrahim, Sheikha Dr Abdulla al-Misnad, Dr Saif al-Hajri and Dr Fathy Saoud, the former president of QF.
Turning an ambition like Qatar Foundation (QF) into into actuality required financial resources – and, at the start of its journey, this was one of the greatest challenges facing the nascent Qatar Foundation.
In The Untold Stories of Qatar Foundation, HE Yousef Hussain Kamal, former Minister of Finance and one of the key figures in the establishment of the organisation, explained how overcoming this challenge rested on Qatar’s recognition of the economic importance of investing in education. “It is no secret that, in the mid-1990s, Qatar did not have the financial capacity to invest in a project such as QF which required significant sums of money to achieve its aspirations, because at that stage, as economists, we focused our attention on oil and gas projects,” he told the discussion. “However, investing in education was a noble goal for the country’s leadership, which stressed that supporting the education sector was a priority.
And at the time, I noticed how insistent our leaders were about this. ”When we discussed the idea for QF, I felt that it was a noble national project for all Qataris: one that would contribute to consolidating Qatar’s legacy, and enhance the role of the Qatar on the global economic scene. This meant that investing in education would be a profitable investment.” He pointed to decisions being taken by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which classified spending on education as an investment, and this reinforced the vision for QF. As for QF investing in scientific research at a national level, in the context of sustainable economic development, he said: “Investment by QF in this field at the beginning of its journey was based on promoting Qatar’s participation in global research that aligned with the national needs, and attracting researchers to the country with the aim of localising knowledge and then investing in it for the benefit of the national economy.”
He also used the discussion to call on Qatar’s private sector to invest in research, development, and innovation, and highlighted the importance of innovation in building a sustainable economy - pointing to the renaming of Qatar Petroleum as Qatar Energy, and its key strategic focus on environmentally friendly technology.
Fellow Untold Stories of Qatar Foundation speaker, HE Dr Ibrahim al-Ibrahim harked back to the economic landscape of Qatar in the mid-1990s, during the early stages of establishing QF, saying: “The economic situation at that time was effective, but investing in education was a goal.
“Just a few years after QF’s establishment, aspirations had matured, flourished, and were being reflected in Qatar’s national vision. Through to today, QF is supporting the country to achieve the objectives of all the pillars of this national vision human, economic, social, and environmental development.”