A number of specialists and writers discussed the importance of consolidating the values of citizenship, and how to activate this citizenship and turn it into a good citizenship, stressing the importance of the timing of organizing the symposium, especially since the country is on the verge of the National Day celebrations, as well as hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which makes it an occasion to renew the values of loyalty and belonging, they also stress the need to clarify the role of each individual during the next stage in the spirit of social responsibility.
They explained during a panel discussion entitled “The Importance of Social Responsibility in Consolidating the Values of Citizenship”, which was organized by the Qatari Forum for Authors in cooperation with the Qatari Media Center of the Ministry of Culture, with the participation of the journalist and writer Dr. Abdullah Faraj Al-Marzouqi, and Dr. Haya Al-Maadaidi, Dr. Latifa Al-Darwish, Ms. Mudha Al-Buainain, and the session was moderated by the writer Ms. Kaltham Abdul Rahman, who stated that the symposium comes within the framework of the various symposiums held by the Ministry of Culture to deepen national belonging, and to highlight the importance of social responsibility in consolidating the values of citizenship, strengthening the authentic Qatari identity, and instilling it in the current and future generations.
In the beginning, Dr. Haya Al-Maadidi stressed the great importance of the topic of the symposium during this period as we approach the celebrations of the National Day of the State, and it is one of the most important occasions that we are always keen to carry out activities to renew loyalty and belonging to this country, noting that the site links the values of citizenship and social responsibility, and how to activate this citizenship and turn it into a good citizenship, so that each individual has a role… She continued: In addition to working to promote some values such as responsibility and participation, and for each individual to play his role towards the homeland, our role is to promote values and instill them in the hearts of all with the necessity in mind to link them to social responsibility… She added that in the context of preparing for the FIFA World Cup, there is a need to show Qatar in a civilized image and an honorable civilization that it is, especially since the Qatari people are distinguished by their high morals.
In turn, Dr. Latifa Al-Darwish – a businesswoman and writer spoke about the importance of values and how to promote them in society, explaining that social responsibility is the responsibility of every individual, center or institution in the state, and from this point of view we are talking about the fact that social responsibility affects identity and preserves the values that we want to inherit our new generations… She added: As we are a few days from FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, we need to strengthen the Qatari identity and Qatari values of values, customs, traditions and respect for the guests as well as respect for other cultures.
For her part, Ms. Mudha Al Buainain, a researcher and academic in the field of political science, pointed to the importance of concerted efforts in cooperation and teamwork while instilling the values of a culture of social responsibility in addition to providing an appropriate infrastructure of legislation and laws that include the values and principles of social responsibility and the awareness of individuals and institutions and their awareness of the extent of its importance, which contributes to strengthening the values of citizenship, noting that it measures the value of the individual in society, but it depends on the extent of the individual’s awareness of its importance and the strength of his responsibility towards himself/herself and others.
For his part, Dr. Abdullah Al-Marzouqi stressed that a distinction must be made between social responsibility and citizenship, with the need to clarify the definition of citizenship in light of globalization, pointing to the importance of the symposium in defining how to preserve identity as a platform for promoting patriotism and belonging in the hearts of all.
Dr. Aisha Al-Kuwari, Director of the Qatari Forum for Authors, noted the forum’s role and importance in spreading culture and its active effort in enriching the “AuthorsCafé” platform with its many great experiences and capabilities at the cultural, literary and monetary levels, explaining that one of the forum’s most important objectives is to open the way for affiliates and authors to discuss the most important issues at hand… She continued, saying: When we talk about citizenship or social responsibility, we aim to link the author to these societal values in which he must contribute in one way or another. The book industry is a societal responsibility and a cultural legacy to be passed on to subsequent generations, and their participation in the symposium to benefit from their experiences in raising such important issues.
She pointed out that the symposium came at this time, given that we are approaching the Qatari National Day celebrations, which coincide with the country’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup, in its exceptional version, so the forum was keen to organize a number of cultural events as well as events related to cultural affairs in this period, prior to the launch of the World Cup, she continued, “The forum continues to organize various events, especially since we have a large group of affiliates and authors, each in their respective fields. Some have publications related to the FIFA World Cup or the sports issues, and some of them write articles, and we have made short videos that will be broadcast later via the forum’s platforms on social networking sites, as well as books in the sports field that were launched by the forum’s members, short videos related to that will be broadcasted, and we are currently working on preparing for the next season, which begins at the beginning of 2023.
For her part, Iman Al Kaabi, Director of the Qatar Media Center, expressed her happiness for organizing the first dialogue seminar for the Qatari Forum for Authors to be held at the headquarters of the Qatar Media Center, stressing that this is an invitation from the center concerned with media affairs and to highlight everything related to the centers affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, to cooperate and host various such eventsm and seminars or even workshops at the center’s headquarters, in view of the integration between the cultural and media centers.
She stressed that the center seeks to keep pace with the global event, namely the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, by broadcasting awareness bulletins that will be broadcast on social media pages, stressing that there are new events and activities for the center… She added: We seek to be present in Darb Al Saai in its new headquarters in Umm Salal, and the center will have many events in Darb Al Saai and its activities will be covered by the center’s employees.
In her turn, writer Kaltham Abdel Rahman, director of the symposium, said: We must address the importance of social responsibility in consolidating the values of citizenship as a vital topic, because we cannot ignore the winds of change that are blowing societies today in light of globalization, the acceleration of the cultural tide and the spread of new concepts that may contain transgressions of values. Hence the importance of discussing the role of social responsibility in consolidating the values of identity and citizenship.