Building character, not just classrooms: Qatar Foundation ’s human approach to learning

At Qatar Foundation (QF), values such as respect, empathy, and integrity are not taught as standalone lessons. Instead, they are woven into every learning experience – from community projects and sports to extracurricular activities, theater, and music. "We do not define human values as slogans written on walls or theoretical concepts to be memorised, but as daily behaviour that builds the person before filling notebooks,” says Sara H al-Hajri, director of Student Affairs and Community Engagement at QF Pre-University Education. "They are principles that make the student a moral actor, open to others, and responsible toward their community.

"This is because our goal is to build a balanced personality – not just a student who memorises information. We do not talk to students about values; we place them in situations that produce values.” This model of values-based education plays a vital role in advancing both national development and global sustainability goals. The approach of embedding ethics and empathy into every aspect of learning, al-Hajri says, is "the most sustainable investment in Qatar’s future.” On a local level, QF integrates these values through initiatives such as the Islamic Civilisation Curriculum, which links identity to action, teaching students that civilisation is not something to be told, but to be built. Globally, QF promotes a model that can be applied in any educational context, because, as al-Hajri explains, "values are human, not geographical.” Programmes such as Thimun Qatar see students from countries all over the world come together to practice diplomacy, dialogue, and respect for differences, in a student-led environment. "This is not learning about values,” says al-Hajri. "It is living them on a global scale. "We want students to be rooted in their identity and global in their thinking, because true values create citizens capable of making an impact both locally and globally.” The upcoming WISE 12 Summit – the latest edition of the biennial international gathering of educational expertise organised by QF’s global education initiative WISE – will spotlight QF’s belief in cultivating the values that make us human. Taking place from November 24–25, at the Qatar National Convention Centre, the two-day event, under the theme ‘Humanity.io: Human Values at the Heart of Education,’ will explore the purpose of education and its continuing role in serving humanity even as it incorporates new technologies and innovations. According to Bassim Hijazi, Community Development Lead at WISE, these values have become even more vital in today’s world, one shaped by technology and marked by conflict and climate challenges.