Their Highnesses witness the 2015 Qatar Foundation Convocation Ceremony

His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Founder of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Co-Founder and Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, attended Qatar Foundation’s Convocation 2015, which was held at the Qatar National Convention Centre.

The convocation was attended by a number of VIPs and dignitaries, including His Excellency Abdelilah Benkirane, Prime Minister of Morocco, who is currently visiting Qatar, Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice-Chairperson, Qatar Foundation, and Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson, Qatar Museums Authority.

A selection of senior figures from QF were also present, including Engineer Saad Al Muhannadi, President of Qatar Foundation; Dr Ahmad Hasnah, President of Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU); Engineer Jassim Telefat, Group Executive Director of Qatar Foundation Capital Projects and Facilities Management; and Mr Fahad Saad Al Qahtani, Group Executive Director of Qatar Foundation Administration.

In addition, a number of distinguished guests including ambassadors, leading Qatar Foundation and Hamad bin Khalifa University representatives were in attendance, alongside a collection of deans and senior faculty members from different Education City universities. Furthermore, the parents and relatives of the graduates were also there to share in the joy of the convocation ceremony.

His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Emir, was the keynote speaker. He said: “I am pleased to meet with you today to celebrate this year’s batch of graduates of the Education City universities, whom we consider the result of a huge national project launched in 2003, when Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development entered into a strategic educational and scientific research partnership with prestigious universities. We are today reaping more fruits of this partnership in the form of young educated youth who are proud of their identity, cultural heritage, and who will set out from the Education City to pass through ‘The Door to the Future’, and to step forward confidently to contribute to the advancement and development of their country.”

“The credit goes to QF for empowering these young people. It has also proved day after day the sound vision of our country, that the optimum investment is the investment in human potential, that our young people are our country’s greatest asset and that they are a source of privilege and pride for this county.”

“We believed, and still believe, that education is the real wealth of any nation. It is the basis of all progress and that its absence is the cause of all backwardness.”

“As we are proud of your convocation today, we are also proud of all our graduates, the sons of this homeland, from various universities and educational centres, at home and abroad, for education is an integrated process, which is not confined to one side, it is a fusion of all components of our educational structure at various levels, contributing to Qatar’s development and achieving its aspirations towards sustainable development.”

His Highness continued: “Qatar has attached the highest importance to education and allocated a lot of resources to it even during the times of crises and difficult economic conditions that we passed through, because of our firm belief that education is the main tributary to knowledge, that elevates and develops nations, and through which we could overcome all social challenges facing Arab societies. Poverty has its roots in ignorance, and ignorance begets fanaticism that turns societies from active humanitarian communities to scattered secluded groups.

As for us, our message has always been the renunciation of intolerance, and securing opportunities for all individuals and groups, so Qatar was and will always remain as a destination for the oppressed, as it is today a beacon of education and science.”

Concluding, he said: “On the 20th anniversary of establishing Qatar Foundation, it’s incumbent on me to extend my thanks to Her Highness Sheikha Moza who exerted great efforts to make our common dream come true. This dream has today become a reality that we could see its results and witness its successes to achieve a bright future for our country with steady and confident strides.”

As a token of appreciation for Her Highness for all of her efforts during the last 20 years, His Highness, the Father Emir, presented her with a symbolic gift, the ‘Key to Unlocking Human Potential’. On the key was written: “In gratitude and appreciation for the inspired vision and wise leadership, rich with promising aspirations, steady direction and unrelenting dedication that instilled in us the will to rise through unlocking human potential and make our beloved Qatar soar to great heights.”

Amongst the new graduates was Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, who was awarded a Master of Arts in Public Policy in Islam from HBKU’s Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies.