Qatar Foundation Convocation Ceremony 2012

Ladies and Gentlemen,

May peace and the blessings of God be upon you.

Dear Graduates,

It is my pleasure to witness today the convocation ceremony of Education City’s fifth graduating class.

This comes just after the fifteenth anniversary of the establishment of Qatar Foundation: the anniversary of the first seeds of ambitious beginnings, which we are happily harvesting together today.

I congratulate you because you carry the torch of the values you have learned, and you go forth with the Qatar Foundation’s vision towards the implementation of its goals locally, regionally, and internationally.

I see in you the blossoming of new futures, which I have worked so long to establish through the providing of quality education.

This is the main starting point for our vision to establish the educational, scientific, and cultural pillars needed to build new futures— futures we will share throughout the world.

We are living in one world whose knowledge, interests and future are indivisible.

In order to be at the heart of the universal and intellectual dialogue, socially and culturally, we made a sound investment in exchanging material and intellectual interests with different countries.

We were brought together with these countries by the desire to globalize science, achieve sustainable development, and spread good values, tolerance and peace throughout the world.

Education and healthcare should be a right for everyone, because obtaining a good education and having good healthcare pave the way to developmental prosperity and promote the values of living together in peace.

In order to build a society in which knowledge prevails, fifteen years ago we set about building deep strategic partnerships with international long-standing educational institutions to establish an infrastructure for education in Qatar with advanced international standards.

We have done this while protecting our own identity embodied in three interlinked elements: language, religion, and culture.

The relationship between university institutions and the job market is an integral one based on a shared strategic vision encompassing a strong economy, successful sustainable development, and the opening up of new prospects in the fields of work and employment.

We must face up to the fact that your own true potential will remain hidden unless you put the effort in to overcome difficulties and conquer challenges that will confront you in the next stages of your futures.

The path to great achievement is rarely straight and often littered with obstacles. It is up to each one of us steer the right path – and the path that is right for us.

And remember, what distinguishes those who attain greatness from those that don’t, is having an eye for the future.

Dear graduates,

You’ve successfully crossed the threshold from Qatar Foundation and you are ready to go forth into the world to contribute to our vision of the future to build and strengthen the pillars of a modern renaissance taking place in Qatar.

Just as you were once students of Education City, now here you are its graduates.

I don’t want this gathering to be a goodbye but rather the beginning of a new phase.

As we have helped create new futures for you, it is now your responsibility to create new futures for the coming generations who follow in your pioneering footsteps.

Tomorrow is yours, don’t let it take you by surprise, but rather go out and meet it.

I wish you luck and success.

May peace and the blessings of God be upon you.