ABP students during the National Day celebrations
The Academic Bridge Programme (ABP), a centre of Qatar Foundation, celebrated Qatar National Day with students paying tributes to the culture and heritage of the country.
The Liberal Arts and Science building, which houses ABP in Education City, was decorated with Qatari flags. A huge comment board was filled by the end of the day with expressions of patriotic love, comments and poetry.
The programme began with poetry recitals by Khaled Ajran, Saqr al-Kubaisi, Mohamed Mansour, Dana al-Hammadi and Mariam al-Nuaimi.
This was followed by a short documentary film about Qatari culture created especially for the Qatar National Day by Aisha al-Kuwari and Jowaher al-Mannai and another short video by Fatima Fakhro.
The day concluded with a traditional Qatari sword performance (Arda) performed by students. Throughout the celebrations souvenirs were handed out and traditional Qatari food was served.
The programme was organised by ABP students in collaboration with the ABP student services department and was attended by students, faculty and staff and guests from the Faculty of Islamic Studies.
Around 270 students, of which about 85% are Qatari, from 23 different countries are currently studying at the ABP, which prepares high school graduates to qualify for admission to reputable English language universities around the world, with special emphasis on the universities in Education City.
The ABP has currently more than 60 employees, 17% of whom are Qataris and the rest from 15
different nationalities.

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