Twenty women on the move in 2020

A look at 20 women who are breaking the ground for the next generation in Qatar

DOHA Learning Days (DLD), a six-day experiential learning festival organised by WISE -- a Qatar Foundation initiative -has dedicated November 17 as Women’s Empowerment Day. In doing so, WISE puts the spotlight on influential women making an impact as entrepreneurs, activists, artists and business professionals.

“Our 20 women on the move in 2020’ are a fierce group representing DLD’s focus on re-imagining education to break ground for the next generation,” WISE said in a press release.

“Women are at the forefront of change in Qatar,” said Noor al Kobaisi, Community

Communications Advisor at ExxonMobil Qatar. “Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser was and continues to be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to education. Our country has fused culture and tradition with modernity to become a hub where women and youth are empowered to spread their wings.”

Noor sees DLD as an opportunity to bridge the gap between active individuals who work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and students interested in potential careers in these fields.

A Fellow of the WISE Learner’s oice Program and a graduate of Oxford University, UK, Noor lends herself to the community through her engagement projects. As well as sponsoring DLD, ExxonMobil Qatar will host a TEDx style STEM Speaker Series on November 17.

Einas Mohamed is bringing to DLD her particularly innovative approach to teaching STEM. As an instructor with ibTECHar’s Fab Academy, she engages students on coding, Artificial Intelligence, and machines in her interactive workshops, applying the MIT rapid-prototyping course How to Make (Almost) Anything’.

A strong voice helping to bring innovation and creativity to education, Farah Abel is the Policy and Partnerships Officer for WISE, and one of the leaders behind the launch of DLD. A graduate of Boston University, the US, Farah has grown within Qatar Foundation (QF) and in her current role is making strides toward creating meaningful relationships between WISE and the local community.

Nourah al Ajmi is another exceptional female leader within QF. A Qatar University alumna, Nourah’s role as Community Engagement Specialist at QF sees her creating unique experiences for community members in and around Education City.

“I find a keenness among women in Qatar to empower other women in the spirit of collaboration,” said Reema Abu Hassan, co-founder of Clay Encounters, a ceramics and design studio that combines traditional pottery making with modern design aesthetics. She collaborates on diverse projects and workshops with women in the community and those leading the cultural scene, prompting her to consider different learning approaches.

With design, teaching, collaboration and community engagement among the core components of her work at Clay Encounters, Reema explains that over the past year, she has found reimagining modes of learning to be crucial. “I am constantly adapting and reimagining the way in which I run classes and workshops in an effort to explore learning within a creative field. This has also motivated me to support what DLD and WISE are striving for.”

Maryam al Naemi is the founder of Kaffeinated, a famous Doha institution. In support of DLD’s theme of sustainability, Kaffeinated will feature eight vendors who specialise in artisanal coffee and snacks along with another DLD partner Torba Market, also showcasing eco-friendly vendors. Fatma al Khater, founder of Torba Market, has been widely recognised for her achievements as a social entrepreneur. Winner of the Entrepreneurship Award’ from the Qatari Businesswomen Association, she was the first ever recipient of the TAKREEM Awards. Fatma will also be curating a series of workshops around sustainability.

Minkyung Kang is blazing her own trail in more ways than one. She decided to journey from South Korea to Qatar to study Biological Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. Now an entrepreneur in her own right, she has launched a Qatarbased healthcare brand Pida Beauty’ -- pida meaning to blossom’ in Korean.

Breaking down gender barriers in sports, Gloria Kwalbe and Shaimaa Siyabi are working with Generation Amazing, the Supreme Committee for Delivery Legacy’s football for development programme, to expand the field of play for women, in Qatar and abroad. They work with students to explore themes like gender equality and conflict resolution through sport.

“I’m supporting DLD because it’s an event that promotes women’s empowerment. I believe that if you empower a woman, you have empowered a nation,” said Gloria. “I am proud to be part of the Qatar Female Football Coaching team and we have succeeded in raising young Qatari girls into enviable professional female footballers.”

Generation Amazing is presenting Unlearning Through Football’ where students will get to test their communication and team building skills on the football field.

Georgetown University in Qatar student Khansa Maria has first-hand experience of the difficulties facing visuallychallenged learners. In 2016, she founded Hope for Tomorrow’, an organization that combats the stigmas surrounding disabilities to bridge the gap between disabled and ablebodied people. Now - with a grant from the Qatar National Research Fund, Khansa aims to extend this work into policy implementation.

Reem al Hajiri, head of Programs at Best Buddies, works with students with special needs and the local community to ensure that the students she assists are integrated into programmes within QF providing visibility and opportunities to an often-overlooked community.

“Regardless of what you want to do, whether it’s something not so conventional -- persevere,” said Amal al Muftah, an independent Qatari filmmaker who shot and directed her award-winning documentary Al-Hammal’ (2014) while in high school. She said, “I see a film award as recognition but not necessarily an achievement. An accomplishment is between you and yourself. It’s finding what you’re passionate about and pushing yourself to get it.”

Inspired by the region’s history and culture, she continued making films while completing her studies at Northwestern University Qatar. “I recently watched one of my films with all my family sitting around me, and in that moment, I was glad that I never gave up.”

Award-winning filmmaker Latifa Darwish is the co-founder of Phone Art Qatar, encouraging the community to tell stories through photos. In her own work, from documentaries to cartoons, Latifa is inspired by her city of Al Wakra and her grandmother’s tales to tell the untold stories. Her work has been shown at the Tribeca Film Festival in Qatar and exhibitions abroad. One of her short animations is currently in production.

Social activist, artist and writer Umm Khalifa of Phone Art Qatar, uses social media to digitally curate interactive works that start constructive discussions on social issues not otherwise widely discussed like marriage, abuse, mental health or race.

For their contribution to DLD, Phone Art issued an open call to students to express their views on education through art, to be exhibited throughout the festival.

Folly Bah Thibault has been part of Al Jazeera Network’s stated goal of giving voice to the voiceless’ and setting the international news agenda as a senior anchor. She founded Elle Ira A l’Ecole’ to promote the education of girls in Guinea and enable them to access a profession that brings them freedom and dignity.

Social media influencers have a responsibility towards society, believes Haneen al Saify. A chemical engineer who pursued her passion to positively inspire, Haneen has amassed a huge following on social media as a lifestyle influencer. Her success has motivated her to give back through humanitarian charities such as Qatar Cancer Society and Hifz Alnaema’.

Fatema al Malki, founder of literacy programme Qatar Reads, is promoting storytelling through her Stories to Go’ initiative, which takes a new approach to reading as informative, fun and locally relevant. The theme of their November Family Reading Program is a collaboration with WISE and DLD Curiosity. Qatar Reads also collaborated with WISE, ACTory and Qatar Music Academy to present an original musical performance at the DLD opening ceremony recently.

ACTory’s Tamara Rodrigues has a deep passion for theatre, and with Svetlana Schmitz brings stories to life for adults and children on small stages in Germany, on the streets of Tuscany, Italy, to stages in Qatar at concerts with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and Maktaba Qatar for productions such as Nour, a Girl of the Desert’ and Hamda and Fisaikra’.

The participants of DLD will be able to meet these 20 inspirational women during the event, which runs from November 14 to 19. All activities and sessions are open to the public and free-to-attend. More details on the event is available at https //www.wiseqatar.org/wise-2019/dohalearning-days/