IN order to contribute to human, social and economic development by providing quality education and other welfare programmes and initiatives, the State of Qatar established Education Above All Foundation in 2012.
The global educational movement is committed to the right to education and realising the vision of sustainable development goals and the agenda of 2030.
Data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) shows that an estimated 244 million children aged between 6 and 18 are still out of school worldwide. The report stated that Sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia have the highest number of out-of-school learners.
The EAA Foundation advocates the right to education by focusing on disadvantaged societies and areas affected by poverty, conflict, and disaster, in addition to adopting programmes aimed at protecting education. Since its inception, EAA has supported over 80 projects in 53 countries.
On the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, the Education Above All Foundation (EAA) and the General Directorate of Endowments (Awqaf) hosted a celebratory Iftar at the Qatar National Convention Centre for beneficiaries of the Qatar Scholarship programme. The Iftar brought together representatives from partner organizations, universities, and embassies. This was along with over 200 students and their families, faculty of local universities including Qatar University, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Oryx University in partnership with Liverpool, Lusail University, and the Global Studies Institute, and representatives from the embassies of Yemen, Palestine, Sudan, and Jordan.
QSQ is a needs-based scholarship offered by EAA for youth aged 17 to 25 who have spent most of their formative years in Qatar with access to higher education. QSQ has provided more than 160 scholarships for youth in Qatar since it was launched in 2018. It aims to reach 500 scholarships by the academic year 2025-2026.
"EAA supports millions of children and young people worldwide to ensure they have access to safe, quality education," said Talal Al Hothal, Director of the Qatar Scholarship Programme in Qatar (QSQ) said, during the Iftar ceremony.
Initiatives supported by EAA underline the commitment of Qatar to fight poverty through education worldwide. Qatar believes that quality education and life-changing opportunities for deserving youth to pursue successful and rewarding careers can facilitate the transformation of nations plagued by wars and poverty.
As we are in the holy month of Ramadan, the importance of education and reading, which are at the core of the teachings of Islam, should be emphasized.
Based on this fact, Qatar and its educational institutions do not hesitate to extend a helping hand to people in need and children deprived of education in various parts of the world.
