In an article appeared yesterday in the views page, H E Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, highlighted how the past two years of blockade have prompted Qatar to think hard and give top priority to education.
The siege which marked its second year on June 5, at its first moments was shocking and made people concerns because of the sudden cut-off from some neighbouring Middle East because of the imposition of sea, land and air blockade.
During these two years, Qatar has made remarkable achievements in all fields, doubling efforts to implement mega and strategic projects many of which have been completed ahead of their schedule.
Despite the pain caused to family members, students and patients that disrupted their education or treatments in the blockading countries, the siege was great opportunity for Qatar and its people to discover their positional and talents under the wise leadership of the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the right strategic choice the country made decades ago.
Sheikha Hind pointed out in her article that the “twenty-four months on from the start of this blockade, Qatar has not only survived, but demonstrated how the strategic choices our country made decades ago have given us the resilience and determination to keep moving forward and thrive for the good of our country – in the name of knowledge”.
One of the significant achievements was made in the field of education. Few weeks ago Qatar Foundation, which has students from more than 60 countries at its partner universities, celebrated the graduation of 800 students, H E Sheikha Hind highlighted. No single student has been forced to interrupt education by the Qatari authorities, at the time there were students who weren’t allowed by their home countries to return to Doha to complete their programs. With the past two years not only there were no students interrupted their education but rather the proportion of students from outside Qatar was become higher.
According to Her Excellency since the start of the blockade, two new institutions were opened, the Qatar National Library, and Sidra Medicine. As well the education city reinforced its “role as a regional hub of innovation through the launch of the Arab Innovation Academy, hosted by QF member Qatar Science & Technology Park. Its second edition, launched in January this year, brought together 160 young innovators, as well as experts and investors, from more than 30 countries” H E highlighted.
So QF has created “opportunities for many curious young people, and Qatar’s investment in education has sent a message to the region and the world about how knowledge and innovation have no boundaries or constraints”.
