Day: June 9, 2024

Doha: The Ministry of Culture and the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) of the People’s Republic of China signed on Sunday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in translation and publishing fields.

The MoU was signed by Assistant Undersecretary for Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Culture Dr. Ghanem bin Mubarak Al Ali on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and HE Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the State of Qatar Cao Xiaolin on behalf of the NPPA.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: HE Minister of Culture Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Thani met on Sunday with HE Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Sichuan Provincial Committee Wang Xiaohui.

During the meeting, they discussed aspects of joint cooperation and ways to support and enhance them in the cultural field.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Qatar Museums and Qatar Airways announced the launch of the Qatar Museums Channel, now available exclusively on Qatar Airways’ renowned in-flight entertainment system, Oryx One.

This partnership celebrates Qatar’s rich heritage, offering passengers an opportunity to explore the cultural legacy of Qatar while in the air.

The Qatar Museums Channel on Oryx One represents a significant milestone in the promotion of Qatar’s cultural tradition to a global audience. Through engaging storytelling and inspiring, cinematic content like interviews with artists and curators, passengers will be transported into the heart of Qatar’s vibrant art scene.

CEO of Qatar Museums Mohammed Al Rumaihi, said, “We are very proud to have partnered with Qatar Airways in this collaboration that adds value to passenger experience on board flights, further proving Qatar Museums’ commitment to expanding and sharing the rich art and culture of Qatar among global audiences. Aside from enhancing in-flight experiences, this platform al
so serves as a digital access to Qatar’s rich heritage for passengers worldwide.” Designed to spark curiosity, the Qatar Museums Channel offers extensive content, including themed series, documentaries, and behind-the-scenes glimpses into Qatar’s artistic resources.

The channel features Qatari folktales brought to life through animation, choreographed dance films set against the backdrop of museum galleries, documentaries showcasing public artworks in remote desert landscapes and across Doha and behind-the-scenes insights into rare collection objects presented by curators.

Additionally, viewers can enjoy museum tours, cultural films highlighting Qatar’s history and traditions, an introduction to Qatari cuisine, and audio guides to various museums and galleries.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The National Archives of Qatar in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture organized an event on Sunday to mark the World Archives Day that coincides with June 9 each year.

HE Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Qatar National Archive Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Attiyah attended the event that featured a presentation delivered by HE member of the Shura Council Khalid bin Ghanim Al Ali on the role of archives in recording history and maintaining the identity, alongside a presentation on digitization in the documentary world delivered by Fahd Al Obaidly. Also, the event honored a host of institutions and individuals who have been supportive for the Archives through information and documents.

Speaking to Qatar News Agency , Acting Director of the Public Relations and Communication Department at the National Archives of Qatar, Noura Al Qubaisi said marking this day comes to nurture and the historical memory of the country, since the national archiving is a prime source of scientific and historical research
. She added that today’s role comes to promote awareness of the significance of preserving documents and documentary heritage in the country as a prime legacy of the state, affirming that legacy is a shared responsibility between relevant bodies, individuals, and owners of private libraries.

For his part, Director of the Department of Culture and Arts at the Ministry of Culture Abdulrahman Abdullah Al Dulaimi underscored the importance of archiving in the memory of nations and their knowledge, affirming that it was his great honor to gather at the National Archives of Qatar as guest, the edifice that embodies the most beautiful image of Qatar’s commitment to preserving its inveterate history and heritage.

Al Dulaimi added that behind all landmarks of a proud civilization, stories and secrets that embrace treasures of knowledge and history exist, pointing out that archiving is the clue to understand the past and preserve the momentous events in the life of nations through which the evolution pathways and cha
nge the societies underwent through are comprehended at all economic and sociopolitical levels.

The National Archives of Qatar was established as an advanced national center to preserve the historical memory and national identity that protect Qatar’s legacy at the local, regional, and global levels. The archives are meant for organizing, collating, and gathering, classifying, and overseeing documents, in addition to protecting them from damage.

It aims to ensure access to information and documents and streamline its uses through setting standards and policies that regulate the archives management process.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The Fifth Gulf Virtual Conference, held in Kuwait, has come up with significant recommendations aimed at enhancing innovation, AI, technology, and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Arab Gulf region.

The three-day conference focused on promoting sustainable development and broadening the digital economy’s horizons.

The conference president Dr. Hanadi Al Mubaraki said the event drew distinguished participants, primarily sheikhs, ministers, diplomats, inventors, innovators, entrepreneurs, media practitioners, and over 150 experts from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and Arab countries.

The recommendations were intended to foster a robust ecosystem for innovation and technological advancement in the GCC states, in addition to contributing to broader sustainable development goals, Dr. Al Mubaraki highlighted.

She pointed out that the recommendations underscored the importance of reinforcing cooperation between academic public and private sectors, along with the civil society to share knowledge and re
orient innovation, in pursuit of achieving environmental and socioeconomic sustainability and encouraging innovation in clean energy. Also, the recommendations stressed the need for countering cybersecurity challenges through leveraging new innovative tools.

Source: Qatar News Agency

HE Minister of Environment and Climate Change Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie participated in the second session of the High-Level Dialogue under the theme “Enhancing peace for the ocean,” which was part of the High-Level Event on Ocean Action held in the Republic of Costa Rica.

The session discussed the importance of strengthening global efforts to spread peace worldwide and preventing conflicts between countries that result in wars in the oceans and seas and their negative impact on marine resources, as well as their threat to sustainable development.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The Cultural Village Foundation-Katara has revealed the 18th list of the best art works of the participants in Katara Prize for Arabic Novel, primarily for the categories of published and unpublished novels, young adult novels, historical novels, and critical studies.

The list comprises two novels from 17 Arab states, namely Egypt with 26 novels and critical studies, followed by Morocco with 19 novels and critical studies, Syria with 9 novels, Jordan with 8 novels and critical studies, Iraq with 5 novels and critical studies, Algeria with the same number of 5 novels, Saudi Arabia and Yemen with 3 novels for each country, with Mauritania, Sudan and Palestine participating with two works for each country, and finally one art work for Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Lebanon, and Tunisia.

Overall, each list included 18 art works nominated for the prize and were as follows: the list of 18 in the category of unpublished novels included novelists from 9 Arab countries, with Morocco topping the list with 4 novels, followe
d by Egypt with 3 novels, while Syria, Jordan, Mauritania, and Yemen participated with two novels for each country, and finally Palestine. Libya, Algeria, with one novel from each country.

The published novel category included novelists from seven Arab countries, namely Egypt which topped with seven novels, followed by Syria with five novels, then Saudi Arabia with two novels, as well as Oman, Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine, with each country participating with one novel.

As to young adult novels, the category included novelists from nine Arab countries, with Egypt topping with six novels, followed by Jordan and Morocco with three novels for each country, as well as one novel for UAE, Iraq, Algeria, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

The historical novels included novelists from eight Arab countries while Egypt topped with six novels, followed by Morocco with four novels, with Algeria and Iraq participating with two novels for each, and finally Yemen, Syria, Jordan, and Sudan which participated with one novel
for each.

The critical studies category included critics from seven Arab countries and Morocco topped this category with eight critical studies, followed by Egypt with four studies, then Jordan with two studies, and one study for Sudan, Algeria, Iraq, and Tunisia.

Noteworthy, the committee of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel has adjusted the system of publishing nomination lists for the best participating works starting from the 10th edition, as the first list is revealed in June each year of the best 18th list of works for all the aforementioned categories, along with the 9th list that will be published next August.

The Katara Festival for Arabic Novel is due to be held during October 13 to 20, including celebration of the 10th anniversary of the launch of the award, which has become pioneering within one decade in the Arab award both in terms of material value and comprehensiveness of the prize outputs that have launched numerous initiatives to help the Arabic novel become universalist through translati
ng the winning works into English, French and Arabic languages.

This comprehensiveness was the key factor that helped Katara receive the designation of the “City of the Arab Novel” from the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO).

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) College of Public Policy (CPP) hosted this year’s Academic Network for Development Dialogue (ANDD) Conference, in collaboration with Qatar University (QU), Al-Quds University (AQU) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA).

The conference attracted academics and practitioners for robust discourse concerning the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With the theme “Sustainable Development Goals Unpacked: Ethics, Policies, and Culture,” the conference paid particular attention to the ethical, policy, and cultural dimensions of the SDGs as well as fostering knowledge exchange, dialogue, and capacity building among participants.

This year’s ANDD Conference also included a series of panel discussions on the interplay between ethics, policy, culture and the SDGs. Each session featured moderators and panelists collaborative partners, including Al-Quds University, Qatar University, and the UN House, as well as acade
mic institutions from across the Gulf region.

In her closing remarks, Prof. Mariam Al Maadeed, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, Qatar University, and ANDD’s first chair and founding member, expressed her pride in the ANDD’s impactful achievements and contributions to sustainable development across the region. She also highlighted the release of the First Edition of the ANDD Paper Series, published by QU Press, as well as the ANDD Online Master Class Course on Research Fundamentals, which witnessed the registration of more than 2300 participants.

Speaking after the conclusion of the ANDD Conference, Dr. Evren Tok, Associate Dean, CPP, said: “We were undoubtedly honored to bring this year’s conference to HBKU. Doing so reflects the CPP’s consistent ability to gather experts from across the region and further afield to discuss a wealth of issues shaping public policy discourse. We do this without losing sight of our commitment to educating and nurturing future generations of public professiona
ls, many of whom are already engaged in the research and studies concerning the SDGs and related topics.” The CPP conducts cutting edge research on policy challenges facing Qatar, the region, and the world. It aims to be one of the leading public policy schools in the region and the world, acting as a bridge and hub for innovative policy solutions across a range of issues.

Source: Qatar News Agency

China launched its first open marine big-data service platform, dubbed Ocean Cloud, a ministry official said.

Ocean Cloud is a national online service platform for marine data and information products, said director of the marine early warning and monitoring department with the Ministry of Natural Resources Wang Hua, according to Xinhua.

It works to pool national data from the global ocean three-dimensional observation network, facilitate marine information connectivity among departments, and boost global marine information exchange.

The platform can further strengthen marine data integration services, unify the technical standards for marine data sharing and circulation, and improve the application quality of marine data products, Wang said.

He also announced the release of an open catalog on marine data involving seven disciplines and 83 categories of elements in the ocean field, integrating China’s independent marine data, the research and development of marine information products, and global marine e
nvironmental data.

The data in the catalog can be obtained and used through Ocean Cloud, Wang said.

In recent years, China has increasingly channeled energy into the protection of its marine ecology and environment.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: HE Speaker of the Shura Council Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim met today with HE President of the High Council of the State of Libya Dr. Mohammed Muftah Takala, who is visiting the country.

The meeting reviewed a number of topics of common interest.

During the meeting, HE the Speaker of the Shura Council stressed the strength and depth of the fraternal relations between the two countries and the two brotherly peoples.

For his part, HE Dr. Mohammed Muftah Takala praised the strong and established fraternal relations between Qatar and Libya, stressing keenness on strengthening and developing them in various fields to serve the interests of the two countries and the two brotherly peoples.

His Excellency also appreciated the positions of the State of Qatar and its continued support for efforts to achieve stability and peace in Libya.

Source: Qatar News Agency