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Qatar’s efforts on food security have granted unprecedented stability to the food and agricultural sector in the country, according to a researcher from Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, (Qeeri), part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). “Local food production has boomed over the past four years, and farming activities have increased across Qatar. Several market and governmental incentives were put in place to facilitate producers and consumers in supporting local products,’ Dr Annamaria Mazzoni, a research associate at Qeeri said in an article. Dr Mazzoni says that Qatar’s efforts at food security proved to be resilient during the Covid-19 epidemic. She noted: “Qatar’s quest for food security and sustainability has received much attention over the years and all the sectors in the country have shown the ability to prioritise it and align actions for its realisation.” Writing in HBKU newsletter Wamdha, the researcher said that the Qatar National Food Security Strategies (2018-2023), is currently undergoing updates, focus on enhancing local food production, the diversification of import sources, building up a strategic reserve to balance food stocks, making optimal use of the country’s natural and water resources, and the employment of renewable energies in the agricultural sector. “These efforts have granted unprecedented stability to the food and agricultural sector, which has proven resilient during the Covid-19 epidemic. Thanks to the policy focus, cross-sectoral strategies, and long-term planning, Qatar was indeed able to sustain the sudden disruption of global food supply chains caused by the pandemic and as of 2021, Qatar ranks 24th globally and second at regional level accordingly to the Global Food Security Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit,” she explained. Dr Mazzoni is optimistic that Qatar shall continue to strive to attain a sustainable food system through several ways. She suggested: “Climate change is one of the global challenges and the expansion of the use of renewable energies should also apply to the food sector. Similarly, diversification of water sources and groundwater conservation is crucial for sustainable natural resources management. Food waste reduction is a key aspect for further development of the food sector and goes hand in hand with food safety practices.” “Monitoring plays a critical role in quality assurance and observance of standards for the import, production, processing, preparation, and disposal of food products, since a big part of the food is still imported. Lastly, further research and efforts in improving healthy diets and food habits should be materialised in related policies,” she continued. Dr Mazzoni also highlighted the need for further research on food security and the efforts by Qeeri in this direction. “Food security and food systems’ sustainability are an integral part of the research topics across all centres and programmes at Qeeri. Thanks to its diverse expertise, Qeeri is tackling the environmental, economic, and social challenges of improving local food production and enhancing the food security sector in the country,” she added.

A research by Qatar University (QU) shows that gum infections can lead to developing severe Covid-19. Though bleeding gum while brushing can be a common factor and taken lightly, gum diseases can lead to severe Covid-19 due to many other factors, according to the details of the study published in the latest edition (December 2021) of the QU research magazine. The research was led by Dr Nadia Maarout, associate consultant from Hamad Dental Centre and Dr Faleh Tamimi, associate dean for Academic Affairs, at the College of Dental Medicine, QU. The researchers say that the strong association between Covid-19 and oral health could be caused by the fact that periodontitis causes a chronic inflammation that makes patients more susceptible to the severe and dangerous inflammation caused by Covid-19. The researchers investigated the records of 568 patients that suffered from Covid-19 and found that a significant portion of the patients that suffered severe Covid-19 complications and even death, had advanced periodontitis, a type of chronic inflammation of the gums. “After adjusting for several factors such as patient’s age, gender and chronic diseases, the link between periodontitis and Covid-19 complications was statistically significant and it revealed that patients with periodontitis were at least three times more likely to experience Covid-19 complications regardless of age, gender and other conditions of the patients,” the study says. Periodontitis is mostly caused by poor oral hygiene and lack of maintenance of the dental condition, thus the findings of the study highlight the importance of maintaining a good dental care, and the regular teeth and gum check-ups. Dentists might also play an important role in prevention of the advancement of gum diseases. The research has been highlighted by 'Nature', one of the most prestigious scientific journals. Moreover, the study was also endorsed by several prestigious scientific organisations such as the American Academy of Periodontology, the International Association for Dental Research and the European Federation of Periodontology among others. The study spearheaded by Dr Tamimi was shared by several news outlets around the world including some leading TV stations and newspapers such as Fox News, The Times, El Pais, ABC news, and CBC, among others. This article had also one of the highest altimetric indices in the entire scientific literature. The altimetric index is an index designed to showcase the attention and influence of research and indicates how often journal articles are discussed and used around the world. The altimetric index of this article is probably the highest ever in dentistry and one of the highest in the history of Qatar.

Qatar had the highest number of recovered cases of Covid-19 among the Arab countries in the first 12 months of the prevalence of the disease, according to a study released two months ago. “Qatar with a total recovery of 54,712 cases from February 2020 to February 2021, had the highest number of recovered cases per million population, followed by Lebanon, Kuwait, UAE, and Jordan with 42,849, 41,700, 38,239, and 33,943, respectively,” says the study ‘One-year Review of Covid-19 in the Arab World’ published in Qatar Medical Journal and featured on QScience.com. In what could be the first study about Covid-19 prevalence in the Arab countries, the authors of the study, Nasar Alwahaibi, Muna al-Maskari, Buthaina al-Dhahli, Halima al-Issaei and Samiya al-Jaaidi Shadia al-Bahlani from the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman highlights that the study included all the 22 Arab countries and was aimed to assess the 12-month prevalence of Covid-19 in Arab countries and to compare these findings with other significantly affected countries. The study also points out that Bahrain, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait, and the UAE had the highest reported number of confirmed Covid-19 cases per million population with 70,214, 58,289, 55,113, 44,282, and 39,165, respectively. Based on a 12-month evaluation from February 2020 to February 2021, the trend showed that the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in all Arab countries with 631,692 cases was recorded in November. In the same month, Jordan, Morocco, Iraq, Lebanon, and Tunisia scored their highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases. The total number of Covid-19 deaths in the Arab countries was 72,950, with predominance in Lebanon, followed by Tunisia, Jordan, Palestine, and Iraq. The study also shows that Bahrain had the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases and Lebanon had the highest number of deaths per million population. “The number of confirmed and death cases among Arab countries trigger significant worries about morbidity and mortality related to Covid-19, respectively. However, a younger Arab population in the world may contribute to fewer Covid-19 deaths in comparison with the topmost affected countries worldwide,” the study said. The report also points out that the first Arab country to have officially reported the presence of Covid-19 was UAE, with five cases on January 29, 2020. Egypt was the second Arab country and the first Arab-African country to declare the presence of Covid-19 on February 14, 2020. Comoros was the last of the Arab countries to declare the presence of Covid-19 on April 30, 2020. The data was collected from World Health Organisation, Worldometer, and from the websites of the Ministries of Health in all Arab countries. As of March 01, 2021, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in all Arab countries was 4,259,756. In comparison with the topmost affected countries, and based on both the highest number of confirmed and deaths per million population, Arab countries ranked second last before India, with 9,646 and 165 cases, respectively.

*Punarjani Qatar provides assistance to Indians in distress Indian expatriate forum Punarjani Qatar has continued to repatriate a number of critically ill patients in 2021 and so far, the organisation has repatriated about 35 needy persons to various states. Jugiraj Sing Sarwan Singh, a native of Kapurthala, Punjab and working with Karwa was rushed to Emergency at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) due to some health issues. Later, he was shifted to Rumailah Hospital in April, for long therapy and treatment. Punarjani planned his repatriation after contacting his family in Punjab and arranged a letter of acceptance from a hospital in Amritsar. After arranging his compensation and insurance from authorities, he was repatriated recently to Amritsar where he was received by his family and got admitted in a hospital at Amritsar for further medical support. Ismail Mohamed Rawter, a 47-year-old, from Alathur, Kerala, was also repatriated recently. He suffered a severe heart attack and was admitted in the Emergency at Wakra Hospital in 2020. Later he was shifted to the long-term Care Unit at Rumailah Hospital Punarjani arranged his repatriation as the family wanted to provide further treatment at his native place. On December 16, he was repatriated with a doctor and nurse to Kochi International Airport. The forum had also arranged an ambulance with a doctor and nurse at Kochi to take him to the hospital. Further, Punarjani helped the repatriation of Yunoos Pauvvakkal Nhattuvayal, a 36-year-old from Kannur. He was under long-term treatment in Enaya Speciality Care Centre for the past several months and was in a semi-conscious stage. A doctor and nurse accompanied him on the flight. Nhattuvayal, working as driver in a company in Qatar, had a cardiac arrest which affected his brain and development of neurological issues. Punarjani volunteers co-ordinated with Enaya hospital staff, Indian embassy, Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) and the airlines for his travel, and with Pariyaram Medical College in India, for getting their consent for further treatment. Another successful repatriation this year was of Thoppayyan Aellappan Periabodi Shetty, a 61-year-old, from Chennai, Tamil Nadu who reached his family recently. Thoppayyan was undergoing treatment at the Qatar Rehabilitation Centre for physical fitness, after being admitted due to severe chest pain and thereafter started suffering from memory loss. "With assistance from several people, we were able to help him travel back home," an official of Punarjani said. Finally, Siraj Ahmed Syed a native of Hyderabad was safely handed over to his family members at the Hyderabad Airport with Punarjani’s assistance. He was working as a driver in a limousine company in Qatar and was admitted to HMC, as he complained of extreme fatigue. Later, he was shifted to the Qatar Rehabilitation Centre for physiotherapy and due to vision problems caused by lifestyle diseases, he was sent for further treatment. Punarjani Qatar has thanked HMC, Indian embassy, ICBF and various airlines for all the support and assistance in the repatriation efforts. In all the cases, the forum contacted the sponsors to get financial settlements from their companies. The organisation also conducted two blood donation drives in 2021, with the participation of over 200 members. It also helps with burial in Qatar as well as with consular services and deportation assistance among others.

A Qatar Foundation ( QF) economist is working on a new energy systems model that will help Qatar reach its GHG (Greenhouse gas) emissions targets to mitigate climate change. Through a project awarded by QF’s Qatar National Research Fund, in collaboration with Imperial College London, he is currently working on developing Qatar’s first energy systems model in collaboration with, stakeholders in government, industry, and research. “The model will help identify energy transition pathways that the country can use to create a road map to reach its aim of 25% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030, and chart the course for further emissions reduction by 2050 and beyond,” said, Dr Marcello Contestabile, principal economist at Qatar Environment and Energy Institute, part of QF’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University. “Using the model, we can set a target for decarbonisation, and then the model helps work out how to achieve that target and the most cost-effective technologies to invest in, taking into consideration all the relevant uncertainties,” explained Dr Contestabile, according to an article published on the QF website. The main purpose of this project is to equip Qatar with a tool to support policymaking and strategic planning concerning its energy, economic, and environmental policy goals. The model will help identify the mix of technologies that can reduce emissions most effectively both in terms of quantity as well as cost effectiveness, and so on. “The type of model we are developing is called TIMES,” Dr Contestabile said. “It is the most used model worldwide and will allow us to equip Qatar with the same capabilities for performing energy systems analysis as leading governments and institutions around the world.” The expert continued: “To support a country in planning the transformation of its energy system, a vital tool is an energy systems model. To mitigate climate change, we need a major transformation of the global energy system – one that is unparalleled in its speed and scope.” “Energy systems consist of distinct but interlinked sectors such as power generation, transport, buildings, and industry. Achieving carbon emission reductions requires intervening on all these sectors simultaneously, while taking the complex nature of the system into due consideration to avoid unintended consequences,” he remarked. The expert noted that energy systems models compute costs, fuel consumption, and emissions for each sector over time, and help identify optimal paths for reaching the desired policy targets through the transformation of the energy system, taking all relevant constraints into account. Emphasising the need for such a model to kickstart change, Prof Adam Hawkes, director of the Sustainable Gas Institute and Professor of Energy Systems in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, said: “Qatar is in an enviable position to create an energy system and industrial sector that are aligned with Paris Agreement targets. “The energy systems model we are building in this project is a tool for all stakeholders in Qatar to understand and ask questions of what that future could look like. It can give crucial information to policymakers and industry alike, enabling all to explore the impact of energy strategies for the future,” added, Prof Hawkes. According to Dr Contestabile, the value this project can bring to the country’s climate mitigations plans is significant, but it will depend heavily on the level of stakeholder engagement. One of the project’s partners is Kahramaa. As part of their Tarsheed programme, Kahramaa is co-ordinating the deployment of new technology such as solar photovoltaics and related energy storage capacity to manage intermittency, smart grids, electric vehicles, and related charging infrastructure, and more. The model – once developed – with its ability to test different strategies to achieve policy targets will serve as an essential analytical tool in supporting Kahramaa maximise the benefits of deploying low-carbon technologies that are energy-efficient.

*Amir, Father Amir attend Qatar National Day parade His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and a number of dignitaries attended the National Day Parade at Doha Corniche Saturday as the country celebrated the occasion with patriotic fervour and grandeur. Doha Corniche was the hub of activities of the day with the ceremonial parade taking place at 9am leading to the culmination of the celebrations with an eye-popping fireworks in the evening, after the final match of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021. Amir greets the spectators who gathered to watch the Qatar National Parade on the Corniche. Large crowds had gathered at the Corniche area in the morning to watch the proceedings of the parade. Entry to the venue was by invitation, and all precautionary and preventive measures against Covid-19 were observed. The parade was also attended by His Highness the Amir's Personal Representative His Highness Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE Sheikh Jassim bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani and a number of their excellencies, sheikhs and ministers. The ceremonial event featured an infantry parade, with no military vehicles taking part. The official Qatar News Agency said the parade was also attended by HE Speaker of the Shura Council Hassan bin Abdullah al-Ghanem, and a number of Council members, in addition to a number of the country's guests, including President of FIFA Gianni Infantino, Minister of Interior of the French Republic Gerald Darmanin, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Tunisia Kamal Daqish, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Malta Evarist Bartolo, Secretary General of the Interpol Jurgen Stock, and Commander of the US Air Forces Central Command Lieutenant-General Gregory M Guillot. It was also attended by a number of branch and unit commanders, senior officers of the armed forces and the Ministry of Interior, in addition to notables and participating parties. Following the National Anthem and the firing of the 18-shot gun salute , the national parade started with a display of a group of modern naval vessels, including transport and logistical support ships, speedboats, ships and combat boats equipped with the latest defensive and offensive systems. It was followed by an air show of various types of aircraft , F-15 'Ababil' and Rafale 'Al Adiyat', Mirage Sniper multi-mission fighters and Typhoon 'Al-Dhariyat'. The helicopter group was headed by Apache 'Sajeel'. Other combat aircraft, helicopters, transport aircraft, cargo aircraft, and evacuation aircraft also took part. | The armed forces' infantry show was led by Leopard tank and two Jeopardy air defence armoured vehicles, followed by the Land Forces, the Air Force, the Navy, the Air Defence, the Military Police, the Border Corps, the various military colleges, the Joint Special Forces, the Amiri Guard and the Interior Ministry's infantry, the Establishments and Authorities Security Department forces and Al Fazaa forces, which was followed by a show of Lekhwiya, with the entry of various military factions, horsemen and camel cavalry. The march concluded with the entry of paratroopers and air military shows.

With streets, building and vehicles draped in maroon and white; public and private organisations and institutes holding celebratory events all through the previous weeks and the citizens as well as expatriates in a festive mood, Qatar is all set to celebrate the National Day with the crowning jewel of a ceremonial parade at Doha Corniche 9am Saturday. Held under the theme ‘Ancestral Meadows: A Matter of Trust’, the occasion aims at strengthening solidarity, loyalty and pride of Qatar national identity with the values of inspiration, participation, innovation and transparency. The theme also reflects how the environment is part of Qatar’s heritage and must be preserved for future generations. The Qatar National Day parade will feature an infantry parade and air and naval shows, but no military vehicles. The entry for public is by invitation. Access will be allowed only until 7.30am. There will be spectacular fireworks at Doha Corniche in the evening, after the final match of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021. The musical water fountain and light show, which has been going on for over three weeks, will conclude tomorrow. The show is being held at the Corniche from Al Masrah Park to Pearl Monument. Aspire Park and Al Wakra Old Souq are two places where a lot of traditional activities have been taking place for several days. Aspire Park is hosting a number of events, including activities and competitions, and the visitors are introduced to Qatari customs and traditions. Activities at Al Wakra Old Souq include several heritage games and competitions, giving children the opportunity to participate in various traditional group games. There is another event focusing on taking photographs inspired by the Qatari heritage along with an exhibition of old photography equipment. Qatar Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Qatar National Day, and Daam Fund held the first performing arts festival, D’reesha, in Education City, showcasing a variety of local talent. D’reesha Performing Arts Festival 2021 that concluded Friday was a pioneering event integrating multiple disciplines, ranging from theatre and poetry to research, education and technology. It also explored the nature of performing arts and engage a new generation of innovative artists.

A research team from the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University is developing a remote healthcare platform for diabetes care, a first of its kind, as digital health tools are increasingly being used in the fight against the metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar. “CSE professor Dr Marwa Qaraqe’s team is developing a remote healthcare platform for diabetes care, a first of its kind. The platform has three main pillars: to conduct remote health monitoring, to enable real-time food tracking with Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) and to provide intelligent and predictive insights,” said Dr Mowafa Househ, associate professor at CSE. “The tool is both a mobile and web-based application that allows users to view their CGM data remotely and in real-time. It can be accessed by essential people such as caregivers, parents of children with diabetes, school nurses, and medical professionals, and it receives better analytical insight by correlating the user’s CGM data with their diet,” explained Dr Househ. According to Dr Househ, remote monitoring continues to be essential for many reasons, including decreasing the levels of social discomfort for young diabetic children at school, who must be periodically taken out of class to check their blood-glucose levels. “It also provides a way for caregivers and parents to monitor the blood-glucose of their loved ones even when they are not around, and intervene when blood-glucose levels begin to drop or rise beyond a safe limit,” he continued. Dr Househ pointed that integration of technology and mobile applications is important for the management of diabetes and accessing care. He noted: “We have moved beyond the single-use of mobile applications and into wearable technologies integrated with mobile applications - and powered by artificial intelligence - to provide immediate feedback to patients and providers. The goal of these technologies is to amplify the health value to the patients and help them make simple changes to their behaviours that can assist in managing their blood glucose levels, reduce or eliminate diabetes complications.” Dr Alaa Abd-Alrazaq, a postdoctoral research fellow at CSE feels that there are also some considerations that are specific to our part of the world such as drawing fine lines between patient and physician autonomy. “We need to advance our local studies and understand the role of these technologies on our patient populations in Qatar. We should not limit ourselves to the mere application of research that was developed within different populations and groups - mostly emanating from North America,” he pointed out. “At CSE, Dr Zubair Shah has developed Chronopeer. The tool’s objective is to provide community-based help in the form of peer-supported groups. It also enables continuous monitoring of the lifestyle behaviours of patients,” noted Dr Abd-Alrazaq. Dr Househ told that as in the case with any emerging technologies, privacy questions play a central role in their development and adoption rates in the future. “ In addition to privacy concerns, we are also confronted with questions around what type of education may be most beneficial and needed for patients. How can we educate patients on identifying the most trustworthy and effective applications to use? We need to be able to contextualise and provide information in local languages, as well as the languages that are most prominent and popular in each country,” he remarked. Other issues might be who will pay for these technologies as well as adherence to the use of the technologies and applications. “ There will be many technological advancements that will be used in the future management of diabetes. However, we need to find the right mix of technologies, culture and patient values to provide the best patient experiences, which will ultimately lead to an improved quality of life. This approach should encompass both physical and mental aspects,” added, Dr Househ.

Education is the key to overcome several social pandemics, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, said at a plenary session at WISE Summit 2021 on Thursday. "I believe that education is the antidote for all our social pandemics, such as intolerance, inequality, you name it. If we understand the capability of education, I think we can achieve a lot,” she stated. "Though the Covid-19 pandemic has increased disproportionate burden on the disadvantaged children, I am really optimistic when we come together, we can achieve a lot. In the last one and a half years, we have seen the impact of a pandemic. But we have managed it and we are able to develop a vaccine, an antidote to the virus." In her interaction at the session on " Educate A Child - Zero Out of School Children", Sheikha Moza touched on the EAA Foundation's "zero" strategy, which aims to reduce the percentage of out-of-school children in several countries, stressing the need for all sectors to co-operate to achieve the goal of universal primary education. The EAA Foundation chairperson noted that universal primary education is just as important as "water is important to the body." “When I say education, I mean quality education. There is always a link between quality education and economic growth because it builds the skills and increases the productivity. It will be reflected in the GDP. Education is an enabler to uphold socio economic mobility,” highlighted Sheika Moza. “Education is the birth right for each child and it is also a way we can instill identities, culture and heritage in the young people. To me, education is a medium by which culture and heritage can be passed down to the young people. So we are building identity and confidence in their hearts and minds,” she explained. Highlighting the discussions at the summit, Sheikha Moza recalled that she had heard amazing ideas and thoughts. “For me, education is the basic need such as water, food and other things. Education is central for everything and if we have educated children, it means that we have educated the nation and a productive economy. And with this we can solve economic, social and cultural issues,” she maintained. As for the selection of countries for the Zero Out of School Children programme the EAA Foundation chairperson pointed out that it was done according to “their achievements and willingness to achieve this goal.” “The countries also need to have some good data for us to plan and measure the outcomes. These countries are like a showcase that can be replicated in other countries. We have presently four countries: Zanzibar, Djibouti, Rwanda and Gambia,” she said. The session was also attended by director-general of Unesco Audrey Azoulay, and vice president of Gambia Dr Isatou Touray and moderated by Dareen Abughaida, principal presenter, Al Jazeera English. President of Rwanda Paul Kagame, also spoke virtually during the session. Azoulay remarked: "During the pandemic over 1.5bn children were impacted. There were inequalities not only between countries but within countries. Education is not the same when it is distance learning. We need the presence of teachers in the teaching learning process. Only 40% of the teachers had the training in conducting distance learning or online teaching. This was one of the major issues for countries and education in general,” "Above all, 500mn students were deprived of distance learning because they lacked internet learning. The digital divide was also widening the educational divide. Unesco created a global coalition to support global education during the pandemic. We have about 200 members in this coalition including several stakeholders and it is working in over 100 countries to protect the rights to education, supporting the reopening of the schools as early as possible,” continued Azoulay. Dr Touray noted that the EAA initiative has made a huge impact on her country enabling quality education for very young school going children.    

Qatar will launch a redesigned e-learning strategy in January, disclosed HE Buthaina bint Ali al-Jabar al-Nuaimi, Minister of Education and Higher Education. “In Qatar an e-learning system was introduced in the public schools in 2012. But it had not been fully integrated in the teaching and learning until the pandemic. When it was fully integrated we have realised the weaknesses and strengths the system has. This has led us to redesign our e-learning strategy which will be launched next January,” said, al-Nuaimi. The minster was speaking at the closing plenary session of WISE Summit 2021 along with fellow panelist, Anthony Seldon, former vice-chancellor, Buckingham University, UK and the session was moderated by Dareen Abughaida, principal presenter, Al Jazeera, English. Al-Nuaimi said that in the past decade, there has been a lot of changes in the way people work because of the technological advancements. “The pandemic has accelerated the transition to that. Technology has become and will continue to be an integral part of education. It is our responsibility to prepare the children for the future and for that to prepare our teachers. Our e-learning strategy has been designed in taking into consideration all the lessons learned from the pandemic and also through a consultation process with all the educational stakeholders,” said, the minister. She noted that the redesigned strategy has four major pillars. “The first one is governance, and how to enable an environment to promote innovation and empower schools while the second pillar is digital schools and professional development not only for students but also for teachers, administrators and other staff. The next part is the digital content and it has to be flexible and personalised. The last aspect is the infrastructure to ensure access to all,” she explained. According to her, the strategy focuses on the holistic development of the children and to prioritise their mental health. “Research, years ago has shown the correlation between mindset and academic achievement and it has been very clearly seen during the pandemic. We have seen rising levels of depression anxiety and mental health issues. It is very important to address these to enable the students to learn. We bring the emphasis on social and emotional learning in the schools. It is the teachers’ responsibilities to implement the programmes, having a frame work that places equal emphasis on the mental health and social and emotional wellbeing as well as the cognitive ability of the students,” she remarked. The minister also noted that the focus should be on the students, teachers and the curriculum. “For the teachers, we need to rethink and redesign the teacher training and even the initial teacher development. We always speak how to prepare teachers use technology. It is also important that we use technology in teacher training. It is important that the curriculum become interactive, flexible and personalised for the students with personalised pathways for the students. For this, there is a very important element which is school culture. Having the right culture help people flourish and recognise the diverse abilities of the child.This promotes an environment of trust, empowerment that would help students to learn,” she concluded. Seldon said that schools should be places where we should not be afraid of the word love. “School are often places of fear, fear of failure, fear of mistakes, fear of authorities and so on. We need to put trust in the system and we need to remind us that education means to lead out,” he said. “We need excellent leadership to promote active learning, companionship and how to become a better human being,” he concluded.    

Unless the present education set-up changes and evolves, there could be a skills crisis, noted young innovators at the WISE Summit 2021. “I personally feel that education needs to evolve. It needs to change both the way it is designed and delivered. We should be making technology a priority in education,” said Tanmay Bakshi, advisory software engineer, IBM, and Google Developer expert for Machine Learning, Canada. Eighteen-year-old Bakshi is also a TED and global keynote speaker, visiting professor at the University in Tokyo, bestselling author, media personality and YouTuber. He builds the technology for tomorrow and dreams of empowering at least 100,000 people in his lifetime with the technology they need to change the world. Augmenting songwriters, recognising people by their heartbeat, decoding mental states from EEG are just a few of the ways he has applied next-generation technology. Speaking at a plenary session at the summit, Bakshi said the education transition from the present system is not going to be easy. “We are headed to a skills crisis unless we change. It is important that we evolve, adapt and overcome the fear of change so that we can prevent the impending skills crisis," explained Bakshi. He said 72% of machine learning organisations have the most disruptive technologies. “Technology acts as the infrastructure for every other industry, every other domain. It means that technology and machine learning are universally applicable,” he said. “Human progress is growing exponentially. We can no longer rely on the old way of teaching somebody skills and they will apply it for the rest of their lives. This will no more work. People need to continuously adapt because by the time they have learned a skill, it will probably become obsolete,” he continued. He noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has proven that education can change. “Our education basically changed into a virtual mode in a matter of two weeks in the pandemic. It took a public health crisis to force us the change. If we are not proactive, we are headed to a skill crisis. We need to have a fundamental rethinking of education. What we need to do is to leverage this unique symbiotic relationship between technology and education to enable new capabilities,” he noted. “It is also important that students are all taught differently as we are all different. For that, we need human teachers and machines can work together in the classrooms,” he added. Describing his personal goals, he said: “Whenever I help the people and help them solve their problems, I feel that I have had an impact on their lives using the power of technology. It all started as a five-year-old watching my father programming. I started using various technologies and when I was nine years old, I developed my first application accepted into the Apple App Store,” he concluded.

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, attended the WISE Awards Plenary Session Wednesday. The 2021 WISE Awards winners came together for the ‘Post-pandemic Pillars of Education: Designing and Funding New Approaches to Learning’ plenary to shed light on how their work is defining the education landscape of tomorrow. HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, and a number of officials, experts and specialists from various countries participating in the conference, were present. WISE, Qatar Foundation’s global initiative dedicated to building the future of education through innovation, invited global audiences to share in an invaluable exchange of knowledge and dialogue on day two of the 2021 WISE Summit, with a range of virtual, in-person and hybrid sessions. In the final stages, 12 projects from nine countries competed for prizes, including six winning projects, all of which were evaluated according to strict criteria that include factors of innovation, scalability and sustainability and its impact on individuals, groups and societies in their local environments or at the global level, as well as the distinction of financial stability, adopting a clear development plan and be capable of development and replication. All seek to address the most pressing global challenges in the field of education. This year’s six winners are: the Delhi Government’s Happiness Curriculum, creating time at school to develop mindfulness, critical thinking and other social and emotional skills; Taleemabad, a ‘city of education’ in Pakistan providing localised content using digital technologies; Trauma Informed Schools in Turkey to help young Syrian refugees and the community around them; Onetab, a solar-charged tablet developed by the UK and Nigeria-based company Onebillion to build literacy and numeracy schools in any country; ProFuturo Digital Education Programme, from the Telefonica and la Caixa foundations, creating a digital education programme in areas without connectivity, and Let’s All Learn to Read , an innovative model for developing literacy in Colombia and Panama. Representatives of each of the winning projects spoke about how they had impacted the education in their countries and beyond. They also highlighted how their projects have helped millions of children around the world to get quality education and how this has a very positive impact on the students and their attitudes. In addition to publicity and networking opportunities, each project will receive $20,000. Dr Ameena Abdul-Majeed, director of programmes and chief curator at WISE handed over the awards at the session. Congratulating the winning projects and speaking about the projects and their impacts on the societies, Dr Abdul-Majeed noted that the projects are true examples of innovation and impactful education. “The work that is celebrated by the WISE Awards is vitally important, as each of our winners has built an effective, tested solution to a global educational challenge. The projects are already transforming lives and creating a pathway for others to follow. At this year’s Summit, we are not only congratulating our winners on their achievements, but also showcasing their innovation on a global stage. It is crucial that policymakers and civil society leaders look at those best practices as solutions for a greater impact on learners,” she said. The speakers at the WISE Awards plenary included Tanmay Bakshi, an 18-year-old Google Developer Expert for Machine Learning and Advisory Software Engineer at IBM; Emiliana Vegas, Senior Fellow and Co-Director at the Centre for Universal Education, Brookings Institution; Lydia Wilbard, National Director, CAMFED Tanzania; and Shannon May, Co-Founder and President of NewGlobe. Meanwhile, the WISE Studio hosted panels and chats, featuring experts from around the world, to discuss the future of edtech, student and teacher wellbeing, the relevance of higher education, and the importance of ethical leadership and learning ecosystems. Gitanjali Rao,16-year-old Innovator, Author, STEM Promoter and TIME Magazine’s ‘Kid of the Year’ 2020, , led an insightful Ask me Anything session on ‘Encouraging Girls to Embrace STEM Education’, inspiring girls and women to break free from biases, social norms and expectations standing in the way of their education quality. The 2021 WISE Summit will conclude with a plenary session this afternoon.

Thought leaders, policymakers and academics at the WISE Summit 2021 have discussed how to rethink and redefine education, especially in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, and shape it for tomorrow. Two plenary sessions highlighted the work pressure students have been undergoing and how the pandemic became a major catastrophe on education. A global reference in new approaches to education, the WISE Summit aims to lend a voice to a ‘muted’ generation that has borne the brunt of the biggest disruption to education in recent history, yet remains conspicuously absent from discussions on how to build back better. The session on ‘Post-pandemic Pillars of Education: Designing and Funding New Approaches to Learning’ saw Emiliana Vegas, co-director, Brookings; Shannon May, co-founder and president, NewGlobe, US; and Lydia Wilbard, national director, CAMFED, Tanzania; discuss the situation during the pandemic and the way forward. Highlighting the long-term impact of Covid-19 on schoolchildren and education, Vegas said the closure of schools is going to cause a significant loss of skills for students across the world. “However, those losses are not distributed equally as countries that were better prepared could manage the situation sooner than others. They were much better placed to mitigate the learning loss effectively. The impact of it on less developed countries may lead to generations of poverty, loss of productivity among others,” she said. May, who was primarily working with the African countries, noted that the pandemic was catastrophic for the entire education sector. She said: “Incredibly limited budgets for governments, houses without even a single computer and no broadband in many areas, it was a major setback for the students.” “We make use of the experience of the girls to bring to the table the programmes that work for the children from marginalised communities. Any crisis impacts women and children more than others and Covid-19 was no exception. School closure meant for the girls that they were far more vulnerable. We created mentorship programmes that connect with community members and parents to provide social support for the girls,” explained Wilbard. Vegas also suggested that governments, philanthropists and funding agencies should turn their priority to education. “Cutting education budgets can create huge problems in the future. We need to generate awareness about it and there should be efforts to support education especially among the most affected countries,” she added. Another plenary session of the day, titled ‘Big Shock, Big Reforms’, cast a look at the idea that shocks, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, can be a powerful catalyst for innovation. Thought leaders, including Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence; Zhou Yijun, journalist and documentary filmmaker; David Moinina Sengeh, Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and chief innovation officer of Sierra Leone; and Sidharth Santhosh, research consultant, Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, explored the impact of technology on long-expected reforms in education, reshaped student-teacher relationships and the wider societal implications of education reform. Addressing the plenary session, Marc Brackett broached the topic of emotional intelligence in learning with several thought-provoking questions, from “When someone asks you how you are feeling, can you be open and authentic?” to “What are the barriers to permission to feel?”. “At this point in time, we have a mental health crisis amongst our children. In many ways, it is our moral obligation that every child gets the emotional education they deserve. What that really means is that we have to be the best possible role models for them,” he concluded.

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF) has highlighted the need to empower the youth with quality education. She was delivering a special address at the opening plenary session of the WISE global summit 2021 on Tuesday at Qatar National Convention Centre. The event is being held physically and with more than 10,000 online participants worldwide under the theme ‘Generation Unmute: Reclaiming our Future Through Education.’ " Listening to young people and recognising their indispensable role in decision-making is no longer a choice; it is an imperative," Sheikh Moza stated. "We are all aware that the intellectual capacity of the current generations has expanded because of opportunities provided through technology and quality education – something that was not available to the generations that came before them. "From the primary stage of basic education, curricula must be created to mould individuals and build a generation that is armed with knowledge and expertise to allow them to participate in decision-making and contribute to solving global challenges. Indeed, our journey in establishing Qatar Foundation was founded on this belief." The QF chairperson also highlighted the shifting meaning of wisdom nowadays and noted: "In our religious texts, wisdom means knowledge. But popular culture conflates wisdom with age. That is no longer the case. Even early in their lives, opportunities are open for youth to access wisdom through different forms of knowledge available to them through quality education, books, scientific and digital platforms online." "Listening to young people and recognising their indispensable role in decision-making is no longer a choice; it is an imperative," she concluded as she called on the summit participants to create a space for young people to be heard. At the opening ceremony, Her Highness also presented the 2021 WISE Prize for Education to Wendy Kopp, co-Founder and CEO of Teach for All. Through Teach for All, Kopp is recognised for developing the concept that meaningful, sustainable education changes need leaders who are rooted in their communities and believe in the potential to transform them to deliver the opportunities all children deserve. During the opening session, Mariam al-Dhuhani, an independent journalist, filmmaker, curator and educator from Yemen described her journey of education and how the Education City gave her the push to realise her dreams. Meanwhile, Gitanjali Rao, innovator, author and STEM promoter, USA shared her life and how she is able to focus on innovation to promote education. She also said that she used to share her work with about 56,000 students in 36 countries. Rao, aged 16, won the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2017 and was recognised on Forbes 30 Under 30 for her innovations. She was named TIME Top young innovator in 2020 for her innovations and "innovation workshops" she conducts across the globe. She was also featured on the cover of TIME magazine .    

A plenary discussion on the opening day of the WISE global summit discussed the changing landscape of education and the emerging new scenarios. The thematic plenary, *Generation Unmute, highlighted thoughts about going beyond the conventional education practices and equipping students with skills to face the challenges. Sheikha Intisar Salem al-Ali al-Sabah (Kuwaiti social entrepreneur, philanthropist, author and film producer), Mathieu Nebra (co-founder of Open Classrooms, France), and Debora Kayembe, rector at University of Edinburgh, shared their thoughts at the plenary, moderated by Dareen Abughaida, principal presenter and journalist at Al Jazeera English. Al-Sabah said that while the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has been a catastrophe, it has also been an opportunity for the world. “Now everyone understands the necessity of mental wellness, not only in education, but also in society,” she said. “The high school years are crucial for the well-being of the students,” al-Sabah said. “So we have implemented very short exercises in positivity, exercises built in psychology that are fun, engaging the students with the teachers as well as among themselves.” “These are simple and small one-step exercises,” she elaborated. “We introduced them in 47 high schools with 12,000 students.” “We had huge growth in academic achievements and there was huge decline in (cases of) bullying,” al-Sabah added. “We don't work with the whole school, but with only a small number of teachers.” According to al-Sabah, when teachers and students become happier, the whole atmosphere changes. “This change is measured in several ways, and it is a huge social behavioural change,” she added. “Implementing a fun-based education works. When you add fun into learning process, students learn quickly.” “We implemented it among students, and within six weeks we found very positive change among these students,” she continued. “The results were published on *Springer Journal, and this helped the government realise that something positive is happening.” Open Classrooms co-founder Nebra explained the concept of his initiative to making education accessible to everyone. Open Classrooms is an online platform offering top quality education to employment programmes and career coaching services for students worldwide. “We are a vision-driven company to make education accessible to everyone,” he said. “We specially focus on the people we help to get new jobs. We teach them, skill and reskill them.” “We have six-month courses in English and French in several areas,” Nebra added. “I had the opportunity to build and design the curriculum without the constraints of the existing systems. This creates a lot of opportunities that you wouldn’t have thought about.” Different from all other online learning platforms, Open Classrooms career paths include weekly one-on-one mentorship sessions with a dedicated professional in each field. The programme also has a curriculum designed around competencies the students need to thrive on the job. The programmes are project-driven, and there are no tests or studying for exams. Instead, students learn experientially, the fastest way to become operational, and all courses are self-paced to fit into their schedule. University of Edinburgh rector Kayembe noted that students always work on something new, particularly in her establishment. “Students now want more quality, diversity and inclusion. They want to be accepted the way they are,” she said. “They want to explore the weaknesses. The universities have a role to transform the society. Education of truth, fun and revelation is essential."    

Wendy Kopp, the co-founder and chief executive of Teach For All, has won the 2021 WISE Prize for Education. Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF), presented the prize at the opening plenary of the 2021 WISE global summit at the Qatar National Convention Centre on Tuesday, before an audience – both in person and virtually – of more than 10,000 participants worldwide. “I am so deeply honoured and thrilled to receive the recognition as a tribute to all the people in the network of Teach for All,” Kopp told *Gulf Times after receiving the prize. “So many of the social entrepreneurships, like Teach for Qatar, have built this organisation in their countries, and so many thousands of teachers and alumni educators have thrown their hearts and souls into their work to help the children realise their potentials.” She was recognised by WISE for her contribution to quality education through creating Teach For All, a diverse global network, building collective leadership in classrooms and communities to share solutions across borders and ensure all children can fulfiIl their promise. “This recognition is such a boost for our network at such a time of huge challenges for the students and communities,” she said. “It also offers so many new possibilities to accelerate progress towards a stronger education system.” “We are working to grow our network of extraordinary and diverse teacher leaders while supporting them to sustain and spread the new teaching practice, enabling them learn more and building a more deeply interconnected network,” Kopp said. She said that the organisation is present in all the six continents. “We are currently active in 61 countries, all locally led independent organisations,” Kopp noted. “In the region other than Qatar, we are present in Morrocco and Lebanon.” The WISE Prize for Education is the first global distinction of its kind to acknowledge an individual for outstanding contribution to education. Through Teach For All, Kopp is recognised for developing the concept that meaningful, sustainable education changes need leaders who are rooted in their communities and believe in the potential to transform them to deliver the opportunities that all children deserve. “We see this prize as an endorsement and recognition of our theory of change," she said. “Collective leadership is necessary to solve the most entrenched inequities in education and reshape the system so that it prepares our young people to navigate uncertainty and shape a better future.” “Complex problems can only be solved through the collective efforts of many, working together across all levels of the system,” Kopp said upon receiving the award. Teach For All, which was established in 2007, currently works with partner organisations at a grassroots level, inspiring their countries’ outstanding graduates and professionals from all fields to channel their passion towards expanding opportunities for children, committing to two years of teaching in the schools and communities where they are needed most. “Wendy’s work exemplifies what we so passionately believe in at WISE – the conviction that everyone deserves quality education, and you can achieve it through creating a virtuous, international network by sharing best practice and involving communities,” said WISE chief executive Stavros N Yiannouka. “This prize is in recognition of a lifetime’s contribution to education and a constant spirit of innovation.” “Through Teach For All, Wendy has truly revolutionised school leadership,” he added.    

Embassies of India and Bangladesh marked 50 years of friendship with a special 'Maitree Divas' celebration Monday in the presence of a galaxy of dignitaries from various walks of life. India was one of the first countries to recognise Bangladesh on December 6, 1971. Yousef Sultan Larem, director of the Department of Asian Affairs, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was the guest of honour on the occasion. Apart from Indian ambassador Dr Deepak Mittal and Bangladesh ambassador Mohamed Jashim Uddin, many Qatari officials, a number of ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps from various missions in Qatar were present at the event. A cultural programme Pointing out that the prime ministers of both countries had decided to celebrate the occasion as Maitree Divas, ambassador Dr Mittal said: “The bonds between India and Bangladesh have been forged in blood, replenished by shared history, culture and vibrant people-to-people ties. We cherish and proudly celebrate our common social-cultural-linguistic heritage." Many dignitaries attended the event “Bengal was also the seat for the Indian renaissance that gave us icons like Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bankim Chandra. The fact that Rabindranath Tagore wrote the national anthem of both India and Bangladesh is a testament to our deep knowledge,” continued the Indian envoy. Recalling the historical circumstances that led to the birth of Bangladesh and India welcoming close to 10 million refugees from East Bengal - currently Bangladesh - Dr Mittal noted: “India and Bangladesh today share comprehensive ties with co-operation in areas of security, trade, energy and education and innovation. The co-operation paradigm has expanded to themes like connectivity, sustainable development and blue economy.” Some of the dignitaries at the event Bangladesh ambassador Jashim Uddin remarked: “A friend in need is a friend indeed. We needed a friend at the most critical juncture of our history. In our neighbour, India, we found that friend and this is a celebration of that friendship, the Maitree between our two countries. We deeply appreciate with gratitude the unwavering support and cooperation extended to Bangladesh during our nine-month long struggle for independence in 1971.” He noted that Bangladesh is in the process of erecting a war memorial in Ashuganj, Bangladesh, in memory of the martyred Indian soldiers and nationals. The foundation stone laying ceremony of the monument was jointly inaugurated by the prime ministers of India and Bangladesh in March 2021 virtually. A music programme at the event The Bangladesh envoy highlighted that in the recent years, Bangladesh and India have scripted a golden chapter of bilateral ties and given new dimension and direction to their partnership. “Bangladesh-India bilateral relations are rooted in shared history and geographical proximity. Over the last decade, both the countries have witnessed remarkable progress on cooperation in a large number of areas including security, power, trade and commerce, energy, connectivity, infrastructure development, culture, people-to-people contact, and health etc. Cooperation in new areas such as space, IT, cyber security, solar power, nuclear energy etc. is also being pursued,” he explained. According to Jashim Uddin, Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in socio economic development enabling the country to transition from low income country to achieve the status of lower middle income country in 2015. “The country is on track to leave the United Nations list of least developed countries. Bangladesh is now considered one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The Bangladesh government's vision 2041 stipulates to eliminate extreme poverty and secure upper middle-income country status by 2031 and achieve the high income country status by 2041,” he added. Community leaders of both the countries as well as several other invitees also took part in the ceremony. A cake was cut to celebrate the occasion. Several cultural programmes were presented by both communities.

The Qur’anic Botanic Garden (QBG) and the US embassy celebrated the Year of Culture Qatar – USA 2021, with a tree-planting ceremony at QBG’s premises on Sunday, also the World Soil Day, marked annually on December 5. US embassy charge d'affaires Natalie Baker and QBG director Fatima al-Khulaifi, planted the 2000th tree of QBG’s Ghars campaign, which aims to plant 2,022 trees in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup 2022. Some of the dignitaries at the event Also present on the occasion were Hassan Jumaa Bu Jamhour al-Mohannadi, assistant undersecretary for Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change; Ali bin Hassan al-Hammadi, secretary-general, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS); Machaille Hassan al-Naimi, president of Community Development, Qatar Foundation (QF) among others. Baker said: “Sustainability is not simply an offshoot of our work; it is our work. We consistently look for new and innovative ways to prioritise sustainability efforts – everything from clean energy deployment, to supporting carbon neutrality and water conservation - we are committed to doing right by the environment. Our local eco-diplomacy initiatives here in Qatar align with the United States’ global mission to protect our planet for current and future generations and is our motivation for gathering here today with our Qatari partners and friends.” “While we have made great strides in sustainability efforts, there is still much work to be done, and everyone has a part to play. Climate change is real, and it is a global issue requiring a global response. We look forward to working together with enthusiastic partners to confront ongoing climate emergencies. We are honoured to be a part of the tree-planting ceremony today, and excited to see the long-term impacts of this initiative.” Al-Khulaifi noted that since its inception over a decade ago, QBG has enjoyed excellent ties with Doha’s diplomatic community and the country’s humanitarian and environmental stakeholders. She explained: “Today’s event is a further testament to that. Over the years, we have hosted numerous tree-planting ceremonies and initiatives with embassies, including those of the UK, Switzerland, Turkey, India, and South Africa, as well as educational institutions and community organisations. “Over the past 11 months, and as part of the Year of Culture Qatar – USA 2021, QF’s QBG has also hosted multiple engagements and events with prominent US environmental stakeholders, such as the University of Arizona and the Missouri Botanical Garden, enhancing the environmental diplomacy between Qatar and the US on both an entity-to-entity and people-to-people level.” she added. On the sidelines of the event, a memorandum of understanding was signed between QBG and QRCS to plant 2.5mn trees in Qatar over a period of 10 years.