The Doha Learning Days Festival is underway at Msheireb Museums and is welcoming enthusiastic school students, youth, families and other members of the public with a programme of more than 50 informal, experiential educational and recreational activities. Hosted by Qatar Foundation (QF)’s global education initiative, the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), in collaboration with over 20 content partners, the festival is taking learning out of the traditional classroom setting. Taking place until tomorrow, it offers workshops, masterclasses, well-being and sports activities of all kinds, inspiring exchanges around sustainability and inclusivity while encouraging innovative problem-solving.
Focusing on coding and robotics, language learning, advocacy, financial literacy and other areas, Doha Learning Days offers meaningful, interactive informal learning opportunities. Activities are open to the public at no charge, with drop-in sessions from 5pm-9pm every day until tomorrow.
Dedicated sessions for schools in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education have demonstrated innovative teaching approaches, and a host of offshoot activities greatly expanded the learning space into the city.
QF’s Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future hosted a visit to Qatar’s unique mangroves, a chance for students to experience place-based learning to foster a sense of identity and responsibility while connecting them to their environment. Using Earthna’s eco-schools’ resources, students gained a more thorough knowledge of the mangroves and the means of protecting and restoring Qatar’s ecological treasure.
A unique showcase at Bin Jelmood House brought together the young students in the 2022 WISE Learner's Voice programme. The learners – from public and private schools in Qatar – explored the new ideas they developed during their learning journey with WISE and discussed solutions to the world’s pressing education challenges. The session highlighted how the WISE fellowship programme builds learner agency and fosters better connections between students and their local ecosystems to better prepare them for civic engagement and public participation.
Uniquely linking language learning and a social inclusion vision, Qatar Foundation International (QFI) collaborated with Best Buddies Qatar to lead a session of Arabic yoga, pairing primary school students of different abilities with volunteers of the same age group to create friendships. Speaking on the sidelines of the day’s sessions, Shahd Dauleh, Learning Ecosystems associate at WISE, said: “We’re really excited about this year’s Doha Learning Days festival. Experiential learning provides immense value for people of all ages, expanding our ability to explore, develop and practise new skills. We hope that everyone takes advantage of all the program has to offer. Our goal is to inspire a lifelong love of learning in everyone who attends.”
QFI also presented 'Tilemaker-An Introduction to Mosaic Art and Architecture'. Students were able to put their artistic skills into practice, creating mosaic designs and sharing their tessellations while learning about the common shapes and patterns used in Islamic architecture.
Omar Tarabishi, programme officer at QFI, said: “WISE’s Doha Learning Days is creating an inspiring environment that reinforces the importance of student-centered informal learning that develops their values and purpose. It is incredible for QFI to be part of this festival and enable students to be empowered by learning experiences that will also have a lasting positive social impact.”
The weekend promises many more opportunities for experiential learning and reflection for different ages and interests. The founders of the Autism Parents Platform will be engaging in a conversation with members of the community who have a direct connection to an autistic person, aiming to shed light on the impact autism has both on families and those around them.
The festival programme emphasises hands-on learning in all forms. Combining tech with creativity, Studio 5/6 will host a series of 'Robotics Challenges', where students can code, experiment and interact with different robots such as Spherobolt, Ozobot and Vex. 'Colors From Nature'” by Dadu will see children learning about the sources of natural colours and how to extract them from different plants.
Young learners play while learning new skills and socialise with Kidzania’s activities. Animal Ambassadors (Qatar Academy Doha) will build an understanding of how and why ‘snuffle mats’ support animal rescue dogs housed in shelters and participants can also learn how to make the mats.