Under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, the third international conference on social responsibility, held over three days under the theme “Education is a societal responsibility in light of changes and crises” began yesterday in Qatar National Convention Centre.
The conference aims to develop and disseminate a culture of social responsibility in the field of education in the Arab countries through various research partnerships.
It also tries to benefit from practical experiences from the changes and crises taking place in the Arab region, as well as assessing the reality of social responsibility in supporting Arab educational institutions and identifying legislation and laws that support social responsibility towards education and its institutions in the Arab countries.
The conference is organised by the Al Faisal Centre for Community Responsibility, one of the centrers of Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation.
HE Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Faisal Without Borders Charity, said in a speech at the opening of the conference that the conference is a confirmation of the organisation’s commitment to serving and developing the community, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. He added that the Centre was keen to invite a group of researchers from different countries to participate in the conference in order to exchange views and expertise, and come up with recommendations that contribute to improvement in education, and to play an active community role.
Following the opening speech, HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, inaugurated the exhibition accompanying the conference, in which more than 40 different parties are taking part. They represent public and private institutions and will use the exhibition to present their achievements and projects in the field of education and other areas that serve the community. They will also look to highlight their role in supporting education and social responsibility.
The organising committee of the conference received about 170 research papers from more than 13 Arab and foreign countries. More than 49 research abstracts have been approved, in addition to receiving more than 29 full papers approved for submission to the conference.
For his part, Dr Ibrahim al-Ibrahim said in statements to reporters that he hoped that the private institutions will follow the example of Al Faisal Foundation and work on establishing such important events and to be a key partner for the public sector, stressing that such conferences and events will undoubtedly contribute to sustainable development in Qatar, so this is an initiative that deserves encouragement.
On the title of the conference “Education is a societal responsibility,” al-Ibrahim stated that education is an essential component of the knowledge economy, as affirmed by the Qatar National Vision 2030 and called on the private sector to participate in these task because the Qatar National Vision is not only for the government sector, but for all sectors.
During the main session of the conference, which was held under the title “Education is a societal responsibility in light of challenges and crises,” Vice-President for Student Affairs at Qatar University Dr Khaled al-Khunji explained that community responsibility is a sense that drives the individual to be active in society. He noted that this sense comes from a set of values in addition to understanding how the community works, explaining the importance of the future role of education in all economic, social and other fields.
He pointed out that each educational institution must understand and determine the values that it wants to invest in its students. He emphasised that Qatar University is very conscious of the role it is required in this regard. Therefore, it is keen to instill a set of values in its students to enhance their awareness of responsibility towards society. It offers a variety of programmes, including general requirements covering the main points of understanding of public issues, besides major specialties, noting that extracurricular programmes, which attract a large number of students, cover very important issues such as leadership, entrepreneurship and volunteerism. These programmes build confidence and create an individual that transcends itself to contribute to community building.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, who assists the Dean in the administration of the College of Arts and Sciences in Qatar University, Dr Abdulnasser al-Yafei, said that the university is an academic institution that has shown a high ability to deal with the blockade.
This was manifested in its great flexibility to accommodate students who were deprived of completing their studies in the blockading countries. He pointed out that this flexibility has sometimes forced it to bypass its regulations which stipulate not to accept more than 60 hours of study from another university. However, in the case of returning students from the blockading countries, the exception reached 90 hours. He said that the blockade had done great harm to the students and deprived them of their right to complete their studies. This is contrary to all international norms and human rights.
He stressed that the blockade had failed as a result of the loyalty of the Qataris to their country and the leadership.