Education Above All (EAA) Foundation has launched a campaign to raise funds during the Holy month of Ramadan with an aim to provide quality education to impoverished and marginalised children, youth and women around the world.
DOHA: In a first, Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ Museum) will be holding an international touring exhibition showcasing around 50 objects from its vast collection to several European countries in the next two years.
Under the patronage of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the exhibition dubbed “Cultures in Dialogue” aims to stimulate dialogue between cultures, religions and countries on the relevance of cultural heritage.
“These 50 objects were selected from among more than 300,000 in our collection, which means these objects are the most important, all of which reflect the theme of the exhibition. They express dialogue and cultural exchange,” Kees Wieringa, Director of FBQ Museum, told The Peninsula on the sidelines of a press conference to announce the exhibition.
“We chose these objects because they express of intercultural dialogue across the Arab world between East and West. This interaction produced objects of great beauty and deep fascination. This exhibition suggests that the climate of sharing, tolerance and respect that produced these objects remains valuable to us today,” said Wieringa.
He said the exhibition will start in Malta in the Royal Palace of Valletta from September 15 to October 28 to the Unesco Headquarters in Paris from November 29 to December 14, then to Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and the UK till end of 2020.
Preparations for this landmark project, including extensive research, took one and a half years, said Wieringa, adding this is the first time for FBQ Museum to launch a project of such scale which will continue in the future.
The exhibition is being organised in collaboration with Qatar Museums, UNESCO and Qatar Shell.
Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, commented: “We are grateful for the confidence placed on us by H H the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and believe that together with UNESCO we will actively serve our role of keeping alive the history, culture and traditions for the next generations to learn and draw from, thus enriching and influencing society in a positive way.”
The main feature of the show is a Majlis, where cultural dialogues in the form of conferences, educational conversations and other activities will be held “to stimulate dialogue between East and West, between young and old, between the past and the future.”
“The core and the central part of this collection is the Majlis. What the Arab culture has to offer is this amazing place of convening ideas, of convening people of different kind and getting together to debate about things of cultural significance and values and I think the collection will be a great inspiration for people to get together, debate, talk and present issues around the collection,” said Anna Paolini, Director of the UNESCO Doha Office
The press conference held on Sunday at Shangri-La Doha also saw the signing of agreement with Qatar Shell-the Platinum sponsor of the exhibition.
“Qatar Shell has long been committed to Qatar’s economic and social advancement. The Cultures in Dialogue exhibition is an excellent way of sharing the culture and history of Qatar and the region with the people of Europe.”
“Cultures in Dialogue is a clear display of Qatar’s role as an active member of the global community and of its commitment to the free exchange of ideas between countries, cultures and religions,” said Andrew Faulkner, Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Shell Companies.
Also present at the press conference were H E Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Minister of State and Dr. Hamda Al-Sulaiti, Secretary-General of the Qatar National Committee for Education, Science and Culture.
