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 Doha Design District, powered by Msheireb Properties, has invited designers and creative entrepreneurs across Qatar to participate in an Open Call to showcase their original designs through Mada, the curated retail space supporting local creativity and the creative economy.  Eligible categories include home accessories and objects, ceramics, textiles, jewellery, stationery, sustainable design and other contemporary design products, provided they demonstrate originality and quality.  Director of Doha Design District, Dana Kazic, stated that the initiative gives designers a space to showcase their work and connect with a wider audience that can appreciate their ideas and skills.  She noted the District’s commitment to encouraging innovation and giving designers an opportunity to show what their creativity can bring to the development of products related to everyday life. 

Qatar Assistive Technology Center (Mada) launched on Tuesday the 'Taqdeer' platform, under the patronage and in the presence of HE Minister of Social Development and Family, Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi. Taqdeer platform was developed to provide a unified, reliable digital reference consolidating information on services, programs, initiatives, and benefits available to senior citizens in the State of Qatar, thereby assisting them, their families, and their caregivers in identifying available options and accessing the relevant service providers in an easier and more efficient way. The platform aggregates information across nine areas, including health and care, lifelong learning, social protection, socio-economic empowerment, mobility and transport, assistive technology, access to justice, cultural and recreational activities (including sports), and emergency services and hotlines, to deliver a digital experience that addresses the diverse needs of users. The platform was also developed in accordance with global digital accessibility standards to ensure content is easy to perceive, navigate, and interact with. HE Minister of Social Development and Family said in a speech that the State of Qatar places people and families at the forefront of its priorities and at the heart of its development plans. In line with this approach, the Ministry of Social Development and Family's strategy for 2025-2030, under the theme "From Care to Empowerment," was introduced to affirm that quality of life in not limited to providing protection and care, but also extends to participation, independence, and the ability to benefit from opportunities and services.Senior citizens hold a central place in this approach, which focuses on ensuring an active and dignified life for them, enhancing their contributions to society, and developing services that meet their needs and aspirations while valuing the wealth of experience and accumulated knowledge they possess, which are assets of great importance to both the family and the community, Her Excellency added.With the acceleration of digital transformation in service provision, ease of access to information has become an essential part of empowerment, she noted, pointing out that clear and reliable information allows one to know the options available to them, make the appropriate decision, and benefit from services with ease and confidence.HE Minister of Social Development and Family, Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi highlighted the importance of the Taqdeer platform as a unified source of information regarding services, programs, and initiatives available to senior citizens, pointing out that it facilitates access for them and their families and caregivers, while bringing opportunities for care, learning and participation within closer reach. 

Mada - Qatar Assistive Technology Center launched Tuesday a digital platform for its Advisory Team for persons with disabilities and their families, offering a dedicated channel for participation in consultations on policies, services and initiatives related to persons with disabilities, their families and representative organizations. Mada CEO Maha Mohammed Al Mansouri told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the platform allows users to review consultation topics and contribute their views, experiences and expertise.The platform also allows government entities and institutions to submit issues within their areas of responsibility for consultation with the Advisory Team or its working groups, with the resulting recommendations helping shape policies, services and initiatives, she said. Al Mansouri said the launch reinforces the principle of full and effective participation enshrined in Law No. 22 of 2025 on Persons with Disabilities, making consultation an ongoing process built on listening, partnership and the integration of the lived experiences and expertise of those directly affected.Established in 2010, Mada Center advances digital inclusion and accessibility for persons with disabilities and older persons through programs spanning inclusive education, employment and entrepreneurship, community empowerment, and assistive technology research and innovation. The center also develops Arabic-language assistive technology solutions and supports institutions in creating accessible digital platforms and services in line with international standards, while providing accessibility training, advisory services and awareness programs. 

In an effort to ensure inclusivity in all areas and that the opinions and aspirations of all individuals with disabilities are fully represented, Mada – the Qatar Assistive Technology Centre, with its vision of “Universal Access”, has formed an advisory team of people with disabilities. Believing that persons with disabilities are key partners in decision-making, the team represents people with various types of disabilities to serve as a platform for dialogue and active participation in discussing initiatives, strategies and policies related to people with disabilities. The team aims to support inclusive policies and meaningful participation in decision-making. The Mada Centre said that the best solutions come from those who live the experience firsthand, and that this is a great step toward an “effective partnership and sustainable impact”. “In this context, the formation of Qatar’s Advisory Team of Persons with Disabilities reinforces their role as active partners in dialogue and contributors to the development of initiatives and policies that impact their lives,” the Mada Centre said in a statement. The team includes individuals with hearing, visual, and physical disabilities, people living with multiple sclerosis, as well as parents of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down syndrome. The team enhances direct dialogue and ensures that policies match real-world needs by involving individuals with lived experiences. It also positions participants as active partners in creating sustainable and accessible community initiatives. The team aims to foster dialogue and meaningful participation in initiatives and policies related to persons with disabilities, supporting a more inclusive and accessible society. “When persons with disabilities have a seat at the table, decisions become more inclusive, and visions are better aligned with reality, helping to shape a future built through everyone’s participation,” a Mada official stated. The Mada Centre works through strategic and smart partnerships, delivering impactful projects and a suite of specialised services for institutions.These include supporting the development and accreditation of digital platforms and solutions according to international accessibility standards, ensuring physical accessibility across facilities and services, and building the capacities of specialists through tailored training programmes. The centre also provides consultancy services and raises awareness on accessibility policies to enable different sectors to improve their services for persons with disabilities and the elderly, thereby fostering sustainable institutional practices that elevate quality of life and promote inclusion. 

An ambitious three-year strategy by Mada - the Assistive Technology Centre aims to transform the lives of persons with disabilities and the elderly through innovation, research, education, employment and community engagement, Gulf Times has learnt.The strategy, named 'Mada Edge', places a strong emphasis on developing innovative solutions, said Dr Achraf Othman, director of the Research, Development and Innovation Programme at Mada."Mada Edge is the research core unit at Mada Centre. It leads Arabic language processing research projects that support the innovation ecosystem of the Mada Innovation Programme," Othman said. "It is designed to address challenges faced by persons with disabilities and the elderly by fostering innovation and research that can improve accessibility and quality of life."He said the strategy analyses and evaluates technology limitations to develop localised assistive technology and digital accessibility solutions in Arabic through a focused approach."Mada Edge drives the research, experimentation and partnerships programme, which is built to generate knowledge and data in Arabic. It locates gaps in the community's evidence base and shares that knowledge with the sector so we can be more effective," he explained.Othman noted that a key component of the ecosystem is the third edition of the Mada Innovation Award, an international competition that offers grants to innovators developing assistive technologies and accessibility solutions. The award is open to participants worldwide.Mada identifies real-world challenges for persons with disabilities through focus groups and turns them into practical use cases shared globally to spur innovation, he said.While exact figures were unavailable, Othman estimated that a small share of Qatar's population consists of persons with disabilities, many of whom require assistive technologies. He noted that existing technologies do not yet meet all needs, underlining the importance of continued innovation."We are now trying to organise a focus group to transform the digital experiences of people with disabilities. We are looking at different cases to develop new ideas and innovations for them. These groups will look into real-time issues and explore what kind of support can be provided for each case," he said.Othman said Mada provides two types of support. "The first is directly to the end users, who are people with disabilities. We provide direct support through assessments, free assistive technologies and specialised training programmes. We enable them to use assistive technology and try to empower their lives through technology."The second is mainly for innovators to develop their ideas through different kinds of support. Mada helps them turn feasible ideas and concepts into fruitful innovations," he continued.Among Mada's major achievements, Othman highlighted Qatar's ranking as the world's leading country in digital accessibility in 2020, according to the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies, a United Nations-supported initiative.He said Mada plans to launch the "Mada Accelerator" programme, which will support award recipients beyond the funding stage by helping them implement their innovations, collaborate with partners and measure their impact within the community.Othman revealed the centre is advancing several research projects under the new strategy. "Under the research programme, we have four projects running currently. These include 'Jumla', focused on Qatari Sign Language processing, and the Flight Simulation Lab — the first flight simulator in Qatar for autistic children, preparing them for air travel before a real flight," he said."We also have an AI-enhanced upgrade of the Tawasol pictogram library to support non-verbal autistic individuals, and the development of AI-powered Unified Arabic Braille tools for people with visual impairments. These initiatives reflect Mada's commitment to ensuring that innovative technologies are accessible not only in Qatar but across the region and globally," Othman added. 

Mada Center has launched its 2026-2028 strategy under the slogan “Universal Access for All,” which highlights high-impact programmes aimed at enhancing quality of life and empowerment for persons with disabilities and the elderly.The strategy is guided by a clear vision and mission focused on empowering people with disabilities and the elderly to live with a higher quality of life within an inclusive and sustainable accessibility ecosystem, fostering more inclusive and accessible environments, services, and experiences both physically and digitally.Mada Center was established in 2010 to promote the principles of inclusion and to build an accessible society for persons with disabilities and the elderly. Mada has become the world’s centre of excellence in Arabic universal accessibility and has contributed to Qatar achieving first place worldwide on the Digital Accessibility Rights Evaluation Index 2020 issued by the United Nation’s Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies. The strategy focuses on enabling people with disabilities and elderly to enjoy a high quality of life through a comprehensive accessibility ecosystem that promotes independence and opens doors to active participation across all areas of life.It outlines a set of strategic outcomes that Mada seeks to achieve during 2026–2028. These outcomes include several objectives such as to to enable people with disability and the elderly to enjoy a better quality of life through the empowerment of assistive technology; a distinguished position for Qatar in scientific research and innovation in the field of access in Arabic; pioneering in empowerment and specialised capability development and advocacy for universal access policies and practices.Meanwhile, the strategy has a clear set of values that reflect Mada’s institutional approach. The values include people centric programmes; empathy and advocacy; encouraging innovation; community partnership and quality and sustainability. These values indicate that the implementation of the strategy will not rely solely on launching initiatives, but also on measuring impact, enhancing user experience, building effective partnerships, and developing solutions that are scalable and sustainable.Furthermore, the strategy presents an integrated framework with four strategic programmes that represent practical implementation pathways to deliver the desired impact for beneficiaries and the wider community.The first one is an inclusive education programme. It is focused on supporting inclusion within educational settings by enhancing equitable learning opportunities and removing barriers that may limit students with disabilities from accessing educational content and services.The second programme is to provide access to employment. It is aimed at strengthening access to the labour market by supporting accessibility across recruitment pathways and workplace environments and by enhancing the readiness and effectiveness of work and entrepreneurship ecosystems to become more inclusive and responsive to diversity.The strategy further aims at empowered community programme that is centred on building a community capable of participating and engaging effectively through raising awareness and developing environments and services that enable greater participation of people with disabilities and the elderly in public life.The fourth programme is a research and innovation project titled ‘Edge’. It serves as a supportive track for advancing knowledge and innovative solutions in accessibility, highlighting research and innovation as key drivers of tangible impact- particularly in the context of the Arabic language and the associated technical and knowledge-based challenges of universal access.Mada’s 2026–2028 strategy reflects a practical direction toward translating the concept of universal access into measurable programmes and outcomes, with a focus on assistive technology, capacity building, activating partnerships, and embedding policies and practices that support universal access.Within this framework, Mada continues to present a strategic model that places beneficiaries first, turns innovation into solutions, and reinforces inclusion as a societal and institutional value measured by its impact on quality of life and the opportunities available to all.