HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, witness the signing of two memorandums of understanding between Qatar Foundation with leading organisations and governmental departments in the UK at City Hall in London yesterday. PICTURE: AR Al-Baker / HHOPL
HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, met with Mayor of London Boris Johnson and British Minister of Culture Ed Vaizey in City Hall in London yesterday to discuss the mutual interest of Qatar and the UK in developing areas of collaboration in science, technology and education.
During the occasion, HH Sheikha Moza shared the importance of promoting Arabic language, culture and civilisation and recognised the mayor’s serious interest in the pursuit of education and research initiatives in the Arabic language as part of the Qatar-UK Year of Culture.
The meeting marks the latest in a number of initiatives planned during the Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture. After the meeting, HH Sheikha Moza, the mayor of London, and the minister of culture addressed a distinguished audience gathered at the City Hall to witness the signing of two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) by Qatar Foundation with leading organisations and departments in the UK.
The first MoU was signed between Qatar Foundation, the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the UK Higher Education International Unit and the British Council in order to establish a high-level bilateral forum focusing on research and education. The agreement will pursue in detail four themes, namely Education, Research and Development, Innovation Capacity, and Social and Cultural Development.
Dr Fathy Saoud, president, Qatar Foundation said: “There is a desire to develop the creative potential of young people as well as to support their interests in a wide range of fields. This is at the very heart of Qatar Foundation’s mission and by working with leading UK institutions to encourage greater co-operation in arts and culture, our mission can be further advanced.”
The second MoU was signed to support the teaching and learning of Arabic language and culture across UK schools. Dr Saoud said: “Qatar Foundation, along with the British Council and the Mayor of London, is laying the foundations of this project to significantly increase the number of students learning Arabic, increase the number of those teaching Arabic, and improve understanding of the Arab world across the UK. This is an important asset to celebrate the Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture.”
Qatar Foundation supports a large number of collaborative projects in partnership with UK institutions and universities, which also serve Qatar’s needs in developing human capacity and earning recognition as an important generator of knowledge across the world.
The latest was the inauguration of University College London Qatar. Dr Saoud also highlighted the strategic partnership with Imperial College London in research, robotic surgery, Biobank, and the Qatar Cardiovascular Research Centre.
A landmark project with the British Library to digitise over 500,000 pages of historical material relating to the Gulf region from the India Office Records and medieval Arabic manuscripts digitised and made accessible online for the first time, is progressing.
An event was also held at Clarence House in the UK yesterday to mark the fourth meeting of the Mosaic International Leadership Programme. Mosaic was founded in 2007 by the Prince of Wales to create opportunities for young people of all backgrounds who are growing up in disadvantaged communities.
Dr Saoud, addressed outstanding young Muslim leaders on behalf of HH Sheikha Moza alongside the Prince of Wales, calling upon 80 Muslim participants to find innovative solutions to the world’s interconnected problems by celebrating diversity and embracing universal human values.
Dr Fathy added: “Technology has broken down boundaries and brought us all closer together. Today, we have a unique opportunity to shape this open world. Each of us must decide how we live together. How we define ourselves and others.,”
Prince Charles thanked HH Sheikha Moza and Qatar Foundation for their continued support as an outcome of the MoU that was signed in June with the Prince of Wales Foundation.
