Day: April 1, 2024

Doha: The Qatar Amateur Radio Society (QARS) participated in the 2024 CQ World-Wide WPX Contest which brought together a host of radio amateurs from around the globe. The event is one of the major international competitions.

In preparation for the contest, QARS established an international station at its premises which operated in all international frequencies for the competition, in addition to preparing towers, antennas and all essential equipment and computers for this event. Also, QARS participated with the international call signal of the Qatar Amateur Radio Society (A73A).

In addition, a host of QARS members took part in this event from the wired stations established in their homes, who would coordinate interoperably to operate as one team that represented QARS in this international contest.

The World-Wide WPX Contest is held annually. It is classified as one of the most significant competitions for radio amateurs on the global calendar in the radio hobby. Members of QARS’s board of directors partici
pated in this contest, along with members who had previously took part in such kinds of competitions in the past years and achieved advanced results globally.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South at Northwestern University in Qatar (#IAS_NUQ) launched the #IAS_NUQ Press, a new academic publishing house dedicated to capturing and amplifying diverse voices and narratives on the Global South.

As a multimodal and multilingual press, #IAS_NUQ Press will publish a variety of scholarly and creative media works, including academic papers, multimedia projects, and research briefs, in languages relevant to the work and made available in a unified, open-access repository. Media outputs will include scholarship and publications by #IAS_NUQ’s fellows developed from its programs. They include Arab Information and Media Studies (AIMS) workshops, the Southern Digitalities conference, and special projects from collaborations with partners and affiliates.

“The #IAS_NUQ Press is a significant milestone for Northwestern Qatar and #IAS_NUQ. Media scholarship and now publications will expand our impact and reach,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northweste
rn Qatar and founder of #IAS_NUQ.

“By embracing open access, multimodality, and multilingualism, #IAS_NUQ will provide access for our diverse voices from the Global South and scholars from other geographies and domains. This initiative will allow us to be globally resonant and locally relevant.” The Press’ inaugural publication, “Developing Critical Security Studies from Doha – A Roundtable,” which examines security and insecurity, interests, and cultures from the perspective of the Global South, materialized in partnership with the Arab Council for Social Science (ACSS) and is available in English and Arabic. It features a series of essays by faculty and researchers from Northwestern Qatar and the Critical Security Studies Hub at #IAS_NUQ, offering an inclusive and nuanced understanding of security and covering approaches within border, migration, legal, youth, and feminist studies.

“The publication’s bilingual format and open-access nature exemplify our commitment to stimulate critical conversations aroun
d enduring questions and emerging challenges that confront the Global South. It is the first of many to come and an example of our collaborative spirit encouraging convergence of domains to expand reach,” reflects Kraidy.

Since its founding in 2022, #IAS_NUQ, a research initiative dedicated to amplifying Northwestern Qatar scholarship and mediamaking, has supported faculty and student scholarship on the histories, cultures, societies, and media of the Global South through its flagship Global Undergraduate Fellowship, postdoctoral scholarship, Global Fellowship, and other research programs. With the launch of #IAS_NUQ Press, Northwestern Qatar can now expand to produce and publish evidence-based storytelling and creative media.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The Ministry of Culture celebrated on Sunday evening the World Theatre Day, which falls on the 27th of March every year.

In honor of this occasion, a Ramadan gathering was organized by the Theater Affairs Center, bringing together Qatari playwrights from different generations. Additionally, a seminar was held at the Social and Cultural Center for Blind to discuss the issue of theater for people with disabilities.

During the Ramadan gathering held at the Diplomatic Club, young artist Mohammed Al Mulla delivered a speech on World Theatre Day, written by Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse, titled “Art is Peace”.

Several playwrights, on the sidelines of the World Theatre Day celebration, emphasized the need to uplift Qatari theater, regain its shine, and revive its illustrious history.

In this context, Abdelrahim Al Sadiqi, Director of the Theater Affairs Center, stated to journalists on the sidelines of the celebration, that the center is keen on annually celebrating this occasion, a longstanding tradition
that brings together Qatari playwrights who were the first to celebrate this event in the Gulf region in 1980.

He noted the cohesion over the past years between the World Theatre Day celebration and the Doha Theatre Festival. However, this year, the festival will be held in May after the conclusion of the Doha Book Fair.

He added that the gathering of playwrights on this occasion, although lacking a theatrical performance this year due to Ramadan, is an opportunity to exchange ideas and bring together different generations to study what contributes to the advancement of Qatari theater, a priority for the Ministry of Culture.

Speaking to Qatar News Agency, theater critic Dr. Hassan Rashid emphasized the early interest of Qatari theater in celebrating World Theatre Day. He stressed the need to revive the spirit of theatrical movement and exert more efforts that contribute to the progress and revival of theater in Qatar through the annual festival, theatrical season, workshops, and courses that polish the art
istic talents of playwrights.

Similarly, renowned artist Ghazi Hussein told QNA that this celebration reflects the Qatari artist’s passion for theater and realization of its importance. He emphasized that theater is the “father of arts” and plays an educational and enlightening role in society, stating his hope that these gatherings will later showcase substantial works on the Qatari theater stage.

Director Saad Burshid, an associate professor in the Department of Theatre Arts at the Community College, stated that the celebration of World Theatre Day reflects the successive generations’ interest in Qatari theater on this day, which Qatar began celebrating in 1980.

He also noted the Ministry of Culture’s interest in engaging with playwrights in line with its vision for a theatrical movement embodied in the Doha Theatre Festival and continuous theatrical activity in the country.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities, one of the centers affiliated with the Qatar Foundation for Social Work, is set to mark the World Autism Awareness Day which falls on April 2 and is marked this year under the theme: “Moving from Surviving to Thriving: Autistic Individuals share regional perspectives”.

The celebration aims to garner an overarching global perspective on autism through uniquely focusing on the voices and experiences of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), in addition to underscoring the importance of implementing the sustainable development goals for people with ASD.

Commenting on this occasion, CEO of Shafallah Center Mariam Saif Al Suwaidi highlighted that the celebration is a crucial opportunity to spotlight the milestones the State of Qatar has achieved in caring for people with ASD and achieving further successes in including and caring for this critical segment of the society. She heaped a praise on the role performed by Shafallah Center for Persons with Disab
ilities in undertaking significant efforts to provide the environment conducive for the targeted people with ASD at the educational, functional, and social levels.

Al Suwaidi pointed out that the State of Qatar gives top priority to persons with disabilities, including people with ASD through launching the Qatar’s National Autism Plan that primarily aims to improve the livelihood of people with ASD and their family members based on the Qatar National Vision 2030.

The CEO of Shafallah Center affirmed that the autism department receives male and female children diagnosed with ASD from the age of 6 until 16. Thereafter, they are transferred to the Vocational Rehabilitation and Training Department at the center to further receive services of vocational rehabilitation to be prepared for recruitment.

Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities offers a wide diversity of inclusive pedagogical and rehabilitation services for people with ASD, where an individual educational plan is separately set for each affili
ate containing educational and skillful objectives of high priority, Al Suwaidi pointed out, highlighting that the aforementioned plan is the official document between teachers, children and families as the center of attention.

The autism department provides a combination of educational services in professional classes that receive a limited number of affiliates, about six students per class, distributed to class groups as compatible with each other as possible, she noted underlining that such a program is carried out in collaboration with the affiliates’ families as partners in affording this service through multiple communication channels.

Al Suwaidi emphasized that Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities strives to upgrade the capabilities of affiliates to help them overcome the encountered behavioral and educational challenges through enabling them to internalize the skills in a multi-pronged aspect, such as social and behavioral aspects, academic and functional aspects, linguistic and communicat
ion aspects as well as the daily life kinetic skills.

She indicated that the skills include movement, health, safety, and game skills offered under reliable world-class programs through utilizing the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which is one of the most critical methodologies that has proven its efficiency in training and rehabilitating people with ASD.

CEO of the Shafallah Center, Mariam Saif Al Suwaidi said that the Autism Department provides special education and various rehabilitative and skill services to its members based on a set of reliable and evidence-based curricula, which keep pace with the latest developments and commensurate with autistic people’s special educational needs and characteristics. She added that the educational services in the Autism Department are offered under the umbrella of the so-called Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) – a reliable scientific methodology based on the principles of the behavioral school. Al Suwaidi highlighted the Center’s adoption of VB.MAPP Verbal Behav
ior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program, adding that the program has positive impacts on the child’s daily life by providing children with priority skills that enable them to overcome the challenges in their surroundings. Most of the Shafallah Center’s educational staff have received sufficient training on applying and using this program, she added. Al Suwaidi indicated that the Family Support Department at the Center provides lectures, courses and training workshops for families, in order to provide them with the skills necessary to achieve a better life and higher psychological health, which leads to developing the family’s confidence in their abilities and competence and encourages them to continuously strive to improve their skills and update their information about everything related to their children’s disabilities. She highlighted many workshops, including a workshop on the role of the family in caring for their children with autism spectrum disorder, the role of the family in developing langua
ge skills for people with disabilities and autism spectrum disorder, strategies for developing communication skills for children with disabilities and autism spectrum disorder, and strategies for modifying behavior for people with disabilities.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Riyadh: According to the National Center for Meteorology, strong winds will blow and moderate to heavy rain and hail may fall in parts of Jazan, Asir, Al-Baha, and Makkah.

Light to moderate rain may fall in parts of Qassim, Riyadh, and the Eastern Region.

Dust-stirring winds will blow in parts of the Northern Borders, Al-Jouf, Tabuk, Hail, and Madinah.

Winds over the Red Sea will be northerly to northwesterly, reaching 20-50 km/h in the northern and central parts, southeasterly to northeasterly, reaching 15-35 km/h and shifting at night to northerly to northwesterly in the southern parts, and southeasterly to southerly, reaching 15-50 km/h towards the Bab Al-Mandab Strait. Waves may range from half a meter to more than two meters; the sea will be calm to choppy.

In the Arabian Gulf, winds will be easterly to southeasterly, at speeds of 15-45 km/h in the northern parts. Waves may reach from half a meter to one and a half meters; the sea will be relatively calm.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Doha: The State of Qatar voiced strong condemnation of the attack that targeted the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, leaving deaths and injuries; and considered it a blatant violation of international agreements and charters, and diplomatic norms that criminalize attacks on diplomatic missions headquarters.

In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed the State of Qatar’s total rejection of targeting of diplomatic and consular missions, and the necessity of providing protection for their employees under the rules of international law; and renewed the State’s firm position rejecting violence and terrorism, regardless of the motives and reasons.

The Ministry expressed the State of Qatar’s condolences to families of the victims, and to the government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

Source: Qatar News Agency