The activities of the forum “From Local to Global Organizations” were launched.

Within Darb Al Saai activities, held under the slogan “Our Unity is the Source of Our Strength”.

The forum was attended by His Excellency Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Hamad Al Thani, the Minister of Culture and Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the National Day celebrations, organized by the Ministry of Culture, and a large number of guests of the Ministry of Culture and Darb Al Saai audience.

The forum, which was moderated by Mrs. Maryam Yassin Al-Hammadi, the Director of the Department of Culture and Arts, was attended by HE Mr. Ali Al-Sayed Ali Abdul Razzaq Al-Marafi, the Acting Secretary-General of the Qatar National Committee for Education, Culture and Science, and Dr. Saad Mohammad Al-Zughaibi, the Director of the Department of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities in the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab Gulf States, His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Ould Omar, the Director General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), and His Excellency Dr. Salem bin Mohamed Al Malik, the Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), as well as the recorded participation of Mr. Salah El-Din Zaki Khaled, the Representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization “UNESCO” in the Arab Gulf States and Yemen and the Director of the UNESCO Office in Doha. Mr. Rasul Samadov, a program specialist in the cultural sector at the UNESCO Office in Doha, also participated.

Mr. Ali Abdul Razzaq Al-Marafi introduced the Qatari National Committee for Education, Culture and Science, which was established on February 25, 1962, explaining that it joined Arab, regional and international organizations to enhance international cooperation in the fields of culture, education and science, as it joined UNESCO in 1972 AD, and to (ALECSO) in (1975 AD), the same year in which she joined the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States, to then join the Organization (ISESCO) in 1982.

He said that the National Committee contributes an effective role in achieving the goals of international organizations, which are consistent with the goals of education in the State of Qatar on the one hand, and with the goals of the Committee on the other hand, through the implementation of many of its programs, projects and activities in various fields, and in cooperation and coordination with national, regional and international partners. In order to promote citizenship, human rights, justice and human dignity.

He added by saying that the committee seeks, through this, to make the membership of the State of Qatar in international, regional and Arab organizations a successful investment that benefits all aspects of educational, scientific and cultural activity in the country, and contributes to the national development process in accordance with the Qatar Vision (2030 AD). Regional and international organizations and various agencies and bodies in the State of Qatar, and introducing citizens to the various activities of organizations calling for understanding and rapprochement between the countries of the world in general, and the Islamic and Arab countries in particular.

He added that one of the tasks of the Qatar National Committee for Education, Culture and Science providing assistance to the competent authorities in the state with the aim of enabling them to benefit as much as possible from the activities of these organizations, while striving to meet the needs of the ministries and institutions concerned in the state regarding the activities and programs of organizations related to education, culture and science, as well as hosting conferences and seminars on dialogue between cultures, which contributes to supporting international understanding and learning about the cultures of other peoples.

Dr. Saad Mohammed Al-Zoghaibi, the Director of the Department of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities at the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, gave a definition of the “Cultural Strategy of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries” elements of the common Gulf and global identity.

At the outset, he introduced the cultural strategy of the GCC countries 2020-2030 AD, where he presented an introduction in which he explained that culture in the Arab Gulf region has a rich historical and cultural journey that began since the emergence of previous civilizations, and its direct contact with the various civilizations in Mesopotamia, the civilizations of southern Arabia, and the Persian civilization and its distinction. With the existing evidence and monuments, the region was distinguished in the modern era by its commercial contact. He stressed that the Gulf region was distinguished by its diversity and cultural richness, as well as various artistic and literary creations. There are tribal, rural, marine and mountain cultures, each of which had its own musical arts and literary expressions of poetry or story, meaning that cultural manifestations were present, strongly and in a diverse manner in the region. With the flow of oil wealth and the building of the modern state in the countries of the Arabian Gulf, cultural and intellectual transformations took place.

About the factors that contributed to the emergence of the cultural strategy of the GCC countries 2020-2030, he stressed that the institutions responsible for setting cultural policies in the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab Gulf states are aware of the economic, social and cultural transformations that occurred during the past four decades. The Supreme Council of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf in its eighth session and the cultural strategy approved by Their Majesties and Highnesses, the leaders of the GCC countries during the 29th session, came the formulation of the new cultural strategy for the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (2020-2030 AD).

Regarding the role of the cultural strategy of the GCC countries in sustainability and development, he explained that when we talk about sustainability, we must put on the road map statistical measurements and the language of numbers that show the effectiveness and implementation of this strategy. The necessary indicators, data collection and strategy implementation measurement every (3) years, provided that the final review takes place in the ninth year of the strategy’s life.

He stressed that cultural events and programs have the largest share of the strategy by promoting successful cultural activities, events and seasons in the GCC countries, preserving their continuity, reviving folklore and folklore and its creative manifestations and transferring it to the world, establishing programs to nurture creative and talented people in the cultural sector, and establishing a database of actors, in the cultural sector to benefit from them in the preparation and implementation of cultural events.

On the elements of the common Gulf and global identity, he said: The Gulf cultural identity is the common social characteristics and features that distinguish the Gulf society from other societies, which are the result of historical accumulations, which shaped the Gulf collective mind, and shaped Gulf perceptions of themselves and others, as well as directed their behaviors, relationships, and ways of living, where the cultural strategy of the GCC countries has given great attention to the Gulf cultural identity.

His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Walad Amar, Director General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), affirmed that the organization’s plans look forward to the future, taking into account the most important changes that occurred in the Arab world and the world, including international, health and cultural events, and technological developments.

He said: One of the most important conclusions we concluded in our last ministerial conferences with regard to higher education is working to encourage scientific research in the Arab countries, as well as coordination between scientific research centers in the Arab countries, and working to produce an Arab classification for Arab universities, and this classification will soon see the light. It takes into account all the international and academic advantages and disadvantages in scientific research, and gives us the privacy we deserve in Arab countries.

He continued by saying that: With regard to the educational field, the most important challenges we have in the organization lie in looking forward to the future, with the need to give time the value it deserves in our educational curricula, and for the Arab House to be the incubator for the Arab creator and innovator, and this requires us to give education its right in terms of spending and attention, as well as taking care of the home, so that this is the education that we seek in the organization, while giving the Arab role model the status it deserves, whether in relation to the home or through the teacher, or through the producer and creator.

He pointed out that one of the major challenges facing the organization is what is called terminology, and therefore 52 Arabic terms or lexicons were completed through the organization’s office in Rabat, and this bank aims to reach the Arabic language the position it deserves, in addition to striving to preserve the Arabic language, because of its prestige and significant rank in the Arab countries.

He stressed the importance of uniting Arab efforts to preserve the Arabic language, and to maintain the position it deserves, and for there to be a linguistic program similar to other languages, which leads to the Arabic language reaching the position it deserves, “especially since our Arabic language deserves to take its place globally, being able to Absorbing the era, and this does not mean neglecting the language of the other, but given that the other advanced because he translated our Arabic language, at a time when we were advanced, so we must at this moment produce and translate what the other produced, because he is advanced at this moment, without being ashamed of what others created”.

He pointed to the size of the great challenges facing the organization, however, with the efforts of Their Excellency the concerned ministers, as well as in light of the special and permanent relationship with counterpart organizations, especially the Islamic Organization, “We will bring our organization to the position it deserves, and if the challenges are great, then we have to look forward to the future”, and considering the importance and status of education, so that it takes the position it deserves, and receives the necessary attention, without neglecting culture, because it is the incubator, because by embracing it, we will reap development and distinction.

During the session, His Excellency Dr. Salem bin Mohammad Al-Malik, the Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization “ISESCO”, presented an introduction to the cultural plan for the Islamic world, where the Director General of ISESCO reviewed the organization’s interest in renewing the cultural policies of member states in the context of achieving sustainable development goals, and developing the cultural goals of these states to keep pace with regional and international changes, stressing the need for organizations to constantly review their goals in order to develop with restructuring and provide opportunities for women and youth, which has been achieved by ISESCO, making it more vital and active.

He pointed out that the organization is working to support the efforts of member states in order to achieve cultural development, which includes: Formulating cultural policies that keep pace with contemporary technology and achieve sustainable development, stressing the importance of strengthening the role of entrepreneurship in the cultural field among young people, and that 27 youth companies have been established so far in a number of countries. Asian, explaining that the organization seeks by 2025 to have established 200 companies in the Islamic world.

He said that ISESCO is more open to others and looks to the future, and in this regard it has established the Strategic Foresight Center as part of many projects that make us speak the language of the independent, as there are 70 jobs today that are threatened and will not exist in 2040, and therefore there is an urgent need for continuous development and development.

The Director General of ISESCO also spoke about the importance of investing in science and technology as well as space science as one of the most important science of the future, as recent studies have shown that what is spent on space industries annually exceeds 300 billion dollars, and it is expected that the investment will rise in 2040 and is expected to reach 3 trillion dollars. There are less than 20 member states of the organization that have investments in space science, which will create a big gap that some countries will enter into space illiteracy, pointing out that the organization has signed an agreement with the US Space Agency to train young people from the Islamic world in this field, saying our ambition is to launch the ISESCO satellite to serve culture and education.

He also referred to the organization’s interest in civilized dialogue, and specialized centers were established, including the Center for Civilizational Dialogue, stressing at the end of his speech that the State of Qatar presented a model of openness and cultural diversity in hosting the World Cup, as it succeeded ably in presenting Islamic culture.

In a videotaped intervention, Mr. Salah Khaled, UNESCO Representative for the Gulf States and Yemen, and the Director of the UNESCO Office in Doha, praised the efforts of the Qatari Ministry of Culture, represented by the Organizing Committee for the National Day celebrations, for a program of events replete with many cultural and heritage activities, poetry evenings, theatrical performances, and others. He said: I do not miss on this occasion – in my capacity as a representative of UNESCO for the Arab Gulf states and Yemen – congratulating the State of Qatar, the leadership and people, on this impressive organization of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

He added that: In line with what we witnessed at the opening of the World Cup, such events hosted by the Darb Al Saai Forum directly contribute to providing humanitarian and civilized messages that promote dialogue between peoples and cultures all over the world, and focus on instilling the values of mutual respect, unity, rejection of division and coexistence among all. All these values are at the core of the principles and foundations of UNESCO, which was established with the aim of promoting the principles of lasting peace through its main areas of work, which are education and culture. UNESCO was proactive in putting forward the idea that culture is an essential component of development.

The representative of UNESCO to the GCC Countries and Yemen stated that UNESCO Organization is celebrating the cultural diversification for the sake of dialogue and development. This doesn’t relate only to the international cultural richness, but also extends to the main role played by the cross dialogue of the various culture in achieving peace and sustainable development. The activities that take place in Darb Al Saai are good evidence of the role of culture in achieving these goals and endeavors.

He stressed that culture and its role in building bridges between different cultures and societies, just as sport has a pivotal role in promoting diversity, dialogue and human and civilizational understanding. He said: UNESCO believes that sport is a powerful means of social inclusion, gender equality and youth empowerment. Perhaps what we are witnessing now is the ideal context to shed light on sport and its role in conjunction with the State of Qatar’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2022. He said that UNESCO sponsored the Pony Generation Festival, which came in conjunction with the State of Qatar’s hosting of one of the largest sporting events in the world. This festival was not limited to celebrating sports only, but represented an embodiment of the passion of young people and their celebration of the power and status of sport and its role in changing the world.

The UNESCO representative to the Gulf states and Yemen highlighted that Qatar has proven, by hosting the World Cup, its investment in this huge global event in order to promote the values ​​of equality, tolerance and acceptance of the other by promoting integration and devoting a safe pluralistic societal environment free from manifestations of hatred, intolerance and racial discrimination, which is consistent with the values ​​and principles of UNESCO and the United Nations.

Mr. Rasul Samadov also spoke about the goals of UNESCO in promoting cultural dialogue globally.