Qatar Foundation - Community Development

Community Development

Qatar Foundation's community development initiatives fall into three categories:

• Fostering a progressive society
• Enhancing our cultural life and protecting Qatar’s heritage
• Addressing the community's immediate social needs

Fostering a progressive society appropriate to the knowledge economy:

• The Doha Debates filmed at Education City and broadcast by BBC World News
• Lakom Al Karar ("the decision is yours") – a nationally televised discussion program with politicians
• QatarDebate – debate workshops and competitions to raise the standards of open discussion among Qatari students (it hosted the World Schools Debating Championship in 2010)
• Qatar Career Fair – annual event showcasing the range of career options available to Qatari students and graduates

Enhancing cultural life and protecting Qatar's heritage:

• Al Jazeera Children's Channel is part of Qatar Foundation and is broadcast from Education City along with Baraem, the Arabic channel aimed at preschoolers
• Al shaqab – equine education resource centre. Among its many equestrian amenities are a riding academy, an endurance training complex, and a centre for the breeding and showing of world-class Arabian horses
• Arab and Islamic Heritage Library holds a prized collection of books, periodicals, manuscripts, maps, and scientific instruments dating back to the 15th century
• Mathaf - the Arab Museum of Modern Art was opened in 2010 in association with Qatar Museum Authority and is host to exhibitions, programs and events that explore and celebrate art by Arab artists
• Msheireb – commercial development south of the Diwan area, showcasing best practice architecture in rebuilding a new heart for the city. This project, originally called "Heart of Doha" was renamed "Msheireb" in reference to the historical name of the area.
• Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra – established in 2008, it consists of 101 musicians and aims to enhance musical culture in Qatar

Addressing immediate social needs in the community:

• Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) – charity initiative focused on assisting community development projects in Asian countries. It has responded to crises in places such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Lebanon, and Gaza.
• Qatar Diabetes Association – offers programs and services to people coping with diabetes, a prominent problem in the Middle East.
• Social Development Center runs targeted community programs to help Qatari families achieve self-reliance. It promotes the building of stable and self-sufficient families by offering workplace training and engendering a positive work ethic in low-income families, women, and young people.
• The Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development – conducts research and promotes scholarship on the legal, sociological, and scientific basis of the natural family as the fundamental unit of society.