QT July 2014

inside this issue JULY 2014 / VOL. 40/ ISSUE 7

COVER STORY

50 THE GIFT OF EDUCATION

38 COMPETITION IN THE SKIES

The region is increasingly becoming a competitive market among existing regional carriers, with international players vying for a larger share of air traffic. Qatar Today finds out whether the competition will lead to an overcapacity in aircraft, air traffic congestion and impact profitability of the airlines.

24 GCC MISSES THE TRADE DEAL OPPORTUNITY

The GCC reportedly cancelled the 24th GCC-EU ministerial meeting, scheduled to be held on June 23, following a statement supported by several European countries, on the human rights situation in Bahrain during a recent gathering of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

32 “QATAR SHOULD BECOME ANOTHER SILICON VALLEY”

In the wake of one of the biggest IT financial scams that involved a leading IT company in India – Satyam Computer Services – the Mahindra Group brought a 42.7% stake in the fallen company in 2009.

35 A EUROPEAN SUCCESS STORY

"Love your passengers" is the motto that Turkish Airlines has followed and the fruits of this simple ethos is reflected in its financial results. Qatar Today sits down to chat with the CEO of Turkish Airlines, Dr Temel Kotil, to find out more about this business model.

An initiative from Qatar, Educate a child, reaches out to children around the world who do not have access to education. A Qatar Today report.

56 MORE THAN BRICKS AND STONES

With preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in full swing, the construction sector has been witnessing a lot of activity, with Doha looking like a giant work-in-progress.

60 SINGAPORE SMART NATION MODEL: BLUEPRINT FOR QATAR TO FOLLOW?

While Qatar is still a tiny shadow when compared with the on-the-threshold of Smart Nation Singapore, it has some new initiatives up its sleeve to make the country accessible to foreign investors.

66 INFORMATION STATION

Qatar National Library has an agenda of making reading a habit for all nationals.

72 READY FOR THE (BIT)COIN TOSS?

What can Bitcoin mean for the Middle East region? Qatar Today speaks to young entrepreneurs and early adopters who are at the forefront of driving bitcoin penetration in the Arab world.

inside this issue JULY 2014 / VOL. 40/ ISSUE 7

26 DELIVERING ENERGY SECURITY THROUGH EFFICIENCY

With global energy demand set to roughly double by 2050 versus today’s levels, ensuring uninterrupted energy supplies at affordable prices has become a top priority for most countries.

28 CONSERVATION: NEED OF THE HOUR

With industrial development continuing apace and population expansion outstripping expectations, Qatar is both an electricity hungry nation, and a thirsty one.

48 10 MYTHS ABOUT NON-PROFIT CAREERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Like most myths, the ones about the non-profit sector also stem from prejudice rather than fact.

68 GREEN TALK IN THE CLASSROOM

Qatar Today speaks to the last Green Programme for Schools winners about their success in spreading the green message among their students.

86 LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE

At a recent summit for public relations professionals, we sat in on a session with crisis communication expert and career troubleshooter Donald Steel.

88 CALL OF THE SEA

Have you ever considered the possibility of scuba diving in Qatar’s sea waters? If you love the life under water you should surely investigate on this new hobby that you can pursue right here.

and regulars

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12

NEWS BITES

16

O&G OVERVIEW

18

BANK NOTES

20

REALTY CHECK

78

TECH TALK

80

AUTO NEWS

82

MARKET WATCH

92

DOHA DIARY

from the desk Football fever has invaded our homes. One such evening, watching a particularly intense match, and observing the frenzied, crazed football fans, I could not help but imagine this scenario in a rather different setting, eight years from now. Visualise scantily-clad American fans cheering their team in Qatar’s (temperature-controlled) stadiums or particularly noisy and inebriated Brazilians celebrating outside on Doha's streets!

These scenes seem especially difficult to conjure up now, since the debate about preserving Qatari culture in the face of a variety of cultures brought into the country by expatriates has come to the forefront once again with the re-launch of the social campaign, “Reflect your Respect.”

According to a report which appeared recently in a local newspaper, many expatriates respect the traditions and laws of the country. But when there is football fever around, and when fans around the globe follow the game to the country, can we expect the tourists to respect the culture of the host country and act accordingly? Or will the moral police stop their patrolling around this time? Will the country tone down its moral stance and allow the fans to enjoy a good game of football with all the usual accompaniments?

These are not the most important questions that have been asked about Qatar holding the 2022 World Cup. The others are more controversial in nature, with the World Cup sponsors Sony and Adidas voicing concern over new allegations of bribes paid to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup. Qatar has responded to the allegations by saying that it won the bid on its merits and is confident that the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar will stand. A FIFA investigation into Russia and Qatar’s winning bids is set to be presented this month, a week after the World Cup final.

While there have been some doubts cast on Qatar and its policies, there has been a unanimous vote for the regional airlines which are vouched for their service, safety, world-class technology and equipment with most of the airlines plying the latest of available aircrafts. While the regional airlines stand less competition on a global scale, they are pitted against each other in a limited airspace. It is this competition that Qatar Today focuses on in our July cover story.

Another area that the country is taking a leap on is ICT. While Singapore took the lead as the first Smart Nation in the world, Qatar intends to look into the best practices and apply them here. Qatar Today was in Singapore for the landmark announcement of the country being the first Smart Nation and we give our readers a feel of this super-connected city.

In the same era that we speak of a new-age currency that is redefining centralised and controlled money, we also speak about children who have no access to quality primary education. Qatar Today finds out more about both these diverse subjects in the July issue. The holy month of fasting is here and is the best time to reflect on all these contradictions that the world throws at us. We wish all our readers Ramadan Kareem.

SINDHU NAIR

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PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF YOUSUF JASSEM AL DARWISH CHIEF EXECUTIVE SANDEEP SEHGAL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT ALPANA ROY VICE PRESIDENT RAVI RAMAN EDITORIAL EDITOR SINDHU NAIR DEPUTY EDITOR V L SRINIVASAN SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS EZDIHAR IBRAHIM ABIGAIL MATHIAS AYSWARYA MURTHY ART SENIOR ART DIRECTOR VENKAT REDDY DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR HANAN ABU SAIAM ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR AYUSH INDRAJITH SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER MAHESHWAR REDDY PHOTOGRAPHER ROBERT F ALTIMIRANO MARKETING AND SALES SENIOR MANAGER – MARKETING FREDRICK ALPHONSO MANAGER – MARKETING SAKALA A DEBRASS ASSISTANT MANAGER – MARKETING THOMAS JOSE SENIOR MEDIA CONSULTANTS HASSAN REKKAB LYDIA YOUSSEF MARKETING RESEARCH AND SUPPORT EXECUTIVE KANWAL BALUCH

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letters

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DO YOU THINK IRAQ IS HEADING TOWARDS A SECTARIAN CIVIL WAR? JUNE QATAR TODAY POLL

AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF AN ANNOUNCEMENT

67 YES

33 NO

All of us waited with bated breath for a renewal of labour laws in the country. But nothing concrete came of it. With hopes of pitching Qatar as a worldclass international destination, this is a step in a positive direction which one hopes is taken soon.

Figures in percentages

DO YOU SYMPATHISE WITH THE REFLECT YOUR RESPECT CAMPAIGN?

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HONG KONG CALLING Interesting coverage on travel to Hong Kong and the business potential of the country. The region has always fascinated me.

POWERED BY

M SHAHANE

CHECKMATE With family that came to visit from out of town, we were running out of options on things to do in the city. Reading about the ongoing ‘Kings and Pawns’ exhibition gave us an excellent opportunity to find out more about our favourite board games.

RUDY DARATZU

ALL THAT WASTE Another World Environment Day passes and we ponder on the environment and then quickly forget about it. This piece on waste management was an eye opener. By monetising one’s waste let us hope more is invested in recycling.

BILAL K

SOCIAL MEDIA @Rabstag On the announcement of labour law revival @jpmlynch@QatarToday it’s just a change of name

EXPERIENCE A NEW ERA OF READING QATAR TODAY INVITES READERS’ FEEDBACK

Share your views about the magazine or any issue that affects you here in Qatar. One lucky reader will win an exquisite Montblanc writing instrument.

WRITE TO: THE EDITOR, QATAR TODAY PO Box 3272, Doha. Fax: (+974) 44550982 e-mail: qtoday@omsqatar.com

On Villagio fire anniversary @bettbuy @KamahlAJE @QatarToday our hearts broke that day. I remember the incident everytime I pass by that hallway. Will always pray for their parents On the cutting of trees to make space for hotels/ spas @MarksBlackmore such a shame. It’s not like we have that many forests in Qatar...whereas hotels and spas...

Qatar Today reserves the right to edit and publish correspondence.

Views and opinions expressed in the published letters may not necessarily be the publication’s views and opinions.

12 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

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affairs > local

THE FRENCH CONNECTION French President Francois Hollande (L) shakes hands with the Emir of Qatar HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as he arrives at the Elysee Palace in Paris on June 23. Sheikh Tamim is on an official visit to France focused on the Iraqi and Syrian crises, and the sale of French Rafale fighter planes to Qatar.

AFP PHOTO / ALAIN JOCARD

“WE ARE NEUTRAL,” SAYS THE EMIR

T

he Emir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has reaffirmed Qatar’s neutral stance on developments in the region and said the country always stood for justice, equality, brotherly relations with other countries and peace.

“We have always been playing the role of a mediator between countries with differences, provided they have sought our mediation. We are all for peace,” the Emir said while speaking at a dinner banquet hosted by French President Francois Hollande during his visit France to last month.

WOMEN FOR NATIONAL SERVICE PROGRAMME Qatar is considering making it optional for women to attend a national service programme, which is mandatory for men.

This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Defence Major-General HE Hamad bin Ali Al Attiyah, at a ceremony held to mark the completion of the first batch of National Service cadets. Some 2,000 young Qatari men comprised the first-ever batch.

The second batch, consisting of university and high school students, will begin its training as part of the National Service after Ramadan. For women volunteers, special training programmes will be put in place after careful studies. The first batch of university graduates successfully completed their three-month training in Al Shamal.

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SEHA FOR DENTAL SERVICES The National Health Insurance Company announced that as of June 26 dental services will be covered under Seha – the National Health Insurance Scheme. This means that all Qataris covered under Seha can now get the full range of medically-necessary dental treatments at a large number of hospitals, clinics and specialised dental centres within the authorised provider network.

POLITICAL SOLUTION FIRST IN IRAQ, SAYS UK

MEDIA FOR FREEDOM

UK’s Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond says Qatar and the UK share the view that military intervention in Iraq will not resolve the crisis unless there is a political solution.

H

ammond, who was on a day-long visit to Qatar, made the remarks after a meeting with Foreign Minister HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah. “We both agreed that a military intervention will not be a successful way to resolve this crisis unless first there is a political solution. There cannot be a purely military solution.”

During the meeting, the two politicians spoke about the situation in Iraq and felt that once there was an inclusive government, it would be able to emerge from the crisis.

Journalists, some with black tape across their mouths, gather in front of the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) in Hong Kong on June 24 to show support for the jailed Al Jazeera staff after an Egyptian court on June 23 sentenced three of the network's journalists to jail terms, accusing them of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood and "spreading false news". Egypt was under mounting pressure to pardon the three Al Jazeera journalists, including Australia's award-winning Peter Greste, jailed in a ruling that sparked global outrage.

AFP PHOTO / Philippe Lopez

FIVE MORE PROPERTIES FOR KATARA Katara Hospitality, the Qatar-based global owner, developer and operator of iconic hotels, confirmed the acquisition of five properties in key European cities from a private investor.

T

he company has acquired the InterContinental Carlton Cannes, the InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam, the InterContinental Madrid, the InterContinental Frankfurt, and the leasehold interest in the InterContinental De La Ville Rome. The acquisition brings Katara Hospitality’s global portfolio to 32 hotels operational or under development, topping its long-established goal of 30 properties by 2016.

His Excellency Sheikh Nawaf bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, Chairman of Katara Hospitality, said on the occasion: “We are delighted to be able to add these five hotels to our portfolio of iconic properties across the world. This deal provides a major expansion of our footprint, both geographically and in terms of our hotel operator partners.”

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 15

affairs > local

QATAR’S REAL GDP TO GROW AT 6%

QATAR, LATEST FORECASTS OF KEY INDICATORS

Qatar’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is likely to grow 6.3% in 2014 and 7.8% in 2015, according to the Qatar Economic Outlook (QEO) report for 2014-15, released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS).

2014

2015

REAL GDP GROWTH (%)

6.3

7.8

NOMINAL GDP GROWTH (%)

6.8

6.6

CONSUMER PRICE INFLATION (%)

3.0

3.4

FISCAL SURPLUS (% OF NOMINAL GDP)

9.3

5.5

CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS (% OF NOMINAL GDP)

25.1

19.5

Note: Real GDP in constant 2004 prices.

Source: Estimates from MDPS.

M

DPS Minister HE Dr Saleh Al Nabit says: “The last few years have shown a robust trend of continuous growth in non-hydrocarbon sectors. Last year, for example, services and construction were the main contributors to economic growth, propelled by investments in infrastructure.

And in the coming years, growth is expected to be more broadly based still.”

Inflation touched 3.1% in 2013 from nearly 2% in 2012, likely to be at 3% in 2014 and around 3.4% in 2015. Domestic inflationary pressures are expected to pick up over the rest of 2014 and 2015 as domestic demand strengthens, though the moderate inflation in the first half of 2014 will restrain the year’s average, and a benign global inflation outlook will help to offset domestic sources of inflationary pressures in the near term.

AL KHOR STADIUM NEW DESIGN UNVEILED The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and Aspire Zone Foundation has unveiled the design of Al Khor Stadium dubbed ‘Home Stadium’ which can accommodate about 60,000 spectators.

EXPATS ARE FOOD LOVERS 9.02% 13.49%

31.42%

4.49%

3.67%

8.94%

5.70% 4.17%

2.40% 8.60%

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8.10%

Expats spend nearly one third of their incomes on food from restaurants compared with Qataris, who spend less than one-fourth of their earnings, says the fifth Household Income and Expenditure Survey, conducted by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics.

The survey, which was carried between September 2012 and 2013, also shows that expats spend more on cereals and products, dairy products and eggs, oils and fats, vegetables, legumes and potatoes and beverages.

QF OPENS ENERGY MONITORING CENTRE Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development has announced the launch of the GCC’s first Energy Monitoring Centre (EMC) to manage its smart grid and monitor solar power generation across all sites within Education City.

A

t present, Qatar Foundation is producing 85% (3.3 MW out of an installed capacity of 4 MW) of solar energy in the country through photovoltaic (PV) systems at various facilities in eight locations including Texas A &M, CMU-Q, WCMC-Q and Georgetown University, roof-tops and car parking shades in the Education City. Enthused by the success, Qatar Foundation plans to produce up to 8 MW in future.

The PV systems at Qatar Foundation now generate 5,180 megawatt hours of clean energy annually, resulting in savings of around 2,590 tons of CO2 emissions every year. The EMC will also be connected to the Kahramaa Conservation and Efficiency Control Centre to showcase the amount of solar energy Qatar Foundation’s PV systems is feeding into the central power grid

business > oil&gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) import company South Hook Gas, and the London office of the regasification facility, South Hook LNG Terminal, celebrated their 5th anniversary and the move to London’s iconic Shard building last month.

SOUTH HOOK GAS MOVES TO THE SHARD

DRILLING IS ON

T

he new offices were inaugurated by His Excellency Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry of the State of Qatar, in the presence of The Right Honourable Michael Fallon, UK Minister of State for Energy & Climate Change.

Dr Al Sada noted that South Hook Gas was happy to be one of the contributors to the UK’s energy security. “In just five years, South Hook Gas has grown rapidly to become the largest LNG importer in the UK, and one of the largest in Europe. It is a reliable energy partner that is capable of meeting up to one fifth of total UK demand.”

QATAR SHOWS INTEREST IN UK POWER PLANT

GULF DRILLING INTERNATIONAL (GDI), A WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF GULF INTERNATIONAL SERVICES (GIS), WON TWO NEW CONTRACTS TO PROVIDE QATAR PETROLEUM (QP) WITH DRILLING RIG SERVICES. THE NEW CONTRACTS WILL COVER SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED BY TWO NEW LAND RIGS (GDI-7 AND GDI-8) THAT GDI IS IN THE PROCESS OF ACQUIRING FROM A RIG BUILDER BASED IN THE US. EACH CONTRACT WILL HAVE A TERM OF FIVE YEARS AND THE COMBINED VALUE OF BOTH CONTRACTS IS QR1.1 BILLION.

Qatar is in talks with Centrica over investing in UK power plants, under plans to expand its partnership with the British Gas owner, according to a UK-based daily.

H

E Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, the energy minister, and Sam Laidlaw, Centrica Chief Executive, both declined to comment on rumours that Qatar was trying to build a major stake in Centrica or considering a takeover bid, said the daily.

Centrica signed a cooperation agreement with Qatar Petroleum International in 2011, which has so far focused on projects in North America. Last year it also signed a £4.4billion (QR27.3 billion) liquefied natural gas supply deal with Qatargas.

HE Al Sada said: “We invested together in Canada and we are still discussing other potential investments, be it here in the UK and outside. We are capitalising on the success and positive commonalities between the two and we were just talking about a few areas of future cooperation.”

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OPEC TALKS Omar Ali El Shakmak, Libya’s acting Minister of Oil and Gas and President of the OPEC Conference, opens a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, at their headquarters in Vienna, Austria on June 11. OPEC has agreed to maintain its oil production ceiling at 30 million barrels per day, Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said after the cartel met in Vienna.

AFP PHOTO/JOE KLAMAR

business > bank notes GOING INTERNATIONAL

ALI AL KUWARI Acting Group CEO, Qatar National Bank

“Qatar National Bank’s strategy will focus on two main areas to achieve further growth and expansion. The first phase will deal with expanding the bank’s global presence by entering new markets in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South East Asia while the second phase will focus on expanding the operations of QNB’s existing international network.”

The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has started selling QR950 million riyals ($261 million) worth of sevenyear conventional treasury bonds on June 15 for the first time, as well as QR2.1 billion of three-year bonds and QR950 million of fiveyear bonds.

QCB ISSUES QR4 BILLION BONDS

T

he QCB has begun selling seven-year debt to extend the yield curve it’s developing for local companies to issue debt. “We try to create our yield curve and extend it for longer period of time. The bank is aiming to create a risk-free interest rate as a benchmark for local companies to issue their own bonds,” QCB Governor HE Abdullah Saud Al Thani said, according to a Bloomberg report. “This is step by step, it’s well planned and we are creating our capital market,” he added.

QIB PLANS STAKE IN TURKISH BANK Asya Katilim Bankasi AS, the Turkish bank in talks to sell a stake to Qatar Islamic Bank, has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc as exclusive financial adviser on the deal.

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The Istanbul-based lender confirmed in March that it was in talks with QIB for a strategic partnership, while the Doha-based bank said it was interested to take a stake in the lender.– Merger and acquisition activity in Turkey’s banking industry is increasing as international rivals seek to tap the country’s economic growth. The Bank Asya takeover would be the second by Qatari investors after Commercial Bank of Qatar bought Alternatifbank AS last year.

EXPATS TAKE MORE BANK LOANS Personal loans taken by expatriates grew by 36% to QR14.36 million in December 2013 from QR10.6 million in January 2013, whereas loans taken by Qataris rose 9% to QR26.82 million during the same period.

Reports quoting Qatar Central Bank data say that though the growth is higher in case of non-Qataris, the total amount of loans is higher in case of Qataris and shows that the ticket size of loan is bigger for the locals.

Rapid growth in the population of expatriates is one of the main reasons for the surge in personal loans. Low salaries and rising inflation have also forced non-Qataris to approach banks for personal loans. Another reason for the high distribution of personal loans is lower interest rates.

business > realty check “Qatar is still facing challenges in the real estate sector. In the lead up to the World Cup 2022, Qatar needs to build 12 eco-friendly stadiums costing QR116.48 billion, pave roads and streets worth QR72.80 billion, construct 45,000 hotel rooms and complete the Msheireb project costing QR18.2 billion, as well as other projects such as Qatar Rail, Doha Metro and the deep sea port project.”

HE SHEIKH AHMED BIN JASSIM BIN MOHAMMED AL THANI Minister of Economy and Trade

CITYSCAPE 2014: A RECAP

The third edition of the real estate extravaganza saw property developers wow visitors with their visions of future Doha.

Cityscape this year was nothing if not arresting. Each of the mega-exhibits by the Qatar’s real estate titans was an ostentatious display of prowess, vision and reach. UDC’s model of the fully completed Pearl developments was especially magnificent (though somewhat dampened by the revelation that less than a quarter of the current residences were occupied) and so was Barwa’s stand featuring the Barwa Al Baraha, a project for labour accommodation. Msherib’s 3D display of roads, metro and tram routes criss-crossing through the innercity development was also visit-worthy.

DOHA HOUSING DEMAND ON RISE

ESTIMATED DEMAND FOR RESIDENTIAL UNITS

Population Cumulative Demand estimated at 266,000 units (2018) Average Household Size

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Though not many major announcements came out of the event, the threeday conference had expert speakers addressing several vital issues at play in the real estate market in Qatar, which gave the various stakeholders a chance to come together, debate and network. The demand and supply structure of the retail scene, innovative mall designs, affordable residential units, tapping into the serviced apartment market niche, construction standards and regulations affecting mega projects and the challenges developers face in securing financing were some of the topics discussed.

D

oha will continue to experience strong residential demand over the short to medium term as the economy remains stable and population growth continues, according to Colliers International, which released its Qatar Real Estate Overview Q2 2014 a few days ago.

The report says that although occupancy rates across Doha are currently 85%, primary research suggests that high-end gated

QATARI DIAR INVESTS IN WASHINGTON Qatari Diar, the real estate development entity of the Qatar Investment Authority, has emerged as one of the parties behind the construction of the Conrad Washington, DC. The Hilton Worldwide-operated hotel will part of the CityCenterDC in the US capital. Qatari Diar is working with international real estate firm Hines on the design and construction of the hotel and 70,000 square feet of largeformat retail space.

Hines and Qatari Diar are expecting construction to commence in mid-2015, with initial occupancy of the retail space expected in late autumn 2017. Due to open in early 2018, the hotel will have 370 rooms and is being designed by Herzog & de Meuron Architekten and HKS Architects.

Qatari Diar group CEO Khaled Mohammed Al Sayed says: “Conrad Washington is Qatari Diar’s second significant investment in the US property market. As we move into the construction of the hotel, we remain committed to the execution of unique international real estate projects that demonstrate our deep-rooted belief of upholding quality and sustainability within the global community.”

communities are currently enjoying average occupancy rates of approximately 97%, indicating a preference and high demand for such accommodation.

Developing residential units in close proximity to education facilities acts as a significant attractor to tenants from residential communities that do not have easy access to such essential social infrastructure facilities, the report adds.

news bites > regional

WA R C RY Iraqi Shiite fighters parade with weapons and national flags on June 21 in the capital, Baghdad. Shiite fighters paraded in Baghdad and south Iraq in a dramatic show of force aimed at Sunni militants who overran swathes of territory in a crisis threatening to rip the country apart.

AFP PHOTO /ALI AL SAADI

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QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 25

business > viewpoint

GCC MISSES THE TRADE DEAL

OPPORTUNITY

T

Bound to meet annually under the EU-GCC Cooperation Agreement of the late 1980s, the GCC reportedly cancelled the 24th GCC-EU ministerial meeting, scheduled to be held on June 23, following a statement supported by several European countries, that apparently includes all EU member states, on the human rights situation in Bahrain during a recent gathering of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

he UNHRC statement in Geneva expressed concern at the human rights situation in Bahrain, citing, among others, long prison sentences for exercising rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, ill-treatment and torture in detention facilities, and other rights violations.

With the high-level meetings between the European Union (EU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) usually discussing a series of issues of mutual interest or concern, like energy, financial crisis and climate change, it is possible to say that in addition to addressing looming threats and

26 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

continued instability in the Gulf and the wider Middle-East, the opportunity to try to find common ground for a decisive decision on the last few remaining obstacles of the long-awaited EU-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is missed.

EU-GCC FTA could make a difference Buoyant on good money derived from oil and natural-gas exports and steadfast leaderships having decided on regional integration, domestic market liberalisation, economic diversification and international competitiveness, the harsh desert countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have

steadily worked to reach economic growth.

GCC states have decided to sign-up for the multilateral free trade supervising World Trade Organisation (WTO), and are willing to be an integral part of the emerging multi-polar global political economy, that resulted in enhanced market access opportunities for other WTO-members in wealthy, and fast-growing GCC markets.

Indeed, removing cumbersome customs procedures, or reducing the costs of moving goods and services across international borders via trade facilitating agreements means increased commercial opportunities for those engaged in import and export.

Economic globalisation, or gangs of Ben-

gali brick-layers using U.S.-made cement with Chinese-manufactured concrete reinforcing rods on construction sites supervised by British engineers on behalf of local real estate developers are just as common across the GCC as modern, well-equipped national airlines composed of multiple-nationality cabin crews from Qatar and the UAE picking up passengers in major European airports for business and leisure travel around the globe.

Looming threats and the continued insecurities of the post-9/11 world have led to impediments to trade in services, though for the physical transfer of cross-border services, providers have been subjected to stricter security policies and tougher immigration legislation.

European companies cite restrictive foreign ownership as a barrier to investment in the GCC, and GCC investors have highlighted cumbersome visa policies for business travelers as a challenge facing Gulf-investors in the EU. As a result of this a series of both tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade were identified as negotiable items in the envisaged trade deal between the two regional blocs.

Real negotiations for an agreement providing progressive and reciprocal liberalisation of trade between the EU and the GCC began following an announcement in 2001 of the creation of a GCC customs union.

But with results eventually falling below expectations, and having created strong economies, and then reasoning that the EU should not see and patronise the GCC as a weak economic bloc since the EU constantly brought up issues and demands that had nothing to do with trade, or the economy as such, more assertive GCC states decided to suspend the bilateral trade talks at the end of 2008.

In order not to lose interest, and to keep informal contacts between negotiators alive, a EU-GCC Joint Action Program was agreed upon in 2010, but failed to deliver meaningful results.

Recognised as economies in development but classified last year as high-income countries for three consecutive years by the World Bank, the preferential access assigned to the six-nation GCC was lifted by the EU, which spans 28 member states.

Despite economic and financial set-backs caused by the credit crunch, and notwithstanding the political dialogue having led to snags and misunderstandings, EU-GCC trade continues to perform well, with the

observation though that a sound, comprehensive, WTO-compatible EU-GCC trade deal could make an interesting difference.

Breaking new ground Already subject to the enhanced commercial possibilities made possible by the forces of economic globalisation, the time is right to begin to reflect on a series of existing realities and to comprehend the consequences of permanent failure.

Still financially and economically constrained on their credit crunch-affected home markets, European companies continue to win mega-projects across the GCC, but increasingly face competition from others.

Already disappointed and having the option to shake bilateral trade hands everywhere, the EU should realise that economically prosperous and financially wealthy GCC states are not only able to position themselves in a rather unique bargaining position, but are also able to become more straightforward in refusing a trade agreement on terms dictated by the EU. Energy markets and geopolitical alignments have changed substantially, some becoming practically autonomous, others remaining critically dependent on external oil and natural-gas suppliers.

Although the political component and the human rights dialogue cannot be ignored given the mandatory status of these notions in EU trade agreements, the sought trade deal is about enhancing commercial opportunities and other areas of cooperation, not on GCC states seeking association to the EU. In the process of accomplishing economic diversification and acquiring international competitiveness, GCC states need to ensure fair and equitable market access to remunerative markets for those goods they plan to manufacture.

Not interested nor trade policy bound in interfering with the domestic policies of their trading partners, Asian countries seized the momentum and reinforced their commercial ties with GCC states.

Realising that they have an actual need to secure vital imports for expanding economies with fast-growing populations, GCC states are also having an imminent interest to find ways to preserve vast but eventually depleting oil and natural-gas reserves for both domestic back-up and profitable export.

Knowing that GCC exports to the EU will

BY JOHANN WEICK who analyses and teaches GCC-EU relations in Brussels, Belgium and Dubai, UAE.

remain low compared to EU exports to the GCC and recognising that it is reasonable to say that the hereditary ruled GCC states are responsibly run and in the process of gradually transforming themselves politically, the EU could, perhaps, consider a degree of flexibility.

GCC states, not only being a significant trading partner with expected growth across various sectors but also ever more an important geopolitical player and a growing regional diplomatic actor, and taking into account that increased economic and political interdependence coupled with ever more global information connectivity is likely to intertwine global economic factors with domestic politics, both the GCC and the EU, should, with a wink to the Arab Spring uprisings, the atrocious civil war in Syria and the renewed sectarian violence in Iraq, realise that regional calm and domestic stability is a vital concern for both and that therefore a realistic and meaningful security dialogue can be of mutual beneficial interest.

Thus, it is due to growing economic and political interdependence between states and countries, the process of EU enlargement acknowledging Turkey's candidate status and Cyprus already accepted as member state, that the EU is today closer connected to the Gulf and the wider Middle-East than ever before.

But not having prioritised the GCC in the past, missing a member state able to put the GCC firmly on the EU-agenda, and understandably being concerned over Russia and Ukraine today, Brussels, should not only pay attention to clinching a EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, but also put its energy into accomplishing deeper, institutionalised relations with the sheikhdoms on the Arabian-side of the Gulf QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 27

business > viewpoint

DELIVERING ENERGY SECURITY THROUGH EFFICIENCY

With global energy demand set to roughly double by 2050 compared to today’s levels, ensuring uninterrupted energy supplies at affordable prices has become a top priority for most countries.

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hether in Asia, Europe or in the hydrocarbon-rich Gulf region, which is emerging as a major energy consumer in its own right, energy security has never been more important to ensure economic development, economic stability and economic security.

Improving energy efficiency – in other words using less energy to provide the same level of energy service – is integral to managing and restraining growth in energy consumption, and thus a powerful tool to ensure and sustain energy security.

Moreover, enhanced efficiency doesn’t just save raw materials and energy; it also offers an alternative to new power generation investments and reduces emissions, in turn helping address critical topics such as global warming and climate change. It is of particular importance at a time when the production of energy is becoming increasingly intertwined with that of water and agriculture, putting all these vital resources under greater pressure as demand for all of them continues to rise on the back of rapid world population growth.

Sustainable economics It is in this context that Qatar in November identified energy and water security as two of the grand challenges to be addressed through research and development (R&D) in coming years. Being one of the world’s top energy consumers on a per capita basis, partly because of Qatar’s heavy reliance on seawater desalination due to a lack of large

28 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

freshwater resources, achieving greater energy efficiencies will be integral to developing a sustainable economy over the mid- to long-term.

Research into energy-efficient smart electricity grids, more efficient desalination and low-carbon technologies such as CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) – which is already under way in other parts of the world – could go a long way in helping address efficiency issues, both in Qatar and elsewhere and as a result deliver greater energy security and better resources management.

Steps are also under way in Qatar towards managing existing facilities in a more efficient manner and raising the general level of awareness on the issue. Under QNV2030 and the Qatar National Development Strategy 2011-2016, the country aims to reduce the energy intensity of electricity consumption through awareness campaigns, standardisation and seasonal shutdowns, which will generate noticeable energy savings.

The country holds major hydrocarbon resources, including the world’s third-largest gas reserves after Russia and Iran. The moratorium on the North Field, whose development has made Qatar’s rise to the top of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporting nations possible, highlights the importance of extracting national hydrocarbon resources as efficiently as possible to sustain their availability and value in the long term.

Research and Development Wherever efficiencies are being targeted,

they won’t be achieved without the application of innovative technologies and the development of new ones. The benefits are potentially enormous.

“The potential for advances in technology to increase recovery efficiency, even in small increments, will have huge impacts on the ultimate value extracted from Qatar’s natural resources,” said Hamad Rashid Al Mohannadi, CEO of RasGas, at the The Gulf Intelligence Energy R&D Forum in Doha earlier this year.

Technological advances in the oil and gas industry have been rapid in recent decades and have triggered a period of transformational change throughout the industry.

In a survey conducted at The Gulf Intelligence Energy R&D Forum among nearly 150 leaders from academia, government and industry, more than three quarters of all respondents expressed the view that technological advances will drive another period of transformation in the next 10 years, as the world seeks to find solutions to the nexus of water, energy and food, of which energy efficiency will be a key element.

For Qatar, investing in R&D into energy-efficient technologies and solutions is important at a time when domestic electricity consumption continues to grow at a rate of about 7% annually, driven by rapid population growth and expanding industries, putting increased strains on existing natural gas resources to provide feedstock for the country’s growing number of gas-fired power plants.

“The only way to face this challenge is to focus on the best possible means to improve utilisation of power plants, good cost control, power plant efficiency and power generation through other means such as renewables,” said Fahad Hamad Al Mohannadi, General Manager of Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC), at the forum.

“Power stations should be run on maximum efficiency and old plants should be replaced with higher-efficiency plants.”

While Qatar doesn’t face a gas shortage, freeing up the resource from being burned in power stations by increasing their efficiency and introducing more alternative energies, and thus saving gas for future use or diverting it into the development of new petrochemical production would add more value to the national economy.

The need for greater efficiency is also obvious in the water sector, where according to expert estimates, losses of desalinated water, produced with energy generated at gas-fired power plants, through distribution and delivery, range between 10% and 40% across the GCC. Another example for the need to introduce greater efficiencies is the transportation sector, which accounts for more than half of the world’s oil consumption and 28% of global energy use, of which around 40% is used in urban transport alone. Improving the energy efficiency of urban transport systems globally could save as much as QR254.8 trillion ($70 trillion) in spending on vehicles, fuel and transport infrastructure by 2050.

Qatar is addressing the issue with the construction of a tram system being built in Doha by Siemens that will consume up to 30% less energy per year than conventional tram systems. Utilising a technology called Sitras hybrid energy storage (HES), the trams will also produce less CO2 than vehicles without the HES systems, thus contributing to energy conservation and climate protection.

“When talking about maximising resources, there needs to be fundamental research aimed around how you expand the resource base and make more forms of energy available,” said one industry executive at the forum.

“That can be hydrocarbon resources or solar or anything. It’s just about expanding that resource base because the energy demand of the future is going up. And it’s significant because it ties to population growth and economic growth and all those factors. So one needs to look into the value chain. There’s the diversification of the

resource base and expanding supplies. But then there’s also the kind, which is the energy intensity and efficiency. That’s the other end of the value chain. You need to have dedicated streams of research there.”

But other complementary measures will need to be implemented by GCC governments to ensure they do indeed have the full desired impact, notably an upward review of domestic energy and water pricing. While reducing subsidies – or even thinking it out aloud – remains politically sensitive, it is an issue that will need tackling in one way or another in the not-toodistant future in the GCC, since the region’s low energy and electricity prices have been the main contributors to strong energy demand growth and encouraged investments into inefficient infrastructure across all economic sectors.

With this in mind, achieving greater energy efficiency across the economy in Qatar, as in other Gulf states, will require the introduction of a comprehensive regulatory framework centred around a sustainable long-term policy that also addresses energy and water pricing. This will also have to include the provision of incentives and obligations to adopt energy-efficient solutions and technologies, which in turn will have to be monitored and enforced.

Many national and international energy companies are already pursing R&D and innovations at the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP).

WILL THE NEXT TEN YEARS BRING ABOUT CHANGE IN THE WATERENERGY NEXUS WITH THE ACCESS TO MORE AND MORE REMOTE HYDROCARBON RESOURCES?

76%

24%

Yes, of course, as technologies trigger change, not follow it

No chance, profit and sustainability are on collision

Source: Survey conducted at the Gulf Intelligence Energy R&D Forum in March 2014

BY SEAN EVERS Managing Partner Gulf Intelligence

ABOUT GULF INTELLIGENCE Gulf Intelligence facilitates knowledge exchange and networking between stakeholders in the Energy, Healthcare and Banking & Finance sectors across the Gulf region. The strategic communications firm, headquartered in Dubai and operating in Qatar and Oman, prepares and positions clients as Thought Leaders in their industry utilising a range of dynamic platforms that ensure a direct and tangible engagement with stakeholders. www.thegulfintelligence.com

At the executive level But it is governments that hold the key to creating environments in which R&D can thrive – and there is increased recognition that R&D can play a key role in addressing the energy and socio-economic challenges in the region.

Over the past five years, Qatar has taken concrete steps to build up its domestic R&D capabilities and capacities, and at the same time implemented initiatives to enhance and expand capacity in its education system in order to build a society that embraces science and the advancement of technology.

The announcement of the three grand research challenges in November was an important step in that direction. As the country’s R&D ambitions take shape, Qatar will, however, have to put an even greater emphasis on creating a broader environment conducive to innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration among the three key stakeholders tasked with realising its vision – industry, government and academia.

Going forward, national and international stakeholders will have to align on identifying the sectors and industries with the biggest energy-efficiency potential within Qatar’s existing economic setup and take guidance from this on what areas stakeholders focus their R&D activities on QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 29

development > viewpoint

CONSERVATION:

NEED OF THE HOUR

With industrial development continuing apace and population expansion outstripping expectations, Qatar is both an electricity hungry nation, and a thirsty one.

T

herefore it’s no great surprise that some QR13 billion currently is being spent on electricity projects alone, along with the five new giant reservoirs now being built.

Tendering is also underway for a new 2400MW power station, dedicated to a new desalination scheme. The question for many, however, is whether even this major outlay of investment and project pipeline will be enough to accommodate the sometimes exponential growth that Qatar sees, with the population and the economy set to grow still further in the years ahead.

Beyond expectations The Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) keeps a very close eye on the population numbers in the state, with the end of May figure showing 2.174 million people.

In 2010, the total was 1.67 million, and at the end of January 2013, 1.9 million – a number that the forecasts had suggested

30 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

wouldn’t be reached until after 2016.

Indeed, the growth rate was 7.6% between 2011 and 2012, accelerating to 12.5% between 2012 and 2013. MDPS officials told the local press at the end of 2013 that this rate might jump even further, too, to around 15% during 2013-2014.

Many of these are, of course, temporary workers who will return home at the completion of their projects, rather than a permanent population. At the same time, birth rates among Qatari nationals have been steadily falling in recent years, in line with increased prosperity and the sociological changes it brings.

Nonetheless, the overall trend in numbers is still up, certainly for the short-to-medium term, with some 2.5 million people predicted to be residents when the peak of construction is reached in the lead up to the World Cup; if past trends continue though, there may well be more.

All these people require power and water. Meanwhile, economic growth is feeding

a huge demand for electricity and water from industry, too. Qatar thus has one of the highest per capita consumption rates of water in the world – more than 500 litres per person per day, according to the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA), compared to a global average of just 160 litres per person per day.

Up-to-date per capita electricity figures are unavailable, but the US EIA estimated that only the UAE and Kuwait had higher figures in the region in 2012.

With existing water supplies under severe pressure, along with the national grid, projections also show that in both electricity and water, Qatar will face a major deficit in years to come, unless action is taken.

The government has therefore begun a programme to first, boost water and energy efficiency and second, expand existing electricity and desalinated water output.

Regarding the first, the Tarsheed programme has achieved some success. KAHRAMAA has announced that per capita water consumption was down 10% and per capita electricity usage had fallen by 6% in April 2014, two years into the campaign.

Regarding output, a plan to boost generating capacity from around 8.8GW in 2012 to 15GW by 2015 is also underway. In March 2013, this programme was set at QR80.08 billion ($22 billion) for power and water from 2014-2022.

Currently, Phase 11, Stage 1 of the Qatar Power Transmission System Expansion is underway, with May this year seeing KAHRAMAA sign some QR7.5 billion of deals with 13 companies to develop and expand the transmission network.

April also saw KAHRAMAA issue a tender for five huge reservoirs, each of which will contain nine modules, making these some of the largest reservoir projects in the world. Their total capacity will reach around 17m cu meters of water. Proposals

for their construction were due in just as this article was being written. A third major work connected with power and water now underway is the Facility D 2400MW Independent Water and Power Plant (IWPP).

Four developer teams submitted bids for this by a May 29 deadline, with the plant set to have 130 million gallons per day output when complete in 2018. In addition, an independent water project (IWP) with a capacity of some 90m gallons per day is proposed at Ras Laffan.

Turning it down These are impressive projects, yet questions remain. In 2014, KAHRAMAA reportedly experienced difficulties in gaining enough entrants for its 2014 energy and water saving competition. At the same time, Qatari nationals are exempt from electricity and water tariffs, while wastewater and sewerage facilities are free for all.

Companies, government departments and industries, along with expatriates, do all pay tariffs, but, according to a recent Global Water Market report, these average around 35% of the actual cost. Perhaps then, there is also an argument for moving beyond voluntary campaigns such as Tarsheed – effective though it has been – to providing a more concrete incentive to conserve water and power, via higher tariffs. This might also give an extra boost to renewable energy schemes, which currently compete with cheap, natural gas fired power projects.

Whatever the case, the programme now being rolled out by KAHRAMAA remains impressive, with the programme’s projects continuing to show the state’s commitment to involving the private sector in future power and water provision.

The hope is that these projects will dovetail with the still-rising population and economic growth – and keep the lights on and the taps running

BY OLIVER CORNOCK The author is the Regional Editor of Oxford Business Group.

Companies, government departments and industries, along with expatriates, do all pay tariffs, but, according to a recent Global Water Market report, these average around 35% of the actual cost.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 31

news bites > world view

32 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 33

AFP PHOTO

A combination of pictures taken in June shows supporters from various countries during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

T H E GA M E I S O N

development > listening post

“QATAR SHOULD BECOME

ANOTHER SILICON VALLEY” In the wake of one of the biggest financial scams that involved an IT major in India – Satyam Computer Services – Mahindra Group brought a 42.7% stake in the fallen company. Tech Mahindra CEO and Managing Director C P Gurnani tells Qatar Today about the gameplan adopted and how Qatar should leverage its opportunities.

BY V L SRINIVASAN 34 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

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he company has since operated under the name Mahindra Satyam and has emerged from the crisis profitable, posting a net profit of 9.01 billion rupees (QR555 million) for the financial year ended March 2013. The same year, Mahindra Satyam and Tech Mahindra merged into Tech Mahindra; to be among the top five IT services companies.

Five years is considered too short for any business house to rehabilitate a sick company but the task was fruitful and much of the credit goes to C P Gurnani, Chief Executive officer and Managing Director of Tech Mahindra.

An accomplished globe-trotting businessman, whose career spans more than three decades, Gurnani is said to be instrumental in the transformation of Mahindra Satyam before it merged with Tech Mahindra. Of course, this was not the first time he had played such a role, as he was involved in several start-ups and was the brains behind many mergers and acquisitions in the past with a known rate of success.

A graduate in chemical engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, he believes in enthusiasm coupled with dynamism and commitment as he applies the dictum “work hard play hard” in all aspects of life.

When Gurnani joined Mahindra group in 2004, the company had 5000 employees on the payroll and today it is a QR12.74 billion ($3.5 billion) company with over 90,000 associates across the globe. Tech Mahindra is a people’s organisation and follows the tenets of Mahindra Rise.

What made Gurnani succeed in creating a name for Tech Mahindra as an IT services and telecom solutions business around the world was his remarkable acumen for business: being a resourceful leader coupled with a sharp focus on customer experience.

This was one of the qualities which earned him the Ernst & Young Award for the Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007. He was also named as CNBC Asia’s “India Business Leader of the Year” and Dataquest “IT person of the Year” in 2013.

But even with all his accolades, Gur-

nani is a modest man, as he attributes the success to team work and the support extended by his associates and colleagues. “I am a people’s man and learned my work from them. I have achieved all this with my team standing behind me like a rock. Positivity and mind relation is what we try to understand,” Gurnani says.

He also dismisses the “command and control” theory and is of the view that responsibility should be shared by all. “I believe in setting stretching goals for myself, sharing the vision and ambition with the team and then working towards achieving the goal, together. I also believe that we are a formidable team, and should keep faith in ourselves,” he says.

In an exclusive interview with Qatar Today during his visit to Doha few days ago, he spoke about the prospects of the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) industry in Qatar and in the region, his company’s association with various local organisations, and the heady days of rehabilitating Mahindra Satyam among others.

Silicon Valley “Since Qatar is developing human resources, I think it should become another Silicon

“The good thing is that the importance of ICT is being felt by customers in the region.

The bad part of it is that while the world around has become doctors of cloud technology, the region has not embraced the technology as fast as the rest of the world. We have to grow the market and catch up.”

Valley of the Middle East,” Gurnani says whilst predicting the country’s future in the growing ICT sector.

He says Qatar has been investing in education, and the upcoming Education City is a bold initiative of the government. While Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) is stoking innovation, world class universities like Carnegie Mellon University, Stenden and North Atlantic have opened their campuses and are doing research in various disciplines to benefit mankind.

He also feels that GCC countries need not enter into the business of software exports like India, since they have a different set of challenge compared to West Asia. India’s population is 1.2 billion whereas the GCC, with its limited population, is a net buyer of technology.

On Qatar’s ICT sector, he says the government has prepared an ICT plan that it is part of the economic transformation taking place in the country.

However, the country has challenges as it is moving away from its dependence on hydrocarbons and marching towards urban development to create infrastructure, meant for those planning to visit the country to take part in the 2022 FIFA World Cup but also to meet the goals and objectives enshrined in the Qatar National Vision 2030.

These are growing pains and people are trying to synchronise in delivering projects.

One should not be concerned at these hiccups as they are part of growth pains that comes to any developing country. “I believe Qatar wants people to come and take part in its growth process, through leadership and taking responsibility for its multiple projects,” he says.

As far as GCC is concerned, he says there are good and bad initiatives for ICT growth.

“The good thing is that the importance of ICT is being felt by customers in the region.

The bad part of it is that while the world around has become familiar with cloud technology, the region has not embraced the technology as fast as the rest of the world. We have to go the market and do lot of catching up,” he says.

On the positive side, he says GCC has IT majors such as Cisco, Microsoft and Oracle as partners and business has taken off particularly in analytics, and QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 35

development > listening post all mobile operating systems and with mobile handset manufacturers to provide to provide edge in technologies. We have 125 business analytics platforms which we categorise under I-decisions,” he says.

Comparing Dubai and Doha and the two big events the respective countries are going to host, Gurani feels that both events require different skills. Expo 2020 will require the biggest event management team and will last for a whole year. I personally feel that digital growth rate should be increased ten times so that it will leave an everlasting impression about the event. I am sure the IT Ministry in the UAE has plans and Tech Mahindra hopes to play a positive role in hosting World Expo 2020.”

business intelligence.

“In certain areas, GCC is strong and ahead of the market in some of the mobility solutions. Today, some parts of the GCC markets are even talking about smart cities, smart connected utilities such as stadiums, smart homes and e-governance. They are far ahead of countries such as South Korea.

If you look at the GCC plan and architecture pertaining to ICT, there is a consciousness to lead,” he says.

Active role Tech Mahindra will be 15 years old in November this year and is involved with several firms and government related entities. Tech Mahindra is in touch with the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, which is organising the FIFA World Cup. “The preparations for the event are in a fine shape. I am confident that Qatar will deliver a flawless World Cup because of its early investment in technology,” he says.

“Retaining customer confidence was a formidable challenge for us when we took over Satyam computers in 2009 and we had to put an end to the looming uncertainty over the fate of hundreds of anxious employees,” Gurnani recalls the days when the 36 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

company had to go through the repair and rehabilitation of a sick firm.

“While 30% of the customers decided to part from us, the remaining 70% stayed with us to take part in the rehabilitation and I am grateful to them for reposing confidence in our ability. This showed that our decisions were flawless and expectations met in totality in 5+ years. We could do it because of the hard work of our Board of Directors, partners and associates,” Gurnani says, with a wide grin on his face.

“I feel that it was one of the best journeys we ever had. We look back with a sense of pride and satisfaction.”

Recalling Tech Mahindra’s success, Gurnani says that as an organisation, both within and outside India, it has taken up the responsibility of transforming companies around the world into digital enterprises.

Tech Mahindra has a significant role to play in the digital age and transformation and its focus ia on Network, Mobility, Analytics, Cloud and Security (NMACS).

However, Tech Mahindra’s venture in telecommunications is nothing new as it was associated with British Telecommunication and gained considerable experience in network services. “We have worked with

Two mega events On Tech Mahindra’s role in the two mega events that are coming up in the GCC, Gurnani says having these two events around same time is a huge challenge for both Dubai and Qatar. These countries should have the necessary infrastructure in place.

New cities have to be built to cope with the number of visitors who will descend on the region to take part in the two events.

“The UAE and Qatar expect more than two million people to visit their countries during the FIFA World Cup and World Expo 2020. The support systems should be strengthened and both the governments are already working in this direction,” he says. He feels that Qatar is better off and well prepared to host the World Cup as it has the experience of organising the Asian Games in 2006.

Future plans With regard to future plans, Gurnani says Tech Mahindra has the ability to set up a “Centre of Excellence” to undertake research and development for which they need to actively collaborate with the government.

“The research can be taken up in any field, be it Information, Communication and Technology or the food sector. We also have the ability to do micro financing, develop smart cities and provide the technologies needed for urban development and also equip the campuses with technology. I think there are a plethora of opportunities in various fields,” he says.

For the younger generation, his advice is simple. “The next generation is clearly smarter than we are. My only request to them is before they do 100 things, they will have to prioritise and stay focused on at least some of them.”

A EUROPEAN

SUCCESS STORY "Love your passengers" is the motto that Turkish Airlines has followed and the fruit of this simple ethos is reflected in its financial results.

Qatar Today sits down to chat with the CEO of Turkish Airlines, Dr Temel Kotil, to find out more about this business model.

BY SINDHU NAIR

A

n airline’s success story kicks off with a strong brand image, supported by emotive visuals that portray the brand’s ethos.

Picture this new branding video from Turkish Airlines that has gone viral: A group of young kids in a small Anatolian village in the Turkish countryside trying to make their dream tangible by creating a mini-runway to direct their national airline, Turkish Airlines, to land on their playground. To achieve this, they build a rudimentary landing strip, which they improve over the course of the ad to beckon the massive jetliners passing by obliviously in the distance. The excitement on the kids’ faces is tangible and finally when they partially succeed in their mission, their joy is boundless. As the pilot touches down, he dips his cap at the mischievous lot and as the innocent faces gleam in joy, the viewer’s hearts miss a beat; and for the brand, the connection is made.

With the popularity of this video, Turkish Airlines seems to have succeeded in their brand journey. But for Turkish Airlines CEO Dr Temel Kotil, who has played an important role in the success of the airlines for more than a decade, this exercise is part of their tenet: to touch the hearts of passengers. On the absolutely stunning visual that really capture the sense of wonder that children feel about flying, he says: “I

BRAND RECOGNITION Turkish Airlines always brings fresh breath to the brand with their advertisements, the recent one with Turkish children is to garner local support while earlier endorsements were with international football players to reach out to global travellers.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 37

development > listening post Air transport has proved to be one of the fastest growing industries over the past 20 years, with passenger traffic nearly tripling in terms of revenue-passenger-kilometers (RPKs) and increasing at an average of 5.4% per year since 1994.

“Our strategy is to fly everywhere, keep the price down, the brand up, the product quality as high as possible and then the most important is of course to love the passenger.”

DR TEMEL KOTIL Chief Executive Officer Turkish Airlines

38 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

met the kids, they are geniuses. I know for a fact that they are so inspirational because they loved our brand, they were not play acting. It came from the heart.”

With his entire career focused on the airline industry, Dr Kotil has a ringside view of the same and he explains the change that he has seen in the sector.

“Air travel started 100 years ago. But in this century, there has been a change in the sector. Asia has become a significant power and people from the continent have started traveling all over the world,” says Dr Kotil.

This has brought good tidings for Turkish Airlines as it has increased its flights fourfold, to and from China.

“We might have to increase the frequency six-times or even 10-times. The demand is strong from Asia and we will increase our flights accordingly,” he says.

He continues: “Think of Europe, Ukraine and Turkey: it constitutes half a billion of population and in GDP terms, the biggest portion of the world. Europe, Asia, Africa and the MENA region coming together is like a single economy. Travels from these sectors have doubled. In 20 years, the passenger travel will jump from 3.1 billion to 7 billion of which close to half will be from this region.”

The business model While the aviation sector has always seen growth, the airlines have never been able to have a golden year.

“Making profit is different from having a strong travel demand,” counters Dr Kotil: “The demand for air travel is high but making the business profitable is entirely dependent on the business model.”

While Turkish Airlines is just a small thread in the world aviation sector, constituting just 2% of the worldwide aviation business, it seems to have shown a growth pattern, with a revenue growth rate of 19% and operating revenue of $11.4 billion (QR41.49 billion) (EBTA average is 18% on average).”

Even when there is growth in passenger traffic, most airlines do not make a profit and Dr Kotil explains this, saying it is simple mathematics: “You produce but there is no one to buy it.”

He explains: “The average growth of the worldwide aviation sector is at 4.7% over a long-term (say 20 years). Region wise, in Eurasia, the sector growth is 10% while the economic growth is 2%-3% and population growth, worldwide, is about 1%. So we see the regional aviation leading the growth.”

That is the demand of the sector, but the success model depends on individual airlines. In general European airlines generate insufficient returns, that is lower the world average. Unit revenues of European network carriers have been decreasing drastically. It is in this scenario that Turkish Airlines have rewritten the history with its different business model.

“It depends on costs, pricing rates etc and that has to be adjusted to reflect the demand,” he says adding, “I cannot talk about other airlines, but we, Turkish Airlines, are making profit out of the business.”

And his business model is quite simple. It starts with: “Love thy passenger.”

“Our strategy is to fly everywhere, keep the price down, the brand up, the product quality as high as possible and then the most important is of course to love the passenger.”

Turkish Airlines was initially a stateowned airline which became a private entity in 2006 and from then, Dr Kotil says, “The passenger has been our boss.”

“They tell us what to do, and we follow most of what they say,” he adds.

Flying 60 million passengers, with operating revenue of QR 41.49 billion ($11.4 billion) in 2014, that is a 17% growth from the previous year, Turkish Airlines has been growing more rapidly than its competitors in the same geography.

Turkish Airlines has seen a growth of 19.3% growth in total passengers from 2013 that is 16.2 million passengers this year.

Dr Kotil compares Qatar Airways’ strategy to Turkish Airlines and states that the way to ace this business is to continue to be aggressive in the market.

“Anybody who continues to be aggressive in 10 to 15 years will be successful,” he says.

With Africa, Middle East and Asia as the destination focus for Turkish Airlines, they are as aggressive as any airline can get. The advantageous geographical

A TRANSIT HOLIDAY In 2013, international transfer passengers accounted for 41% of the airlines total international passengers, and it is expecting a further 22% growth in this segment by the end of 2014. Turkish Airlines currently flies to 105 countries and 211 international destinations – more countries and more international destinations that any other airline in the world.

The two-prongs of this strategy not only further strengthen Turkish Airlines as a major player in both the Europe and Asia region but also establish Istanbul as the must-visit destination for transit passengers. Turkish Airlines is one of few airlines to offer a full-service package that takes cares of transit passengers from departure right to arrival at final destinations. In the past, the airline has offered accommodation and extras for transit passengers stopping in the Istanbul Ataturk Airport.

This has seen a structured upgrading through its TourIstanbul programme, a complete day-tour to see all the sights of the city for passengers with transit durations of six hours and more. The tour package makes an attractive deal for passengers who are on the way to other destinations as it allows for them to experience an extra ‘free holiday’ while in transit.

positioning of Istanbul is the key to Turkish Airline’s strategies in maintaining its position as Europe’s best airline in years to come. Bridging the world between East and West and North and South, the airline is heavily focused on developing the transit niche in the aviation market - with Istanbul as a destination being the pulling power.

The GCC factor With the aggressive growth of the GCC airlines, there is bound to be panic in the European airlines segment but not for Turkish Airlines, claims Dr Kotil.

He says: “We do not compete with any airlines but compete against ourselves so that we can get more aggressive. We work 25 hours a day. “ He explains: “We have 1000 flights per day. If you have so many products you have to sell aggressively, and to sell aggressively, your products need to be good.”

All this is possible, he says, adding that branding and touching the passengers’ hearts is one important element in the success story and that, according to Dr Kotil, is art and not science.

“Our initial budgets (commercials) were just 5 million and this year is now 180 million, but it is not only about the money,” he adds. Turkish Airlines have always had commercials that reached out to its international customers, like the Kobe, Messi one where the two athletes contest against each other for an epic selfie contest around the world.

This year the company has decided to reach out to its Turkish customers, to touch the hearts of their own people and the earlier mentioned branding exercise was the fruit of this intent. “Till now we used to target our international customers but we have decided to change our strategy to get the attention of our local customers as well.”

That the commercial even with the language constraint has touched the hearts of viewers around the world was a bonus.

“But branding should not just be about visuals,” clarifies Dr Kotil, “it should be about the product. The branding exercise should not only be a commercial but it should motivate all of us, the actors and the employees, to better our services. It is like a promise that we make to our customers.”

A teacher in the aviation industry, Dr Kotil believes in giving back to the industry but as a leader the most important advice he offers is to love what you are doing.

“You need to have a good feeling about what you are doing.”

TURKISH AIRLINES HAS SEEN A GROWTH OF

19.3%

GROWTH IN TOTAL PASSENGERS FROM 2013 THAT IS

16.2

MILLION PASSENGERS THIS YEAR.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 39

COVER STORY

COMPETITION IN THE SKIES COVER STORY

COMPETITION IN

THE SKIES THE REGION IS INCREASINGLY BECOMING A COMPETITIVE MARKET WITH EXISTING REGIONAL CARRIERS AND INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS VYING FOR A LARGER SHARE OF AIR TRAFFIC. QATAR TODAY FINDS OUT WHETHER THE COMPETITION WILL LEAD TO AN OVERCAPACITY IN AIRCRAFT, AIR TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND IMPACT THE PROFITABILITY OF THE AIRLINES.

BY V L SRINIVASAN

40 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 41

COVER STORY

COMPETITION IN THE SKIES

R “To date, 156 orders for 787 Dreamliners have been made

by Middle Eastern customers, of which 30 were by Qatar Airways alone. The other customers for the aircraft include Saudi Arabian Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Oman Air, Gulf Air, Etihad Airways and Iraqi Airways.”

MARTY BENTROTT Vice President (Sales) for Middle East, Russia & Central Asia Boeing Commercial Airplanes

ising fuel prices and a struggling global economy have dented the growth of the global aviation sector but it has been quite the opposite when it comes to the GCC aviation industry, if the developments in the past few years are any indication.

GCC is sort of a meeting point for Asia, Africa and Europe, connecting two-thirds of the world’s population within a flying distance of eight hours and some 400 million passengers are expected to touch the region's airports by 2020. This growth, undoubtedly, is spurred by three major airlines in the region: Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.

To cater for the ever-growing passenger and cargo traffic, the GCC member states have taken up construction of new airports and expanding the existing ones, placing orders for new aircraft to replace the old fleet as well as improving airport infrastructure to enhance the passenger experience at an estimated cost of more than QR1.1 trillion ($300 billion) in the coming years.

Qatar is spending QR58.24 billion ($16 billion), the UAE investing QR83.72 billion ($23 billion), Saudi Arabia QR26.20 billion ($7.2 billion), Oman QR22.20 billion ($6.1 billion) and Bahrain QR3.64 billion ($1 billion) on developing airport infrastructure alone.

Growing market In its report on the GCC Aviation Industry, Alpen Capital says the Middle East aviation market is expected to take the delivery of 2,610 aircrafts between 2012 and 2032, valued at over QR2 trillion ($550 billion). As a result, the total fleet size in the region is expected to increase at a 4.7% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach 2850 aircrafts in 2032.

Owning a business jet was viewed as a

42 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

luxury, a symbol of prestige and affluence untill a few years ago but it has become a necessity for businessmen in the GCC region. The business jet fleet size is expected to grow from the present 500 to 1375 by 2020. Though MENA accounts for 6% of the global private jet market, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have a 70% share in the region.

According to the Private Jet Charter (PJC), one of the world’s largest independent private jet charter consultants, the UAE businessman flies between 100 and 150 hours per year in a private jet, while his counterparts from Saudi Arabia spends between 150 and 200 hours in the air due to that country’s vibrant economy and vast size. Qatari businessmen on average make six charter flights a year, holding around 10% of the Middle East air charter business, the PJC says.

Even a forecast by aircraft manufacturer Boeing says one-third of the projected demand – 900 aeroplanes – will replace the present day’s fleets and the rest is expected to be driven by the rapid fleet expansion in the region. Twin-aisle aircraft, such as the Boeing 777 and 787, will account for more than half of the region’s new aeroplane deliveries, compared with only 24% globally, the forecast says.

For Boeing and other companies engaged in manufacturing commercial planes, the Middle East continues to be a key market due to their ability to provide the airlines with innovative products as well as its increased focus on building partnerships and relationships with the customers. The Boeing, which has been operating in the region for more than 65 years, has delivered over 500 planes to regional carriers including Qatar Airways.

“To date, 156 orders for 787 Dreamliners have been ordered by Middle East customers of which 30 were ordered by Qatar Airways alone. The other customers for Dreamliners include Saudi Arabian Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Oman Air, Gulf Air, Etihad Airways and Iraqi Airways,” says Marty Bentrott, Vice President (Sales)

for Middle East, Russia & Central Asia, of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Expressing confidence that the company is well placed to meet the growing demand for aircraft across the region, Bentrott says they are in touch with their customers and partners in the region and work closely with them to ensure that aircraft are delivered within agreed schedules.

As far as the GCC is concerned, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways placed huge orders for new aircraft in the Dubai Air Show held in November 2013.

The total order-book of Emirates Airline at that time was estimated at QR604.24 billion ($166 billion). At the recently-held Dubai Air Show, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways placed orders for aircraft worth QR243.88 billion ($67 billion) and QR182 billion ($50 billion) respectively.

The GCC airlines are also eyeing mergers and acquisitions of airlines in Europe as well as in Asia. While Etihad has brought stakes in Air Berlin, is looking to buy 49% shares in the loss-making Alitalia, to expand its tentacles in Europe, and it has acquired 24% stakes in Jet Airways in India, Qatar Airways is keen on investing in the low budget operators – Spicejet and IndiGo – in India.

The success of GCC airlines, however, is proving to be an irritant to their rivals in Europe who are accusing the three big airlines in the region – Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates – receiving aid from their respective governments. This, no doubt, has certainly helped the three airlines to take fast decisions as far as investments are concerned.

Hitting out at the European authorities, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker says that they were indulging in doublespeak when it came to state aid and investment in airlines. “It’s a disgrace for them to talk about us when in their own backyard they see airlines getting state aid,” he says.

Justifying the aid provided to the three airlines which were owned by the respective governments, Al Baker says: “State aid

is only an excuse for them to stop someone who they don’t like while allowing it with their own airlines.”

“Punching above their weight” With their strong outlooks, the Gulf airlines are driving much of the growth for the Middle East region and air traffic in the Middle East is outperforming the industry as a whole. While the global passenger traffic is expected to increase by 5.8% in 2014, the Middle East airlines will more than double that at 13%.

Coming to earnings, the Gulf carriers are also “punching above their weight” as the outlook for the Middle East region projects a profit of over QR8 billion ($2.2 billion) in 2014. This represents nearly 12% of forecast global profits of QR68.06 billion ($18.7 billion), while the Middle East region’s share of global traffic is just 9%, according to a report from International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The competition in the skies, which was hitherto between the GCC and rest of the world, particularly the West, has now turned inward as the airlines in the region are vying with each other in expanding networks, augmenting their fleet strength, improving airport infrastructure, opening new airports and also offering better services to the passengers as well as improving their safety.

Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf Air, which used to be the only airline for all Trucial States (Sheikhdoms in the Persian Gulf ) and Qatar and which led the aviation industry in GCC by being the only Flight Information Region (FIR) for the entire Arabian Peninsula a decade ago, fell way behind as it could not compete with its counterparts in the region.

Gulf Air’s latest attempts at a turn around, launched in late 2012, appear to be yielding concrete results for the struggling Bahraini national carrier. The latest in a long line of revival attempts, the plan has dramatically downsized the Gulf’s oldest airline in an attempt to end years of heavy

“The Gulf region is a bright spot as the governments here understand the important economic contribution that aviation makes. And, in general, they have created a business environment that is supportive of the industry’s success.”

TONY TYLER Chief Executive Officer International Air Transport Association

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 43

COVER STORY

COMPETITION IN THE SKIES TOP 10 AIRPORTS IN THE ME REGION IN 2013 Doha International Airport has been ranked second among the top 10 airports in the Arab world in 2013 by registering a growth of 9.8% compared with previous year, according to Airports Council International (ACI).

The number of passengers, both arrivals and departures, is expected to grow further with the opening of the Hamad International Airport this year. Cairo airport in Egypt saw the number of passengers dwindle from 2012 due to political instability in the country.

“Qatar Airways has been using GTL fuel for all of its flights coming from Doha.

Besides being eco-friendly jet fuel, GTL gives a huge burn fuel benefit to the airline and additional range for the same quantity of fuel that is utilised in our airplanes.”

AKBAR AL BAKER Chief Executive Officer Qatar Airways

44 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

AIRPORT

NUMBER OF PASSENGERS

GROWTH IN %

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL

66,431,533

15.2

DOHA INTERNATIONAL

23,389,313

9.8

KING ABDUL AZIZ INTERNATIONAL

22,243,897

3.4

KING KHALID INTERNATIONAL

19,118,305

8.1

ABU DHABI INTERNATIONAL

16,526,316

12.4

CAIRO AIRPORT

13,476,409

-7.2

KUWAIT INTERNATIONAL

9,386,381

4.8

SHARJAH INTERNATIONAL

8,463,038

12

MUSCAT INTERNATIONAL

8,310,927

10.1

BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL

7,371,651

13.1

losses. Some of the other measures taken to curb mounting losses include scrapping eight routes, reducing manpower by 27%, and also launching new services to five destinations last year.

Reasons for growth The gusto with which the GCC airlines have been marching ahead can be attributed to many reasons. The developmental activities in the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where billions of dollars are being invested in various projects in sectors such as road transportation, power, oil and gas and to hold events like the World Expo in Dubai in 2020 and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, have propelled the industry’s growth.

A limited rail network and lack of any other easy and efficient mode of transport in the Gulf is pushing up the demand for aviation services and the GCC member states have also pursued liberalised and progressive aviation policies over the past few years to enhance the transparency and competitiveness of the sector.

The other reasons for the unhindered growth of the sector include steady economic growth pushing up disposable incomes, fuelling air travel to meet the growing demand for business and leisure tourism in the region, growing urbanisation, influx of expatriates and supply of

fuel to the airlines at cheaper rates by the local governments compared with their competitors in other countries.

Middle East-based airlines currently account for 8% of the global air transport industry and this share is expected to grow further. The region has the greatest number of aircraft on order in the world, to match the ever-increasing demand.

IATA Chief Executive Officer Tony Tylor says carriers in the Middle East region have led global traffic growth in three of the last four years and are expected to do so again this year. Over the last decade, the global market share of Middle East airlines has increased from 4% to 9%. And much of this has been driven by the robust growth in the Gulf.

“The Gulf region is a bright spot as the governments here understand the important economic contribution that aviation makes. And, in general, they have created a business environment that is supportive of the industry’s success,” he says.

A classic example is Qatar, which is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the Middle East. The country’s national carrier Qatar Airways made a modest beginning two decades ago and has turned into a world class airline touching over 115 destinations around the world. It plans to add 10-15 new destinations every year.

Qatar Airways’ success also helped the passenger and cargo traffic at the Doha International Airport to register a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6% and 19.2%, respectively, between 2008 and 2012. As this growth has been unabated, Qatar has built a new airport – Hamad International Airport – and opened the first of the three phases on April 30, 2014. Upon completion, the airport’s capacity is expected to increase to around 70 million passengers per year from the existing capacity of around 4.2 million passengers.

Cathay Pacific Manager in Qatar, Nick Brooks asserts that Qatar is on its way to becoming the aviation hub of the region. “The relocation of all the airlines there will no doubt further help develop Qatar’s regional aviation hub status,” he says.

Miles to fly Does this mean that the GCC aviation industry has no hurdles to cross in the coming years?

Doha-based Alpen Capital Investment Bank’s Managing Director, Sanjay Bhatia, says the region is increasingly becoming a competitive market with the existing regional carriers competing among themselves and with international players vying for a larger share of air traffic.

While competition is everywhere, it is more pronounced in the GCC aviation market due to the deep pockets of the players involved. However, such competition may lead to an overcapacity in aircraft, and impact profitability to the advantage of the passengers.

Airspace fragmentation Another concern is airspace fragmentation.

The Arabian Peninsula was operated as one FIR from Bahrain in the past but there are six FIRs in each of the six countries in the region today. Airlines need to go from point A to point B as smoothly as possible and the challenge for the air navigation service providers is to work together to make that happen across six FIRs as seamlessly as if there were only one.

The congestion is due to the increasing air traffic across the Gulf, which is not only slowing down the industry’s growth but also results in increased operating costs and flight delays. What has complicated the matter further is that the defence ministries in the region have restricted up to 50% of the airspace for commercial use.

In fact, air traffic management is today’s buzzword in the GCC region and the stakeholders are aware that something has to be done to alleviate congestion and delays arising from poor management. The aircraft movements in the GCC are expected to touch 2.3 million by 2025.

Air Arabia Group CEO Adel Ali says the lingering political instability in the region, combined with the currency depreciation in some markets, all impacted the sector in 2013 and continues to pose challenges.

“More broadly, although the current oil price levels are comforting, fuel price volatility remains a concern. Perhaps the single biggest challenge facing the sector, however, is the absence of true open-skies policies and the lack of privatisation in the Arab world, which act as real barriers to progress,” Ali says.

Another major deterrent to growth, from the low-cost carriers’ point of view, is the high handling costs at secondary airports.

A key element for LCCs globally has been secondary airports and avoiding head-tohead competition at airports where big full service airlines fly to, and where landing fees and associated infrastructure costs are high.

“In the Arab world, on the contrary, the handling costs in secondary airports are much more expensive than operating from main airports, with the exception of a few.

They cost more in handling, landing, the fuel cost is higher and that is one of the policies that gets applied to protect the national carriers who operate from the main airport,” Ali says.

“Cooperation between the civil and military air traffic management could result is a way out for effective utilisation of the available airspace. It is critical that

“The continued expansion and development of airport facilities across the region is also driving growth, once again particularly in the countries mentioned, as well as Oman and Jordan.

A thriving and growing consumer society with spare capital to invest, and a growing tourist industry are all signs of on-going positive momentum for growth.”

DUNCAN WATSON Vice President Cargo Commercial Operations (MEA) Emirates Airline

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 45

COVER STORY

COMPETITION IN THE SKIES

“Air congestion is a common challenge experienced across the industry. The application of efficient air traffic control systems will help improve this issue over time.”

NICK BROOKS Manager Cathay Pacific Qatar

governments of the Gulf work together to address this issue promptly to ensure the smooth functioning of the industry. Further, as the Gulf-based carriers expand their footprint internationally, securing landing slots at some international airports may become difficult,” Bhatia says.

Sharing similar views, Tony Taylor feels that aviation stakeholders need to work together to address this. One solution that has been identified is to develop partnerships and trust with the military in order to open more flexible use zones.

“Airspace is physically finite. So efficiency is the only way to increase capacity. IATA is working with stakeholders in the region to promote cooperation and efficiency that will create win-win solutions. We are seeing some progress. But the pace needs to accelerate to avoid bottlenecks,” Tyler adds.

Cathay Pacific’s Nick Brooks too says air congestion is a common challenge experienced across the industry. The application of efficient air traffic control systems will help improve this issue over time.

Ali feels more can be done to increase the efficiency of operations in the skies and on the ground. Despite faster aeroplanes, aerospace restrictions can significantly increase journey times, which add to costs and leads to delays. “The modernisation of aerospace and following what mature markets have done in terms of single aerospace policy such as Europe can solve the congestion problem. Initiating such solutions will require close collaboration between airlines and regulators, but it is certainly achievable,” Ali adds.

Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) The successful launch of low cost carrier (LCC) Air Arabia by Sharjah in 2003 has spurred other countries in GCC, whose population is around 40 million, to follow suit in this market segment.

While Saudi Arabia has started Nas Air, Kuwait began Jazeera Airways, flydubai

by Dubai and Bahrain Air by Bahrain, to meet the growing demand of passengers for short haul flights within the region as well to nearby Asian countries.

The demand for LCCs is on the rise due

46 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

to the ever expanding price sensitive expat population which seeks affordable means of regular travel, but the LCCs have to compete directly with their “big brothers” due to insufficient secondary airports.

Alarmed at the growing market share of the LCCs, the full service carriers (FSCs) started further improving their services to retain customers and justify the high fares they charge but the race is never-ending.

The popularity of the LCCs has been so great that they have succeeded in capturing a sizeable portion of the short and medium-haul traffic by garnering more than 7% of the market share within 10 years and they are growing stronger with each passing year, posing a challenge to the FSCs in the region.

The other reasons for the LCCs' rising ascendancy in the business are their pointto-point service, rapid turnaround, strong value proposition, simplified networks and above all, the low prices offered to the customers, who are mostly low-salaried expatriates who travel to their native countries and also those flying to nearby countries within the region.

Countries like Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have pursued liberalised policies and allowed the private sector to operate services, but the national carriers view the presence of more players as a threat to their monopoly in the industry and as such, customers are losing the benefits of competition.

“The LCC segment in the Middle East saw a robust average annual growth of 52% in the last decade, compared to 7% growth of the traditional FSCs during the same period, in terms of scheduled capacity.

The budget carriers now enjoy a respectable market share on the GCC’s important routes,” says Bhatia.

Currently, the market penetration of LCCs in the Middle East aviation sector in terms of numbers of seats has increased to 13.5% from negligible levels a decade ago.

However, this is still markedly low compared to Europe (38%) and North America (30%), inferring stellar growth prospects.

The budget operators in the Middle East and international markets are well placed for strong and consistent growth, and the

recent growth trends further supports that claim. The most telling indicator has been the impressive growth thus far in LCC airlines’ fleet size and route network.

“We operate a young fleet of 37 A320 aircraft with more on the way, serving nearly 100 destinations across the MENA region, Europe, and the Indian Subcontinent.

Moreover, over the past decade, we have been extremely successful in tapping markets which the legacy carriers considered unfeasible. Pioneered by Air Arabia, the LCC carriers have emerged as major players in the region’s skies, rapidly increasing their share of the market,” Ali says.

Regarding monopolisation, where a handful of regional airlines are controlling airfares, especially in sectors that have maximum loads, Bhatia says such sectors are generally serviced by more than one airline, and in most cases they include budget airlines, which puts a check on the cost and provides options for travelers.

“Monopoly situations are more likely to arise in local/domestic routes within a GCC country; however, the situation is likely to change as new airlines come to market and are the route networks of the current airlines is expanded,” Bhatia says.

A spokesperson for flydubai says that the Middle East LCCs currently account for just over 13% of total passenger traffic, compared to other mature markets, such as Europe, where it stands at 36% or so, see great potential for growth.

“The region also has the greatest number of aircraft on order in the world to match the ever-increasing demand. flydubai has provided easier access for our passengers, creating free flows of trade and tourism, to support Dubai’s economic development,” the spokesperson adds.

“The two biggest challenges GCC aviation industry faces are airspace congestion and protectionism in some of the international markets the GCC airlines fly to,” says Vikram Krishnan, aviation expert and partner with Oliver Wyman.

He says Dubai already witnesses flow control during peak periods and the number of approved flight paths over countries like Saudi Arabia are limited. The GCC

GLOBAL SCALE WITH GLOBAL PRESENCE Almost 6 billion people are within eight hours' flight of the Gulf countries.

The Middle East achieved 8.2% traffic growth in 2012 despite unrest in the region and a hesitant world economy.

Middle Eastern air traffic growth is typically higher than emerging markets.

Traffic to and from the Middle East has grown 236% since 2000.

Low cost carriers' share of domestic and inter-regional Middle Eastern traffic has grown but there is still potential to grow further.

1,999 new deliveries – 15% for replacement, 85% for growth.

61% will be twin-aisle or very large aircrafts, due to the position the region is creating for itself as a major global hub.

Source: Future Journeys, Airbus

countries can address this by working together, but the interests of all member countries may not be aligned in this regard.

“In addition, the GCC carriers sometimes struggle to obtain bilateral rights to operate in some international markets, especially Germany and Canada. For instance, Emirates has faced opposition to its flights from Italy to the US recently,” Krishnan says.

While the GCC Open Skies policy has been in discussion for years, its implementation has been slow due to a lack of economic and political integration in the region, and the cautious attitude of the national carriers. Having a GCC Open Skies Policy in place would open up new routes in the region and translate to additional revenue for the airline operators.

“Considering that the Arab region has a population of approximately 350 million, if we open our skies to each other and allow the free flow of passengers, the size of the aviation sector here will be equal to America. The implementation of a full

“The two biggest challenges GCC aviation industry faces are airspace congestion and protectionism in some of the international markets the GCC airlines fly to.”

VIKRAM KRISHNAN Aviation expert and partner Oliver Wyman

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 47

COVER STORY

COMPETITION IN THE SKIES open skies policy will further encourage intra-regional tourism, enabling regional airlines to achieve growth rates that could outpace carriers from North America and Europe. Significant progress has been made in this regard, but there’s still room for improvement,” Adel Ali adds.

“The LCC segment in the Middle East saw a robust average annual growth of 52% in the last decade, compared to 7% growth of the traditional FSCs during the same period, in terms of scheduled capacity. The budget carriers now enjoy a respectable market share on the GCC’s important routes.”

SANJAY BHATIA Managing Director Alpen Capital Investment Bank

48 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

Freight growth According to Bhatia, the economic meltdown of 2008-09 affected the air cargo segment globally with Freight Tonne Kilometers (FTK) witnessing negative growth in those years. In contrast, the Middle East region experienced sound FTK growth of 6.3% and 3.9% during the same period.

Recovering from the effect of the global economic slowdown, global cargo traffic experienced sharp growth in 2010, but slid again in 2011 and 2012 as a result of the economic turmoil in the Euro-zone. In contrast, the Middle East continued to record FTK growth during the same period. Even in the first half of 2013, global air freight traffic was flat in most regions compared to the same period in the previous year. On the other hand, Middle East airports experienced a growth of 6.1% in the first half of 2013.

“The Middle East growth can be explained as follows: during the last decade, Asian countries such as China and India have emerged as outsourced manufacturing centres for the western markets. As a result, the Gulf countries, which are nearly equidistant from Europe and Asia, have become the global transit hub for air cargo traffic,” Bhatia says.

The UAE in particular, accounted for around 63% of the GCC’s air freight volume in 2012, leveraging on its airport infrastructure. GCC countries are primarily import-based economies (excluding oil and gas) the ongoing extensive expansion of key airports in the Gulf is expected to increase their contribution to global air freight volumes, Bhatia adds.

Emirates Airline Vice President for Cargo Commercial Operations (Middle East and Africa) Duncan Watson says the cargo market in the region has been buoyant with ongoing investment and expansion by regional players supporting the continued flow of cargo volumes both into and through the key markets in the Middle East.

“Infrastructure developments in the

GCC continue to drive the need for materials and supporting logistics. This is particularly noticeable in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The continued expansion and development of airport facilities across the region is also driving growth, once again particularly in the countries mentioned, as well as Oman and Jordan. A thriving and growing consumer society with spare capital to invest, and a growing tourist industry are all signs of ongoing positive momentum for growth,” Watson adds.

Even Brentrott sees strong potential in the Middle East cargo market as it has historically served as a bridge between East and West markets. He says the number of freighters will more than double from 90 freighters in 2013 to 190 by 2032.

“The region has invested heavily in the infrastructure to succeed in the cargo market in coming years with expansions to the cargo handling capacity in Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi. All three of the airports already rank among the top 30 airports globally for freight loaded and unloaded. Growth in the region is likely to continue as airline service to and from the region expands and the economies within the Middle East continue to diversify,” he adds.

Environmental impact Aware of the harm the industry’s growth could pose to the environment, Qatar has been at the forefront in developing Gas to Liquid (GTL) fuel, which is one of the innovative technologies, to reduce the environment impact of air travel. Besides Qatar, other countries too are exploring different types of alternative fuels, including GTL, as depending on what types of fuel sources and feed stocks are available locally.

Akbar Al Baker says the airline has been using GTL fuel for all of its flights coming from Doha. “Besides being eco-friendly jet fuel, GTL gives a huge burn fuel benefit to the airline and additional range for the same quantity of fuel that is utilised in our airplanes.”

When asked why other airlines were not using GTL, he says that the airline companies getting fuel from Doha may not realise that they were using jet fuel mixed with GTL. “It was the same thing with us (Qatar Airways) as we were getting GTL-mixed jet fuel in South Africa from Sasol; they were fueling our airplanes with GTL for a very

Passenger Traffic Growth at Key Airports (2008-2012) Muscat Intl. Airport Doha Intl. Airport Abu Dhabi Intl. Airport Dubai Intl. Airport King Khalid Intl. Airport Sharjah Intl. Airport Kuwait Intl. Airport Hng Kong Intl. Airport Amsterdam Intl. Airport Frankfurt Intl. Airport Heathrow Intl. Airport JFK Airport Aeroports de Paris

17.2% 14.6% 13.0% 11.4% 11.1% 9.2% 5.3% 3.8% 1.8% 1.8% 1.1% 0.8% 0.5% 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Passenger Traffic at Key Airports of the GCC in 2012 57.7%

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48 36 21.2%

24

17.6%

14.7% 8.9%

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8.5%

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long time,” Al Baker says.

Even the European Union and other countries have locked horns over the former’s proposal to have an emissions trading system (ETS) to contain the industry’s impact on environment.

“The biggest challenge for the industry is to reduce the cost of alternative fuels because right now they are simply too expensive for mass adoption by airlines. For that to occur, we need governments to play a larger role in making alternative fuels a viable solution,” Tony Tyler says.

As to the standoff between the EU and other countries over ETS, Tyler says the industry agreed on a common position to ask for a global mandatory carbon offset scheme. Governments, through ICAO, agreed to develop the framework for a global market based measure by 2016 to be im-

plemented from 2020. And Europe recently agreed to keep the clock stopped on its ETS proposal until after 2016.

“So there is a broad alignment between the industry and governments on the way forward. There is still a lot of work to do.

And IATA will be fully engaged to help governments come to a conclusion on market based measures by 2016,” Tyler says.

Tyler also feels that partnerships among the airlines, whether in the GCC or other regions, are important for their strategy.

“The big three Gulf carriers have chosen different means of cooperation to achieve global coverage. We see bilateral arrangements, alliance participation and equity-driven partnerships. Each airline makes arrangements it sees as in its best interest and that of its customers,” Tyler adds

“The implementation of full open skies policy will further encourage intraregional tourism, enabling regional airlines to achieve growth rates that could outpace carriers from North America and Europe.

Significant progress has been made in this regard, but there’s still room for improvement.”

ADEL ALI Group CEO Air Arabia

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 49

business > bottom line

10 MYTHS ABOUT NON-PROFIT CAREERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST Like most myths, the ones about the non-profit sector also stem from prejudice rather than fact. The non-profit sector of today hardly resembles the non-profit sector of 5, 10, or 15 years ago. With each passing day, the sector becomes more and more competitive, and this only serves to benefit non-profit professionals and job seekers. Here, the career experts at Bayt.com debunk 10 myths about non-profit careers in the Middle East region

50 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

Myth #1: Non-profits are laid back, less professional, and less rigorous Truth: There are certainly non-profits that fit this stereotype, but so do some of the for-profit businesses. Many non-profits are fast-paced, demanding, and disciplined; in fact, there’s a growing movement in that direction. Business people are often surprised to learn how difficult it is to make the transition into the non-profit sector which has different, often rigorous, standards of success. According to the Bayt.com ‘Working for Non-profit Organizations in the MENA’ poll, May 2014, 92% of professionals in the region feel that people working for a non-profit organisation are more ‘mission-driven’ than those who work in other sectors.

Myth #2: Non-profits are for people who could not make it in the business world Truth: Non-profit organisations are full of intelligent people with a passion for their work, many with graduate degrees and years of experience in the sector. While many professionals switch between the non-profit, government, and private sectors during their careers, each line of work presents its own set of challenges. Switching from for-profit industry to the non-profit sector is becoming a growing trend and a career aspiration for many in the Middle

East and North Africa region. In fact, 48% of MENA professionals would love to work for a non-profit organisation (as per the Bayt.com ‘Working for Non-profit Organizations in the MENA’ poll).

Myth #3: Working for a non-profit is not really a career path Truth: Working in the non-profit sector can sometimes be seen as taking a break from the ‘real world’, with the implied assumption that it is not an option to spend a lifetime doing this work. In reality, the non-profit sector provides many people with a lifetime of exciting work. Non-profits also tend to offer young people more leadership opportunities than other sectors. Many non-profits offer solid career paths and opportunities for advancement.

According to the Bayt.com ‘Working for Non-profit Organizations in the MENA’ poll, 53% of professionals in the MENA feel that career-oriented people can have satisfying careers working for non-profit organisations.

Myth #4: The non-profit sector is not competitive Truth: In a world of limited resources, non-profit organisations compete intensely for the public’s attention, recognition, funding, and other resources. This competitiveness usually transcends the entire

organisation and employees become catalysts of change in a highly competitive working environment.

Myth #5: Non-profit work is not challenging Truth: Ask anyone in a non-profit if their work is easy, and they will likely laugh – and for good reason. Not only is their work difficult; many would argue that it could be much more challenging than working in the for-profit sector. Employees in non-profits are often asked to do more with less, and in shorter periods of time, while keeping more people happy than their for-profit counterparts. The results of this hard work are often intangible. When it comes to salaries and benefits, the same survey reveals that 78% of MENA professionals consider salaries in the non-profit sector to be less attractive than in other sectors, while 79% feel that non-profits offer less perks and benefits than other companies.

Myth #6: Non-profits are inefficient Truth: Non-profit organisations do not have clear bottom lines or profit margins.

Serving a human or environmental need makes success and efficiency much more difficult to measure. Add to that the reality of limited resources and an emphasis on serving clients, and it becomes clear why the sector is often perceived as inefficient.

There are certainly some inefficient and disorganised non-profit organisations, just as we see plenty of dysfunctional organisations in the private sector. In both cases, this is not necessarily a reflection on the sector as a whole.

Myth #7: Non-profit jobs are secure Truth: One of the biggest myths related to non-profit careers is that they’re ‘safe’ careers. Those non-profits also have some great backers. A non-profit job is like any other. If a funder pulls their funding out, that non-profit organisation is finished.

Just like every business, it all depends on

where the money is coming from. According to the Bayt.com ‘Working for Non-profit Organizations in the MENA’ poll, 75% of MENA professionals believe that job security is lower in the non-profit sector.

Moreover, 74% say that there are few to no opportunities to find employment with a non-profit organisation in their country of residence.

Myth #8: Non-profits are all the same Truth: Non-profit organisations are as different from one another as for-profit companies are. Beyond the obvious differences of mission and focus, key differences to note in non-profits include size, age, outlook, business model, and bylaws. From structure, to fundraising model, to mission, to people served, non-profits are widely diverse.

Myth #9: Non-profit employees have better work-life balance Truth: There are some non-profits that promote work-life balance for their employees, just like there are some for-profits that do. But there are also non-profits where long hours are the norm, particularly since what’s at stake can be so important.

Indeed, 52.3% of respondents to the Bayt. com ‘Working for Non-profit Organizations in the MENA’ poll believe that working for a non-profit organisation means sacrificing more of your health and family time.

Myth #10: Working for a non-profit is just like volunteering Truth: Many non-profits rely on volunteers, especially in direct services. Volunteers, however, are often shielded from the organisational and financial challenges with which the actual employees must contend. Some organisations also employ volunteers in addition to their paid staff, but many don’t use volunteer help at all, preferring instead the accountability of paid full-timers. This is why most non-profits are staffed by paid professional staff

BAYT.COM Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East, with more than 40,000 employers and over 15,100,000 registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 51

education > tag this

52 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

THE GIFT OF

EDUCATION FROM QATAR TO THE WORLD

The images of young girls from developing countries staring fearlessly into the camera always evoke empathy, touch a chord. We stare in compassion, listen to tales of war, famine and devastation, ponder over it for few days and then move on with life.

BY SINDHU NAIR

L

iving in Qatar, far removed from qualms of education, security and poverty, it is easier to forget the sights that flashed by at the Educate a Child press conference. But not for HH Shiekha Moza bint Nasser who, when notified about the drastic situation of the second of UN’s Millennium Development Goals with 57 million children still without education, chose to reach out to the poorest of the nations in the world.

That she used her position to make a difference is the ripple that will now effect change.

Launched in November 2012, Educate a Child is a global programme of the Education Above All Foundation, an initiative that aims to trigger significant breakthroughs in providing quality primary education to the 57 million children who currently have no access to schooling. EAC is an extension of Sheikha Moza’s mandate as a UNESCO Special Envoy on Basic and Higher Education, a United Nations Millennium Development Goal Advocate and a Steering Committee member of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Global Education First initiative.

In the second phase of its operation, EAC brought together another set of country delegates a few months ago. Ministers of Education and high-level representatives from 16 countries discussed this predicament and were asked to lend their support to expanding access to primary education programmes for millions of children who lack this fundamental right. In total, the countries participating in the meeting represent nearly one-third (31%) of the children who are not enrolled in primary education. The meeting was held at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University Student Centre in Education City, and received financial support from ExxonMobil.

Countries in attendance included Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana,

Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania (including Zanzibar) and Yemen. “We intentionally identified countries that are open to discussions and want to implement change in their countries. We need the help of the governments to make our work easier and it is important to do this with the right partnerships and with government support,” says Dr Mary Joy Pigozzi, Managing Director, EAC. “ This High-Level Meeting is a unique opportunity for highlighting innovative solutions available now that have been successful in reaching out-of-school children. It is our hope that through this meeting, EAC can help support, sustain and scale efforts in these countries as well as provide models and insights for those that are beginning their association with EAC. We want to inspire countries to take up the best ideas and implement them where needed, thereby ensuring that children everywhere have access to quality primary education.”

Qatar Today met two passionate minds who share HH Sheikha Moza’s vision and help translate that into actions. Marcio Barbosa, Senior Advisor of the Office of HH Sheikha Moza’s office, has passion writ large on his face as he says that the issue of reaching out to children with no access to primary education is at a critical juncture and one that no longer can be ignored.

EAC has aims that seem impossible to reach – 10 million children in schools by 2015/2016 – but according to Barbosa, the vision is to attain a definite target and a projection was put down because the situation was such that it needed a commitment for immediate action. From the date EAC started, it has supported more than two million out-of-school children and according to Dr Pigozzi “is on track to reach 10 million children by the end of 2015/2016”.

“After we had the target in place, we worked to get there through strategies and partnerships and a well-drawn out plan,” says QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 53

education > tag this

"More than poverty it is war that makes our work difficult. We can at least make an effort, even in poverty-ridden countries, but not so in a battle-weary situation" MARCIO BARBOSA Senior Advisor of the Office of HH Sheikha Moza’s office (L) with DR MARY JOY PIGOZZI Managing Director, EAC

54 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

Dr Pigozzi. “As long as the conditions are favourable we plan on finding the missing kids through partners,” she says, adding, “the 10 million-figure is a cumulative count and it has to be achieved by next year.”

All of EAC’s success depends on partnership and how the host country supports their initiatives. Any programme that involves such cooperation on a global scale is faced by challenges through governmental or organsiational delays. But EAC has faced no such hitches.

“What is interesting is that we hit success due to the intent of the project,” she says.

“The Prime Minister of Congo spoke about this programme in Oman recently and commended the initiative. We take partnerships very seriously, we give credit and we realise that we need all the stakeholders to achieve the best results.”

Barbosa continues, “We don’t want to act in isolation. We are going to these countries for a positive change and however you look

at it we are not doing anything wrong; we are not buying land nor are we establishing a colony. It is the partner who does our work in these countries.”

“We just bring all of the stakeholders together and keep the governments involved in all activities.”

Taking an example of the Sudan programme, Dr Pigozzi says that EAC, through its partners in Sudan, helps find the children while the Sudanese government gets the school facility in place. “Part of our funds goes into getting the materials to support the programme like textbooks while the majority of the fund is for finding the children and making sure that they continue with the programme, making this a sustainable effort,” she says. There is no single solution, as each of the countries has a specific issue, like famine, or war conditions.

“We learn from existing solutions and help instigate other countries to join in.”

Barbosa talks about the challenge that the small country has taken on and is tackling. He says, “Imagine organising a delegation from all these countries here, to work on something that the UN has not been able to manage in its years of existence. We could do it because the results seen among our first batch of countries.”

“Another factor is that we take on those countries where this issue is most prevalent and hence get the results faster as the need is much higher,” says Dr Pigozzi. “We also work with people who know the children and come up with innovative solutions to scale up and push up the project to reach the 10 million mark that is set as the goal.”

One of the initial countries that signed up the EAC programme was India. But even without a history of success, EAC managed

to triumph and the reason for this, according to Barbosa, is the trust that HH Sheikha Moza’s name evokes. Dr Pigozzi emphasises, “She was associated to education and created an opportunity for us in all these countries. She has immense credibility in the world. She has a vision that is very clean and clear. She has a reputation of focusing on action not on talks.”

The partners were identified through surveys, and another layer of scrutiny to finalise them. “We have never paid the money directly to any governments, we identify the members or partners and these are either certified through our process or are recommended partners by the UN and the amount is passed to them,” says Dr Pigozzi.

Indian connection Bharti Foundation is one such programme that has been identified by the EAC. Bharti Foundation is the development arm of one of the corporate houses in India, Bharti Group of Companies. Talking to Vijay Chadda, CEO Bharti Foundation, we found out that over the years, the Foundation has established 254 Satya Bharti Schools which currently provide free education to approximately 40,000 children across villages in six states of India.

“Under the EAC partnership, the Foundation has put in place, on equal cost sharing basis, a two-pronged strategy to bring 48,000 out-of-school children back to school by March 2016. It aims to achieve this not only through its existing Satya Bharti Schools but also by specially establishing the Satya Bharti Learning Centres,”says Chadda. Chadda goes deeper into the evil that is dire in Indian states, the lack of proper education, which is now being taken

up quite strongly by the government.

“Rajasthan is one of the backward states of India, especially on school education indicators. The state continues to contribute a large share of out-of-school children in the overall country level tally with more than 280,000 out of school children (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan 2012). Under the EAC partnership, Bharti Foundation has initiated a new programme in 2013, the Satya Bharti Learning Centres. These centres are established inside government schools and work with them to identify outof-school children, enroll them back into schools and provide them with age-appropriate educational support to address their learning gaps through condensed subject specific modules.”

Currently 237 such centres are operational in two districts of Rajasthan, which have identified and enrolled back more than 5,500 out-of-school children, of whom 50% are girls, he reports.

In the Indian context, addressing the problem of out of school children directly relates to the delivery of quality education to marginalised sections. These children are continuously at risk of dropping out due to the reasons like lack of physical access to schools (infrastructure and transport, socio-economic condition of the families), poverty leading to a preference for earning opportunities from child work/labour, lack of quality education and care in school, acting as a barrier to age-appropriate education poverty and the early marriage of girls.

“Hence, the single most important point to be addressed today in India for ensuring education to out-of-school children is improving the quality of education in schools, aided with by teacher motivation and

“Through our partnership with Educate A Child we aim to reduce the number of out-of-school children in two districts in Ethiopia’s southern Bale Zone by 21,945 by 2016" SAPNA DAYAL Executive Director Imagine1day

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 55

IN NUMBERS In India, around

8.1

million children were out of school in the age group of 6 to 14 years in 2009. Thanks to some flagship initiatives by the Government of India there is a drastic reduction in numbers, but still around

2.7

million children were reported to be out of school.

- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan 2010-2011.

Number of schools in India increased from 0.9 million in 2002 to

1.4

million in 2012 (58% growth) - District Information System for Education data

By 2015/16, EAC endeavors to influence the enrollment and retention of at least

10

million out-of-school children Ethiopia’s rapid economic and social development, coupled with its vision to be a middleincome country by 2025, has catalysed profound improvements in the country’s education sector.

A national Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP) aimed at achieving the UN MDG of universal primary education has been developed and is in its fourth phase. Approximately

27%

of Ethiopia’s total current federal budget is allocated to the education sector. Since the inception of the ESDP, there have been commendable achievements, particularly in primary school enrolment, which has increased from

3.7 16.72

million in 1997 to

million in 2011.

56 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

accountability,” says Chadda.

The Ethiopian epidemic Imagine1day is an Ethiopian partnership of EAC and the spokesperson, Executive Director, Sapna Dayal says, “Through our partnership with EAC we aim to reduce the number of out-of-school children in two districts in Ethiopia’s southern Bale Zone by 21,945 by 2016.” Imagine1day is a vertically integrated organisation with satellite offices and regional expertise located in all geographical regions of focus. It has strong relationships with government and community partners. “Our team directly informs, resources and implements each element of our programme, and we’ve developed proven strategies to help children and their families overcome barriers to education. We are working within Ethiopia’s public education system and curriculum to help the country achieve its goals of creating lasting, systemic advancements to ensure universal access to education for all of its children. To this end, our partnership with EAC is allowing us to take a giant leap towards our goal to ensure Ethiopians access to quality education funded free of foreign aid by 2030,” says Dayal.

Though Ethiopia has made great strides in advancing their education system, there remain over 2.4 million out-of-school children in Ethiopia, the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. “This is a complex issue that demands creative leadership at both the government and community level,” says

Dayal. “We believe that solving the issue of out-of-school children starts with tackling the barriers that prevent children from enrolling in school, or that cause them to drop out prematurely, including negative attitudes towards education/exclusionary beliefs and behaviours and economic bottlenecks that rural families face. Once children are enrolled in school, it is imperative that the education delivery be of high quality and that children have access to schools within close proximity in order to continue their education beyond early grades.”

Dayal is very optimistic about the EAC programme, with the results in the time that it has been implemented and also because of the community support it is generating.

She says, “As a new partner of Educate A Child, imagine1day is already observing incredible progress in the districts where we’ve starting to implement our EAC-funded project. Community leaders who once doubted the value of education are taking responsibility for ensuring that all the children in their village access education.

Women leaders are mobilising their communities to collect materials and build new schools with their own hands. Community influencers are traveling door-to-door to convince parents to send their children to school. Working with the EAC team and other partners of the programme, we’ve learned new approaches and strategies that we’re applying to our projects. With regard to the EAC programme on the whole,

EDUCATE A CHILD’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE THROUGH ITS PARTNERS, IN 2013/14 • •

• •

•

we believe there is nothing more powerful than declaring big goals. We wholeheartedly believe that EAC’s widespread efforts and high level of commitment will cause them to achieve their goals.”

Building the plan While EAC depends largely on such organisations that are deeply embedded in the fabric of the country, It also goes a step further to keep monitoring and have due diligence on the organisation. “There is a mechanism in place to monitor the progress. The organisation reports twice a year, with technical and financial reports and reports on statistics to ensure that the checks are in balance. We have to be sure that the money that is allocated is being put to use rightly,” says Dr Pigozzi.

Dr Pigozzi takes the example of a South Sudan programme in an area that was affected by the war and had to be terminated.

“We had a partnership with a partner in South Sudan. Unfortunately hostility broke out in some of the region that the programme was based in. The partner came to us and asked that we reprogramme the fund since it could not be used in these areas.”

EAC is funding around 35% of the cost of the whole programme while the rest is sourced by the governments of each country. The budget is aligned according to the expenditure in each phase, points out Barbosa. Ask for one special story that has touched the hearts, and Dr Pigozzi takes us through not one but many stories that have

touched a chord and evoked a response.

“We partner through Al Fakhoora to educate Palestine refugees, support UNICEF with the Syrian situation, support urban schools in Bangladesh, we support girls’ education in India; all of them are stories of dedication, commitment and innovation.

They are all special.”

Poverty is one of the biggest drivers of keeping children away from school and with a growing population the figures are not looking rosy.

“When we started our work the Syrian war had not broken and we had targeted to erase out-of-school children from Syria in our first phase. But with the war we had to reduce the scale there. More than poverty it is war that makes our work difficult. We can make an effort in poverty-ridden countries, but not so in a battle-weary situation,” says Barbosa.

But Dr Pigozzi is inspired every moment.

She says, “When you hear Sheikha Moza speak with such dedication and see her commitment you feel motivated. She is very inspiring as a leader. Then the work of the partners, their tireless dedication; the faces of the children in the classroom; every moment is inspiring. When you see the smiling kids, learning in the conditions they live in, you believe that anything is possible.”

Barbosa talks about one incident that is special. “Once when we were visiting the Amazon, a small tribal boy greeted HH Sheikha Moza and asked her, “From where you come, do you have children there? ”

44 approved projects Operational in 24 countries through these projects; included in this number are three countries where EAC operate only in refugee camps Supported more than two million out of school children According to forecast, when complete these projects will reach a total of 4.6 million out-of-school children.

On track to reach 10 million children by the end of the 2015/16 school year.

"The single most important point to be addressed today in India for ensuring education to out-of-school children is improving the quality of education in schools, aided with by teacher motivation" VIJAY CHADDA CEO Bharti Foundation

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 57

development > tag this

MORE THAN

BRICKS AND STONES

58 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

WITH PREPARATIONS FOR THE 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP IN FULL SWING, THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR HAS BEEN WITNESSING A LOT OF ACTIVITY, WITH DOHA LOOKING LIKE A GIANT WORK-IN-PROGRESS.

BY APARNA SHIVPURI

Q

atar’s projects market saw a growth of 26%, with the projects awarded increasing by 21% between 2012 and 2013.

According to MEED, from 2008 to 2013, Qatar’s project market accounted for 12% (QR349.44 billion) of the total projects awarded in the GCC. The construction sector’s contribution to the economy has also grown since 2013. As we can see from the graph in the next page, the sector is poised to contribute 12.1% in 2014 as compared to 10.5% in 2013.

This comes as no surprise, as in anticipation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar plans to invest QR509.6 billion in the next five years to build its transportation system. Attention is also being paid to building affordable housing in the run-up to the event.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal Al Thani, Vice Chairman of the Aamal Group, speaks about the growth in the manufacturing sector, which has fed into the construction sector boom. He attributes this growth to the concentrated efforts of the government and its vision.

“In the decade up to 2013 the value of Qatar’s manufacturing output rose from QR12.4 billion to QR32.9 billion (in constant 2004 prices). During those years, the variety of industrial manufacturing enterprises also increased considerably.

Products such as ready mix concrete, cables and pipes – all essential to the country’s

“Cement output will go up from 6 million tons per year in 2010 to 10 million tons per year between 2015 and 2018. About 15% of infrastructure spending over the next five years will be on pipes alone, ranging from water and sewerage pipes to massive pipes for the metro and railway. Therefore, we believe the industrial manufacturing sector offers attractive investment opportunities.” development – either began to be made in Qatar or saw their production rise,” he says.

He adds that manufacturing companies in Qatar expect that the burst of infrastructure work over the next five to eight years will boost profits and justify their shareholders’ investment. “Cement output will go up from 6 million tons per year in 2010 to 10 million tons per year between 2015 and 2018. About 15% of infrastructure spending over the next five years will be on pipes alone, ranging from water and sewerage pipes to massive pipes for the metro and railway. Therefore, we believe the industrial manufacturing sector offers attractive investment opportunities.”

SHEIKH MOHAMED BIN FAISAL AL THANI Vice Chairman Aamal Group

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 59

development > tag this SECTORAL GROWTH IN THE ECONOMY, CONSTANT 2010 PRICES (%) 2013

2014 14

12.1 10.5

10.0

10.0

10.1

12 10

7.6

8 5.0

5.0 6 4 1.4 2 0 -2

-2.0 Agriculture

Oil And Gas

Construction and public works

Other industries (manufacturing, utilities)

Services

-4

Source: Qatar Economic Outloook 2014

“Since the transition to power of Heir Apparent HE Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the subsequent appointment of HE Abdulla bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani as the Prime Minister a year ago, we have seen many changes in key positions and a willingness to take important decisions to drive progress.”

CHRIS SCUDAMORE Advisory Partner PricewaterhouseCoopers

60 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

According to reports, Qatar’s project market in 2014 will witness significant activity with infrastructure and transport contract awards expected to peak at QR87.36 billion.

Talking about the buoyant atmosphere in Qatar, Chris Scudamore, Advisory Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, says: “The value of contract awards has increased significantly in 2014 compared with the previous year, driven by the rail and road projects in particular. Since the transition to power of Heir Apparent HE Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the subsequent appointment of HE Abdulla bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani as the Prime Minister a year ago, we have seen many changes in key positions and a willingness to take important decisions to drive progress.”

Robert Kidd, Managing Director of Muehlhan Qatar, a German company involved in major projects, echoes the same sentiment about the boom in Qatar’s economy and attributes it to the construction sector. However, he is quick to add a word of caution and says that Qatar needs to be careful and learn its lessons from countries such as the UAE and Malaysia, which faced challenges because of this sudden growth.

Farouk Soussa, Head of Middle East – Economics at Citibank, holds a different viewpoint. “The construction sector will be a strong source of non-oil economic growth in the coming years, but could also result in imbalances in the non-oil econo-

my as the risk of oversupply in housing, office and leisure property is very real. These imbalances could cause significant volatility in the real estate sector, which will have a negative impact on the economy through its effect on construction and also on the banking sector, which will become increasingly exposed to property,” he says.

The work log Doha alone has a considerable backlog of work to execute between 2014 and 2019, with associated contractor and third party opportunities valued at QR327.6 billion, including QR145.6 billion worth of roads, ports and rail work as well as QR69.16 billion in construction projects.

In addition, the Qatar Tourism Authority plans to invest close to QR72.8 billion on infrastructure, since the number of tourist arrivals is projected to reach 3.7 million by 2022.

A number of projects, such as those by Lusail Real Estate Development Company have been launched, which will increase the number of residential units. With The Pearl already offering a capacity of close to 20,000 such units, the question is will it all lead to an oversupply?

Dr Tarek Coury, Senior Economist at Silatech, doesn’t seem very worried about it. According to him, the population of Qatar is rising, and this includes the higher end of the society as well and to fill these 20,000 units would only require about

“Qatar needs to be careful and learn its lessons from countries such as the UAE and Malaysia, which faced challenges because of this sudden growth.

We are focusing on traffic engineering requirements for the new projects but we are also receiving more demand from current buildings to help them improve their traffic operations.”

50,000-60,000 people, which is possible.

He adds that if more projects such as Lusail came up, then there might be an oversupply of such projects and cause potential risk to The Pearl.

Besides completing the required stadia, infrastructure and hospitality facilities for the FIFA World Cup, Qatar is pursuing massive urban development projects with around QR1.27 trillion projects currently in the planning or construction phase and another QR618.8 billion worth of projects expected to be awarded over the next few years.

The challenges are many However, as always, the road to growth is never an easy one and it is no different in Qatar. There are numerous challenges in terms of competition for material and labour, both skilled and unskilled. Inflation is another cause for concern. According to a report by EC Harris, Qatar must take action to avoid construction inflation in the country from reaching 18% a year from 2016 to 2019.

The demand for materials is increasing steadily, leading to an increase in price.

This could lead to a delay in projects. There is also the issue of meeting the increasing demand for water and electricity for all these projects.

According to industry experts, there is a need to streamline the supply chain and encourage local providers and international businesses to work together.

Dr Coury elaborates on this point and says that it’s not only the cost of raw material which is a cause of concern. For a real estate developer, a major cause of concern is the high price of land, which will have a negative impact on them.

“Land price can be as much as 50% of the gross development value (GDV) in Qatar.

Therefore, this inflation of land price can be burdensome for real estate developers, especially those who are catering to mid-level clients. From a local company’s perspective the main challenge is the inability to cover the market needs and match the rapid pace of developments,” Dr Coury says.

Haytham Sadeq, General Manager of Seero Engineering Consulting, says: “We are focusing on traffic engineering requirements for the new projects but we are also receiving more demand from current buildings to help them improve their traffic

operations.”

He also adds that they need more flexibility from the government in attracting skilled human resources to work in Qatar.

So how does the future look? While the view is one of optimism, it comes with a note of caution.

Scudamore points out that they are seeing a strategic focus on the development of the Qatar economy, rather than overseas investments.

“We are also seeing government’s willingness to improve the business environment for foreign firms wanting to start their offices in Qatar.” The construction sector will continue to grow and reach its likely peak in 2016-17 based on current spending plans, he adds.

Farouk Soussa echoes the same sentiment and says that there will be more visible signs in the coming months that Qatar is adapting to attract foreign investment.

He further adds that the one possibility that Qatar should be prepared for is the inevitability of a "sudden stop" – when all is built and ready, and the future pipeline dries up. At this point, the construction sector collapses and an exodus of professionals in that and related industry would exacerbate over supply concerns.

To conclude, Qatar will witness an exponential increase in construction activity in the next three years. While this offers businesses, both foreign and local, tremendous investment opportunities, what needs to be seen is whether Qatar can keep up with the challenge of maintaining a steady supply chain of raw materials and keep inflation in check

HAYTHAM SADEQ General Manager Seero Engineering Consulting

“Land price can be as much as 50% of the gross development value (GDV) in Qatar. Therefore, this inflation of land price can be burdensome for real estate developers, especially those who are catering to midlevel clients. From a local company’s perspective the main challenge is the inability to cover the market needs and match the rapid pace of developments.”

DR TAREK COURY Senior Economist Silatech QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 61

development > tag this

SINGAPORE SMART NATION MODEL:

BLUEPRINT FOR QATAR TO FOLLOW? While Qatar is still a tiny shadow when compared with the on-the-threshold of Smart Nation Singapore, it has some new initiatives up its sleeve to make the country accessible to foreign investors.

BY SINDHU NAIR

W

hen I visited Singapore in 2009, I remember being distinctly impressed by the country. Last month, when I was invited again by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), I wondered how much the country could possibly improve from its already efficient state. Less than three working days to process my visa for the visit and later after a week in Singapore, experiencing a country

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with seamless connectivity, not just on the internet but also in its transport networks, a capable workforce and passionate nationals, I knew that competence can be taken to an entirely new level achieved only by collaborative governmental organisations who have taken on the role of governing very passionately.

But the smart life that I experienced was just the beginning of more innovations for Singapore. While cities struggled to ace the Smart City distinction, Singapore takes a step ahead to become the world’s first Smart Nation. Will Qatar follow the best practices

of this ultra-developed country?

Soon Singapore will experience the next-gen innovations in smart living: motorists stuck in jams will find traffic light timings adjusted automatically to ease the gridlock, hi-tech cameras that can help officers issue tickets for illegal parking faster; smart queue monitoring system that taps advanced video sensing to determine in real-time the length and flow of a queue at taxi stands to calculate waiting times to get a taxi and many more such new experiences that will make living in Singapore a dream of seamless hassle-free existence.

The Minister of Communications and Information of Singapore, Dr Yaacoub Ibrahim, announced during the opening of the Infocomm Media Business Exchange 2014 that the country is gearing up to be the world’s first Smart Nation, building on the achievements of the intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) master plan.

Dr Yaacoub Ibrahim says: “We believe that a Smart Nation can become a reality if we successfully combine policy, people and technology in a concerted fashion. A key component in our Smart Nation vision is the Smart Nation Platform or SNP. As part of the SNP, we will further our capabilities in pervasive connectivity, by building new infrastructure and common technical architecture to support an innovative ecosystem across Singapore.”

This includes developing the SNP and initiatives that boost soft infrastructure, such as creating standards for Internet of Things at home and building of talent in new areas like Games Science. Fifteen smart solutions will also be tested at the Jurong Lake District (JLD), giving a glimpse of what a Smart Nation could look like.

ICT is already a major contributor and a key growth enabler, contributing to 7% of the GDP with $100 billion (QR364 billion) in revenue. It also employs around 6% of the workforce, with computer hardware being the largest contributor of its GDP. Talking to the Middle Eastern and Chinese media, Steve Leonard, IDA’s executive Deputy Chairman says Singapore

started its e-strategy way back, in 1980 as the national computerisation plan with its mandate to computerise the civil services department which later, in 1992 became a plan to turn Singapore into an intelligent island and from 2006 plans were drafted for the iN2015 programme.

The next step for the country, according to Leonard, is to make use of the big data that is available.

“By transforming data into insights, Singapore has a vision to improve people’s lives through the use of data analytics,” he says.

“IDA plans to deliver more data-driven decision making to contribute to the data policies.”

A key piece of this puzzle is the collection and analysis of data that is touted to generate relevant insights and allow citizens to make more appropriate decisions. It will also facilitate better policy planning and citizen-centric services, and information gleaned from the data sensors will provide better insights to allow local organisations to improve their business operations. For example, the Land Transport Authority will use shared data from fixed sensors, central floating vehicle data, GPS probes and traffic cameras, to allow passengers to arrive at their perfect journey each day by taking into account the data collected at the taxi counters, the timings of the MRT and any traffic snarls that might slow traffic on the busy Singapore roads.

The whole process is so designed that it becomes a sustainable ecosystem that will

“We believe that a Smart Nation can become a reality if we successfully combine policy, people and technology in a concerted fashion. ” DR YAACOUB IBRAHIM Minister of Communications and Information Singapore

IDA lab is where ideas are generated.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 63

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“All the cross-engagements between the two countries are being looked into by the Prime Minister and we identify projects that need to be implemented. After that quite a few agreements were signed and we have been using their knowledge in implementing certain specific programmes.”

HASSAN JASSIM AL SAYED Assistant Secretary General - Government ICT Programmes ictQatar

NEW TECHNOLOGY TV WHITE SPACE (TVWS) One of the revolutionary research innovations that Singapore is deploying is the use of the TV white space, to make use of the unassigned and unused frequencies in TV broadcast bands. The properties of this TVWS are that it propagates further than conventional wifi with better penetration characteristics. This new technology is being put to use to study its characteristics in the Singapore Garden by the Bay area and the uses of this technology is M2M communication, cellular offloading and wireless sensors. The next step for the country is the TVWS regulatory framework that outlines the rules and regulations of this innovation.

generate value. While the data is being examined by research analysts and scientists, mobile and app developers can use this data to make apps that make sense of the data to find solutions. This creates new jobs, builds new opportunities and instigates innovation to enhance national competitiveness while some scientific discovery can even improve lives.

Pilot trials at the residential-business estate JLD will serve as a crucial test-bed for the country’s Smart Nation technologies 64 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

and services. These will see the roll-out of more than 1,000 data sensors in the area, located in the western part of Singapore, which will capture information – including video images – to be used in applications around urban mobility, sustainability, and improving lives. Its residents will be able to use phone applications that can help them find sheltered walkways. These are just some of the 15 innovations to be tried out in the area.

JLD is a “live test-bed/living lab,” where

connectivity infrastructure and sensors will be deployed to pilot a wide variety of solutions, focusing on three main areas – urban mobility; sustainability; and improving sensing and situational awareness. IDA and partner agencies are currently working with more than 20 companies and start-ups to progressively deploy and trial innovative technology from Q3 2014.

The trials will involve multiple government agencies, including the Housing Development Board (HDB), Urban Redevelopment Authority, National Environment Agency, and Land Transport Authority, as well as companies and startups.

The Qatar-angle A Qatari delegation was also in Singapore to understand the Smart Nation strategies. Hassan Jassim Al Sayed, Assistant Secretary General – Government ICT Programmes, who led the team, spoke about how Qatar could use these plans.

“Qatar is working on its infrastructure for the World Cup 2022. This is the right time for Qatar to look into how technology can be used to enhance its activities, from the planning in roads to the management of resources and even waste management,” he says. ictQatar collaborates with the Ministry of Municipality and with developers like Lusail City to look into how Qatar can implement similar Smart City initiatives.

“We have signed a MoU with the Singapore government to exchange experiences and share knowledge in different domains and one of the domains is ICT. This is being reviewed on a yearly basis,” he says. “All the cross-engagements between the two countries are being looked into by the Prime Minister and we are identifying projects that need to be implemented. Quite a few agreements have been signed and we have been using their knowledge in implementing certain specific programmes.”

IDA International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IDA Singapore, serves as the execution arm for public service infocomm partnerships with foreign government by helping foreign government counterparts better understand and benefit from Singapore’s experience and to implement their ICT programme.

One new programme developed by ictQatar is the Qatar Customer Clearance Single Window (QCCSW) which is called Al Nadeeb, that provides the required information and application platform to manage the international movement of goods and services to and from the state of Qatar and

the clearance of international travellers.

Al Sayed says: “This includes the declaration and examination of goods, the verification of permits and licences required for import and export, the payment of duties, fees and taxes and the tracking of the whereabouts of the cargo.”

Another programme, that follows the Singapore business registration and licensing service online, which has enabled Singapore to attain "easiest to do business with" status, is being replicated in Qatar.

“This will reduce the procedures to start businesses in Qatar is in the first phase of design and is likely to be announced for deployment in the next six months. This is also the result of sharing of a Singaporean experience,” says Al Sayed.

“The Ministry of Business and Trade has begun work on this portal. People will find this portal to be very useful when setting up business. This is also meant to increase foreign partnership in the country,” says Al Sayed.

As part of the visit, Qatar is also meeting its counterpart in Singapore, IDA, to discuss the next stage of ICT development.

“Qatar is also developing a new strategy to combine IT, telecom and media into one entity, to understand the trends in these domains. This work is in progress,” says Al Sayed.

Three strategies of ictQatar were also launched at the QITCOM, one on e-government 2022, the second on internet security and the third on assistive technology. The next area that is being looked into is the strategy for postal sector.

The live-testing lab: Jurong Park District pilot trials on show at the IMBx 2014 exhibition

E-GOVERNED Singapore already has a very strong e-government strategy with over 1,600 e-services deployed with 100% of all feasible e-services already online, with a single identification and password to transact with Government where citizens can subscribe to receive personalised alerts: e.g. SMS/email – library books due, road tax renewal. It also has more than 300 e-services on mobile phone with 149% mobile penetration rate and transactions have touched around 500,000 per month.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 65

development > tag this

The AG Boxes were so designed that they envelop the traffic or electric poles. These boxes were on display at the IMBx stall.

SMART NATION SINGAPORE THE SMART NATION PLATFORM (SNP)

SNP will anchor around three key areas of “Connect, Collect and Comprehend.”

“By transforming data into insights, Singapore has a vision to improve people’s lives through the use of data analytics. IDA plans to deliver more datadriven decision making to contribute to the data policies.”

STEVE LEONARD Executive Deputy Chairman IDA Singapore

The first phase of the SNP which focuses on “Connect” and “Collect” is expected to be available by 2015.

In addition to the current connectivity infrastructure that is in place - NBN and Wireless@SG, Singapore is also seeking to extend connectivity through the progressive deployment of Above Ground (AG) Boxes and technologies from a Heterogeneous Network (HetNet).

AG Boxes will provide a ready-built common infrastructure for sensor deployment by supplying points to access fibre-optics connectivity and power. This reduces the need for unnecessary groundwork, thereby reducing deployment time and cost. The target is to install these AG Boxes in common outdoor areas where there is demand for sensor-based technologies. These places include bus stops, parks and traffic junctions.

HetNet is expected to allow for more optimal use of wireless spectrum by allowing devices to switch seamlessly between various types of wireless networks.

COLLECT AND COMPREHEND This is to be able to gain better situational awareness through better real-time data collected through a mesh of sensors nationwide

According to Al Sayed, the next step for Qatar’s ICT strategy, is to have a strong infrastructure, advance education, health and overall quality of life through technology and finally to increase the ICT contribution to Qatar’s GDP. Qatar already has a good intra-government network connecting more than 35 different agencies of the government.

“This intra-government network started in 2009 and we are now in the next phase where we are increasing the collaboration across more agencies,” he says.

Al Sayed agrees that the ICT contribution to the country’s GDP is low but GDP contribution from this sector has increased to QR7.5 billion in 2013 from QR5.5 billion in 2010, and should be the next segment to be worked on.

66 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

“We are looking into developing the ICT market in Qatar. Market development, supporting start-ups, providing incubation centres to give the tech entrepreneurs knowhow and also help them through financial aid and to eventually come out with a product that is commercially viable is already in the ICT agenda,” he says.

“While the incubation centres had a few challenges in the initial stages, as it was also a learning process for ictQatar, we have now met most of the challenges,” says Al Sayed.

“Singapore and Qatar have a lot of similarities: small countries, high GDP,” says Al Sayed. “Qatar is on the path to being a knowledge-based economy and is looking at diversification of Qatar’s income. We have to start from where they have ended,” he adds.

development > tag this

INFORMATION

STATION

To be brutally honest, the reading habit in this region is quite poor. Even with schools and universities prescribing mandatory reading time, we can’t call ourselves a reading community. Does that mean we should not make any effort to change things?

BY ABIGAIL MATHIAS

C

ertainly not. The government is steamrolling the process of providing its citizens and residents with a state-of-the-art reading institution – the Qatar National Library.

Announced in November 2012 by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, this ambitious project is well underaway. Once completed, the 45,000 square metres library building will encourage visitors to explore the progression of knowledge from past to present. The QNL is a non-profit organisation under the umbrella of Qatar Foundation.

Saadi Al Said, Associate Director for Administration and Planning at the QNL, discusses how the project is shaping up. A chemical engineer by profession, Al Said previously worked extensively in the oil and gas sector before switching roles to join the QNL in October 2012. His career graph is akin to that of his home country,

68 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

Qatar. He elaborates, “The QNL is supporting Qatar on its journey from a carbon-based economy to a knowledge-based economy by providing resources to students, researchers and the community in Qatar. It is in line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030.”

Parents and teachers are compelled to compete with a generation that spends more time online than in a library. Al Said acknowledges this. He says, “There is a perception in the Gulf that a library is for old people, and houses a lot of dusty books. Which is why we selected a unique design that offers a lot of open lighting.

We will also use a lot of modern technology to make the venue more than just a reading area.”

In keeping with the times, the library has an arm known as the Metropolitan Public Library of the digital age. “We have different sections for different segments of society such as children or researchers. Each member of the family will have something that interests them,” explains Al Said. Besides hosting events, the QNL will have an auditorium with 120 seats, a restaurant and cafe. It is

SOME OF THE QNL’S SPECIAL FEATURES

During a tour of the collections and other historic items on QNL's Arab and Islamic Heritage Collection Open Day. On far left is Dr Joachim Gierlichs, Associate Director of Special Collections and Archives. On the far right is Dr Claudi Lux, Project Director of QNL. Al Said is to her right.

Secured and humidity-controlled display cases in the heritage area.

Conservation laboratory that will be used to conserve and restore the collection for future generations.

Digitisation Laboratory that will work as the National Digitization Centre and will use state of the art technology for digital preservation of the collection.

Assistive technology area with specialised software application to enhance the experience of users with special needs.

686 square metre children’s section.

21 individual and group study rooms 2 multimedia rooms

SAADI AL SAID Associate Director for Administration and Planning QNL

February. Nine ambassadors from hoped that the venue will become a spot HOW TO REGISTER Argentina, Central African Republic, for visitors from around the world.

Anyone who lives in Qatar and has a valid Costa Rica, Japan, Libya, Morocco, Even before the new building opens, Qatari ID/Residence Permit is eligible for Peru, Switzerland and Turkey and repthe public is able to access the library’s free library registration. To register, visit https://library.qnl.qa/selfreg resentatives from Greece and Yemen wealth of online collections by registerhave enjoyed tours of the collection. ing their details with QNL. Dr. Claudia QNL’s registered members can access His Excellency Ambassador Julio Lux, Project Director of QNL, explains, a complete list of online resources by visiting http://www.qnl.qa/find-answers/ Florian of Peru said, “It’s a wonder.

“Anyone with a valid Qatar ID or resionline-resources.

Peru and Qatar may be geographically dence permit is eligible to sign up and far apart, but through cultural events access these free online resources. The you can build bridges and that is why wealth of content, ranging from modern this place is so important for every soand classic literature, to online concerts ciety. It’s the way to get closer.” Known and academic periodicals, is a treasure to be the very heart of the library, the heritage section will move trove for everyone in Qatar to explore, enjoy and benefit from.”

Earlier this year the QNL celebrated UNESCO’s Internation- from a temporary viewing area to the very centre of the QNL. Disal Day for Monuments and Sites by showcasing its distinguished cussing the collection with pride, Al Said believes. “Sharing these Heritage Collection’s building to view the library’s most prized and cultural treasures with the community is what drives the mission historic items. QNL’s collection of globes, maps and documents re- of the QNL. Our role is to preserve and present Qatar in the region. ” Another achievement for the library was when it’s booth won an lating to the archaeological site Al Zubarah were especially popular at the event. Founded in 1979 by His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin award at the recently concluded QITCOM event. Visitors to the exMuhammad Al Thani, the Arab and Islamic Heritage Collection in- hibition booth, including Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of cludes writings by travellers and explorers who visited the Arabian the Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Gulf region over the centuries, Arab manuscripts, historical maps witnessed a live demonstration of the digitisation process. Remarkand globes, as well as scientific instruments and early photography. ing on this Al Said says, “The end result is not just conservation of QNL’s collection features up to 2,400 precious manuscripts, Qatar’s most historic manuscripts and books, but dissemination of among them ‘Mushafs’ (Holy Quran) and Arabic literature, with this nation’s precious wisdom and learned experience on a scale a primary focus on sciences such as geography, astronomy, math- that we have never seen before.” In terms of resources the library ematics and others. These are complemented by items from the has called upon the expertise of quite a few. “We have many nationearly European reception (early prints in Latin from the 15th - 17th als who help run the project. There are many international recruits centuries) including the famous ‘Qanon’ of Avicenna (IbnSina). who are working with us as well,” Al Said says. To aid in digitising of “We have an original map which was printed in 1478 and is the first material the QNL has partnered with the World Digital Library and the local British Library. known mention of the word Katara (Qatar) in it,” says Al Said.

“Over time, we believe that more and more people will realise The Heritage Collection regularly attracts diplomats and academics from the world over, and was visited by His Royal Highness that the modern library has something for everyone to explore, enPrince Charles, The Prince of Wales, during his visit to Qatar this joy and help unlock their potential,” concludes Al Said.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 69

development > green scene

GREEN

TALK IN THE

CLASSROOM Qatar Today speaks to the winners of the last Green Programme for Schools winners about their success in spreading the green message among their students.

The GPS team facilitated at DMIS 70 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

Q

Ali Bin Taleb School's expanding green cover

atar’s past and present environmental record needs some serious offsetting. You wouldn’t think that a desert state would lead the world in per capita consumption of water. But it does. Qatar residents consume almost three times as much water as the global average. Our electricity usage is nothing to write home about either. While we should not give up on trying to change our habits, it’s the younger generation we should focus on, to make sure they don’t develop wasteful ways in the first place. How do we teach these important lessons with-

out boring the kids? By not teaching it at all and instead making practices like turning off the lights and using less water part of their subconscious, everyday actions: to making them the ambassadors of the a green movement.

This was the thought behind Qatar Today’s citywide initiative, Green Programme for Schools, that in its first year saw participation from 26 schools in Doha. From providing colourful and engaging signage to be used around the school reminding children to switch off the lights when they are leaving a classroom or telling them how wasteful it is to leave the tap running for long and creating a team of students and teachers in each school who can find innovative ways to preserve and conserve, recycle and reuse, the programme aims to make environmentally-conscious thought and action second-nature to students.

After a year of monitoring the schools’ activities and consumption levels, the best performing ones were honoured for their commitment, consistency and fresh-thinking on November 6, 2012 at Hafsa Independent School. The schools that were recognised that day were Al Shaima Girls Independent School which won the GPS ‘Eco-School of the Year’ award; Doha Modern Indian School for ‘Best Student Participation’; and Ali Bin Taleb Independent School for Best Innovation.

It was revealing to catch up on these institutions several months down the line to

ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES AT ECO-SCHOOL OF THE YEAR AL SHAIMA Reduce use of plastic plates, cups and so on Spread the culture of fixing broken things instead of buying new things Recycle waste to produce decorative items Place recycling bins all over the school to raise the awareness Use food leftovers to make composts to fertilise plants in the school Put up posters about the importance of saving the environment in the classes and corridors Hold educational lectures about such topics in collaboration with KAHRAMAA

Al Shaima School turns waste into works of art

see how they have been getting on since the awards.

Khalil Maalla has been part of GPS from its early days and school psychologist Ehab Tantawy has been the coordinator for Ali Bin Taleb’s environmental activities from even before that. “Through GPS we saw the opportunity to talk to our students about important environmental challenges like global warming and ways to address them.

We wanted the children to do their part in keeping the school, the city and the country as clean and green as possible and this would be our gift to the society,” Maalla says when asked about the school’s motivation to be part of the programme. Their GPS team has been working diligently on a small assorted collection of potted plants at the entrance of the school which really helps the facade stand out and somehow makes the searingly hot days seem a tad cooler. Tantawy says they have big plans for that space –in the next academic year the concrete will be gone and his team is going to be converting the whole space into a lush green sanctuary. A truly remarkable initiative is the large reservoir strategically placed at the exit. “We encourage our students to pour the water leftover in their bottles into this when they are leaving the premises at the end of the day. It is then used to water the plants,” Tantawy says.

He is inordinately proud of it and though it might not seem like much at first, it is a first step towards environmental awareness and

action.

Like when you walk into another winning independent school, Al Shaima; it gives you a strange feeling, the eerie similarities of all the schools’ layouts, down to the last light bulb. It’s like that The Simpsons episode when Lisa walks into West Springfield Elementary School instead of her own and doesn’t realise it because all the floor plans of the district schools are the same. But once you get past that initial impression the little details start to emerge. The walls and notice boards are over-flowing with artwork and little nuggets of thoughts – a surprising number of them concerning the environment. You don’t need to see the large binder detailing the school’s environmental activities that social services coordinator Maha Ghanim Al Kuwari hands over to see how seriously the school takes its environmental campaigns. And if anything will convince you that information overload is not the way to "guide children to move from theory to practice and achieve results", it’s Al Shaima’s creative methods of helping students see utility in things we perceive as waste. The art room, though now locked up on account of exams, is where rubbish is given a new lease of life and reborn as things of beauty – trees made out of spare toilet paper and interesting decorative pieces created using colourful plastic bottle caps.

It’s activities like these that ensure that the people you are attempting to converse with are talking back.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 71

development > green scene It’s not for nothing that Doha Modern Indian School was recognised for its students’ participation: the level of involvement is heartening. Social science teacher and head of the environmental club Binoy Mathew can spend hours talking about the work they are doing through the club and the GPS team. “Last year we collected old used notebooks for recycling and reuse.

The awareness posters have been put up across the school and even on the buses. We created and are managing a Facebook group – Go Green – through which we try to have meaningful conversations about the environment with the students. Even within the school we try to keep awareness levels up with events centred around Earth Day and World Environment Day, both of which we celebrated recently,” he says. And the effects are amazing, according to the prin-

Stickers, posters and suggestion boxes from GPS serve to keep the evironment on top of students' mind.

72 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

Students present their year's work at the Green Programme of Schools facilitation ceremony.

cipal Madhukar Jha. “There is a tremendous difference in our consumption levels.

And we personally see students taking a conscious effort to turn the lights off when no one is around and to report leaky taps.

The self-awareness and commitment levels have gone up. In fact, last year the students suggested a clean-up of the Wakra beach and when we arranged it there was enthusiastic participation,” he says.

At Ali Bin Taleb as well, the student competitions, morning broadcasts and assorted activities have resulted in tangible differences between what they were paying for water and electricity a few years ago and what they are paying now. Not only that, it has spurred the student community to work on innovative ways to address some of the pressing issues of the day. Tantawy, who also is the coordinator for research activities at the school, was extremely happy about the work the students put into developing two thoughtful projects on evaporative cooling and water conservation. In fact, it has encouraged them to work on a new project the coming year – one that will measure the amount of water that is being wasted in independent school across the city.

Al Shaima is looking forward to another year of workshops, competitions like Young Inventor which encourages students to come up with energy and water conseravations ideas, distillation watering of plants with recycled and reused water and, most importantly, collaborating with other participating schools to work on combined projects, according to Al Kuwari.

DMIS too has ambitious plans. The students who were previously in the GPS team have moved on so now a new committee is

being formed with an emphasis on creating more awareness. “We want to create a vegetable garden, use different bins for waste segregation, discourage the use of plastic bags on the campus and constantly remind students to not take printouts unless they have to,” Mathew says. Jha is keen for the communication to make its way from the classroom to the home. “This year’s agenda is to reach out to the parents,” he says. “A significant portion of notebooks are wasted at the end of each year and we have to help parents understand that though they want the best for their kids, they should set an example by reusing the blank pages. So many thousands of plastic bags are used in the supermarkets each day. Parents can inculcate sensitivity towards nature in their children by simple actions like carrying reusable bags when they go shopping. This is how we can build the culture of conservation from the grassroot levels.”

The schools also suggest the Supreme Education Council do more to encourage environmentally-sound behaviour in students. There are so many innovative ways to instil accountability and pride in children while making it fun for them as well, Jha says. “For example, if each child were given a sapling to adopt, nurture to and record its progress, with the best efforts being awarded by the authorities, imagine the interest and enthusiasm it could generate. Just one school would be able to plant more trees than any municipality ever could!”

The second edition of Green Programme for Schools will be announced soon. Check out the Green Programme for Schools, Facebook page and show your commitment to the green movement

technology > tag this

READY FOR THE

(BIT)COIN TOSS? 74 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

WHAT CAN BITCOIN MEAN FOR THE MIDDLE EAST REGION? QATAR TODAY SPEAKS TO YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS AND EARLY ADOPTERS WHO ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF DRIVING BITCOIN PENETRATION IN THE ARAB WORLD.

BY AYSWARYA MURTHY

M

ost of us would realise that dotted along the last two-decade timeline of our lives are monumental life-changing moments and epoch-making global events sharing space with that unassuming, first whiff of a new technology that would transform our lives in ways we’d never have imagined. Though the first murmur of Bitcoin reached me just a year ago (I distinctly remember an article about the Winklevoss twins and a subsequent conversation with a friend as he spoke about the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto on our way to a house party) I think I have already subconsciously filed away the moments as being significant. The concept of crypto-currency is not new and neither is Bitcoin, having been first invented in 2009, but 2013 will forever be remembered as a landmark year that our collective imaginations fired up at the possibilities of a safe and quick currency removed from political influences. “How could an open, decentralised, peer-to-peer network allow transferring of digital assets without people cheating and making copies of it? Until just recently, this simply wasn’t possible,” says Tom Holub, co-founder of BitOasis, a Dubai-based platform for buying, selling and securing bitcoins for people in the MENA region.

In Dubai, Umbrellab founders Sergey Yusupov and Tarik Kaddoumi started actively trading and innovating in the Bitcoin sphere in early 2013 when they came together to launch the company. You might not have

heard of Umbrellab but you couldn’t have missed the story that sent the global Bitcoin community into frenzy a few weeks ago – Dubai was to soon have 400 bitcoin ATMS deployed around the city; news so incredulous that it was dismissed as rumour. Umbrellab is the company that will be bringing those ATMs, in addition to running Piiko. com, a service that allows you to top-up your mobile phone in over 100 countries using bitcoin. “It is certainly no rumour,” Kaddoumi contests, though admitting that the announcement was more of an impulse reaction than anything else. BitAccess, a Canadian company had tweeted a picture of a bitcoin ATM reportedly on its way to Dubai. It had jarred them into revealing a secret they had been sitting on for a while.

“We wanted people to know that we were working from right here in Dubai, ready to go all out with 400 ATMs,” he says. But as fate would have it, regulation stopped both the companies in their tracks. So instead of hundreds of ATMs dotted around Dubai at the public’s disposal there is now just one prototype machine at the Umbrellab office.

Bitcoin enthusiasts are welcome to drop in to check out how it works. “We have tied up with the already up-and-running ManGo kiosks to add Bitcoin to their vast network and integrate it with our software backbone, BitRout,” says Yusupov. So technically, these 400 kiosks can be fully operational bitcoin ATMs in a matter of hours; the firmware can be remotely installed as soon as the necessary licence comes through.

But with the government still not clear on the classification of bitcoin (and this is not

"The best-case-scenario would be if the government openly offers their support for the time being in order for everyone to explore and see how Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies will be used in the region."

SERGEY YUSUPOV (left) and TARIK KADDOUMI Founders Umbrellab

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 75

technology > tag this just the case in the UAE), and no one sure whether to work with it as a service, digital token, commodity or even a currency, there is no telling how long Umbrellab will have to wait. Also with no centralised authority for Bitcoin, there is uncertainty over who to deal with, how to enforce regulation if it is even possible and determine its status in the larger financial landscape.

"Bitcoin a socio-economic experiment bigger than the Internet in the 90s that could potentially democratise payment around the world" FOUAD JERYES Founder Cashbasha.com

76 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

An executive decision It’s understandable that globally governments are wary of, and sometimes downright hostile towards, Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies in general. For a society that has made peace with its centralised, heavily regulated monetary system for over a century now, this complex new innovation, that promises freedom and safety, is intoxicatingly scary. And the truth is that it’s probably a good thing that Bitcoin is being handled with kid gloves. It has had more than its share of road bumps. While the wild fluctuation of value last year is enough to get investors to break into a cold sweat, bitcoins have been linked to illegal black market trade online (Silk Road) and businesses handling bitcoins have shown to be susceptible to hacking and fraud (Mt Gox).

While none of the GCC countries have officially acknowledged Bitcoin, in Jordan, financial institutions have been categorically banned from dealing in bitcoins and the situation is similar in Lebanon, from where David El Achkar is co-creating Yellow, a company that is focused on getting more GCC businesses to accept bitcoin the same way as credit cards, CashU and PayPal. But he is not unduly worried. “The warnings are fair. It’s a new technology that isn’t completely understood yet, it’s volatile and experimental, and banks shouldn’t get into it at this stage,” he says. His concern is how this negative stance might affect a bank’s relationship with businesses that deal with bitcoin.

Canada, where he had studied and worked for eight years, has more of a hands-off approach to dealing with bitcoin while the US is threshing out multiple policies to try and come up with regulation. And regulation is necessary – to prevent money laundering, channeling of funds towards illegal activities, taxation. But it’s anti-productive when governments take an overly precautionary approach, which has been the case here in the Middle East. The best-case-scenario for Kaddoumi would be if the government would “openly offer their support for the time being in order for everyone to explore and see how Bitcoin and other crypto-cur-

rencies will be used in the region”.

So while the debate rages on about how to move forward with this new asset class, one thing is clear and unanimously agreed upon - it woud be difficult to institute a complete ban. “Bitcoin could be seriously hampered if the government takes a harsh stance against it, sure, but banning it would only serve to push it underground, since Bitcoin has undeniable benefits that will be harnessed one way or another,” says El Achkar.

Jordanian Fouad Jeryes owns e-commerce startup, Cashbasha.com, which is facilitating Middle Easterners to shop from foreign websites like Amazon with ease.

He is working on incorporating a payment processor for bitcoin which would alleviate many of the problems holding back the e-commerce sector in the region (more on that later). For him, Bitcoin has many parallels in the technology world, of the new displacing the old and forcing traditional institutions to innovate. “Take Napster, for instance. Through peer-to-peer sharing it revolutionised the music industry, taking the middle man out of the picture.

The initial reaction was to ban it. But it couldn’t be stopped because it’s what people wanted. Music companies finally had to change their perspective, understand and overcome the situation and find a role for themselves in the bigger picture. VoIP and services like Whatsapp did something similar for telecom. With airtime usage going down, telecom companies had to find other ways to monetise. And it’s time for a change in the financial industry, which hasn’t seen an innovation in decades,” he says firmly, “They are still old school and protocol driven and they need a policy that is driven by creative thinking. And it’s going to happen, whether they like it or not. They are going to be circumvented because people want this; they don’t want to deal with the limitations and fees around cash.”

While Bitcoin itself might go either way and not necessarily be the crypto-currency of the future (“When it comes to Bitcoin, predicting anything beyond the scope of several months is difficult,” says Holub), it’ll be an important step in the evolutionary ladder. Bitcoin might die but the one that replaces it will be more robust. Crypto-currency is here to stay, says Yusupov.

Can Bitcoin be MENA’s hero?

El Achkar dabbled in Silicon Valley Bitcoin startups before he headed back to the Middle East, drawn by the “real opportunities” in the region, where the Bitcoin ecosystem

was still new. This, coupled with Dubai’s business friendly economic policies, was also the reason why Holub decided to start BitOasis in the city. “Also Dubai has emerged as a major financial hub for the Middle East and BitOasis is ultimately a financial company,” he says.

Theoretically Bitcoin can impact the region in more powerful ways than in the west, primarily because the countries here are so heavily reliant on cash. First and foremost, it could boost the struggling e-commerce scene, which is in desperate need of a new payment system that is both secure and cheap. “Right now retailers are shipping products against a pledge with the cash on delivery model and millions of dollars are lost due to failing orders,” says Jeryes. With bitcoins you’ll be able to transact with zero to negligible fees. Also, the region is huge in terms of remittances, El Achkar points out. “It’s is a big receiver and sender of cash to and from various countries around the world. A cheap and borderless money transfer system like Bitcoin could mean residents lose much less in process,” he says. And further down the line, it could empower the large unbanked population of the region by giving them access to financial services through just their smart phones. It is small wonder that Jeryes calls Bitcoin a “socio-economic experiment bigger than the Internet in the 90s” considering how it could potentially democratise payment around the world.

Holub explains another of Bitcoin’s appeals – security. “Credit cards employ what is known as a “pull” payment mechanism.

Anyone with access to credit card information can pull any amount they choose,

be it the merchant or a hacker. On the other hand, bitcoin payments use a “push” mechanism. The sender decides how much to send, when to send it, and to whom, all without sharing any sensitive information.

If communicated properly, this could lead to a widespread adoption of Bitcoin in the Middle East,” he says.

But to realise these benefits there needs to a massive cultural shift. “Of course it is not easy for people to accept that now there is a form of barter or value transfer that happens digitally, bypasses the middleman and costs nothing, especially when they’re used to a system of cash, cards, fees, changes and remainders, and the common financial system,” says Kaddoumi.

Holub suggests that “until the adoption reaches a more stable point, Bitcoin can also become an alternative investment vehicle to complement stock, real-estate, or precious metal portfolios”. But serious players in the region also need to have a less capitalistic approach to Bitcoin, not just look for a quick return, according to others like Jeryes. “Ideally, we should have a lot more independent and innovative risk takers, with ideas and solutions that will be offered globally from the Middle East,” says Kaddoumi.

Also if the GCC, led by Dubai, could collectively talk, reach a consensus and proactively embrace Bitcoin, the lure of tax exemption could attract global Bitcoin companies to the region, effectively making it the crypto-currency hub of the world, Kaddoumi says. It’s a brave dream.

"There is a lot of activity in San Francisco around Bitcoin. VCs are realising the need to develop products and services around it and are making large investments in Bitcoin companies."

DAVID EL ACHKAR Co-Founder Yellow

Building a community around Bitcoin But still a distant one.

Tarik Kaddoumi demonstrates the use Umbrellab's Bitcoin ATM in Dubai QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 77

AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO

technology > tag this

8 BITS ABOUT BITCOIN Only a finite number of bitcoins can be generated by the network. By the year 2140, all 21 million bitcoins would have been mined and be in circulation (save those that have been lost forever) and the value will continue to deflate if the crypto-currency continues to go mainstream.

Today, if we were to use a Macbook Air to mine bitcoins, it would have to run 24/7 for 63 months to obtain one bitcoin. Globally the network of bitcoin mining computers is over 250 times more powerful that the world’s top 500 supercomputers combined.

Brit James Howells threw away a hard drive containing 7,500 bitcoins which he had bought and mined a couple of years ago. When he eventually remembered that he had binned the irretrievable wallet, the bitcoins were worth upwards of $7.5 million.

Pizza, a ticket to space, hotel rooms, Snoop Dogg’s music, an online dating profile, Lamborghini, lingerie, a college degree and furniture are some of the purchases you can currently make with bitcoins.

Over the years several speculations have been floated, and none confirmed, over the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the most recent one by Newsweek in March this year. Some theories suggest that Bitcoin was developed by a group of multi-national corporations and the pseudonym is a combination of the names Samsung, Toshiba, Nakamichi and Motorola. The smallest unit of bitcoin is called a satoshi.

There are several crypto-currencies currently in circulation including Litecoin, Dogecoin, Darkcoin, Ripple and Auroracoin, though none have yet quite reached the popularity of the first one – Bitcoin.

Google Finance has launched a bitcoin price tracker, offering market information across several major fiat currencies as well as access to breaking news in the digital currency world.

Earlier this year Yahoo! Finance and Bloomberg also added bitcoin prices to their terminals.

U.S. Marshals prepare to auction off close to 30,000 bitcoins, a fraction of what was seized after the arrest of Silk Road owner Ross Ulbricht. Bids for the auction will be submitted, reviewed and awarded by the end of June and the bitcoins will come under the hammer in blocks of 3,000, worth close to $1.7 million a pop. The announcement has caused a significant dip in the value of bitcoin and this is likely to happen again if more of the bitcoins are auctioned off.

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Protestors outside the Mt Gox exchange in Tokyo

Right now, the community is still small and though the hype is big, usage is low. For example, Umbrellab’s ATMs, when operational, will have a limit on the number of Bitcoins it can dispense – one per day and five per month for each person. Kaddoumi says it’s sufficient. It is doubtful if many would need more than that because Bitcoin is failing to gain marketability because of its complexity. One cannot assume that one knows Bitcoin if one simply understands the current systems. There are a lot of questions, plenty of uncertainty and fear, from all quarters. Which is why these young entrepreneurs have taken on the dual role of advocacy and education. In fact, Holub says educating consumers about the technology is one of the goals of his company.

Yusupov started the Dubai Bitcoin Group in late 2013 in order to meet like-minded people in Dubai, and there has been growing response over the last few months as more people hear about Bitcoin, according to him. In fact, he met Kaddoumi at one of these meetups and, though they had initially intended to simply be part of the Bitcoin community and participate in its growth, they realised that the market being so young, there was a lot of scope to innovate for the early adopters and implement some of their ideas which were not available in the market, either locally or globally. “BitcoinMENA also started in the same way to communicate with others online. The enthusiasm for both has been growing ever since, and we are being contacted regularly by businesses, media, traders, miners,

enthusiasts or even beginners who want to know more about it,” Yusupov says. The duo also regularly speaks with banks, officials and different government departments in order to keep a discussion about Bitcoin out in the open.

Jeryes, whose 10-minute talk about Bitcoin in Arabic has garnered close to 1,500 views on YouTube, also co-founded Jordan Bitcoin Meetup last year, to talk about Bitcoin and educate those who were interested. “We knew no one else who was into Bitcoin three years ago when we first became aware of it. The first meetup brought together almost 100 people, many of whom were actively looking to mine and deal in bitcoins. Jordan has a strong tech ecosystem and the enthusiasm had grown quickly, below the radar.”

While El Achkar’s Yellow is testing out its product, which ought to be released in a few months, he is also actively spreading the word through conferences, blogs and the Lebanon Bitcoin Meetup, which also helped set up.

A few weeks ago Dubai hosted Cointalks, the largest Bitcoin conference of its kind in the region. Spread over two days the discussions addressed both high net worth individuals, investors and entrepreneurs, and the general public. The event was relatively well-attended and Kaddoumi is not surprised because there is a small but active community of Bitcoin enthusiasts in just Dubai and Abu Dhabi. “There are quite a few full-time traders here who buy and sell, as well as Bitcoin miners. There is some

activity in Qatar but not much. A few miners from Kuwait and Saudi also flew down for the conference.”

But however excited you may be about its prospects, what use is a currency that you can’t buy anything with. As of now the number of businesses in the region that accept bitcoins in exchange for products and services can be counted on just one hand.

“The majority of businesses are curious about Bitcoin, but so far we have not seen many adopters,” Yusupov admits. “The Pizza Guys in Business Bay, Dubai, were the first to accept bitcoin in the MENA region, and the feedback has been very positive. They have seen a large number of new customers directly due to their curiosity about the digital currency, and have received a lot of media attention following their announcement.” Companies like Umbrellab, whose major focus is on payment software solutions and services, and Yellow are working diligently to help businesses see the bright side of enabling payment through bitcoin and calming their fears about its security and instability. “They save on transaction fees and it’s faster and cheaper,” El Achkar says. “While Pizza Guys have decided to hold on to their bitcoins, many businesses might not want to. It’s not a very attractive option yet as you can’t do much with it, like paying for suppliers and covering other costs. So we offer to instantly convert it to local currency.” This also eliminates the risk (or benefit) from bitcoin’s price fluctuation.

An evolution in progress Bitcoin has constantly been receiving blows from the media in various forms, but the majority seem to be opinions with little basis in fact or suffering from a lack of knowledge and understanding about the technology, Kaddoumi says. Most of it is myth and some just plain misinformation. True, its value hasn’t been the most stable over the last few months but it’s still a “new technology that is very receptive and sensitive to speculation, negative or positive comments and the media’s diverse coverage”. As adoption increases we are seeing less price reactions and quicker recoveries, he says. After the massive Mt Gox fiasco, the price stabilised within 48 hours, he says. And like in any typical technological cycle, businesses will rise and fall, learn and evolve, until only the strong remain. Holub himself has incorporated a new multi-key multi-signature system for BitOasis accounts which will make it more robust and secure.

“In the early days of Bitcoin, customers

had no choice but to trust that companies like Mt Gox would keep their Bitcoin private keys safe. The problem was that they solely held the Bitcoin private keys of their customers’ funds, giving them ultimate control over the bitcoins and attracting hackers who wanted to steal them. Now the industry is moving towards a trustless systems like at BitOasis where keys for each account are split into multiple parts. BitOasis will only hold one of those parts, which is not sufficient to manipulate any of our customer’s bitcoin funds. The remaining keys will be split between a third-party fraud prevention company and an independent legal firm, both held under our customers’ names,” he explains. The customers will receive a phone call or text asking them to confirm any risky or large transactions before they are posted or approved, Holub says.

Bitcoin also might not be the easiest system to use but that’s only because “designers who can simplify the user experience are not part of the ecosystem yet,” Koddoumi says. A lot of products and services need to be built around it to realise its potential and these are being created as we speak. “There is a lot of activity in San Francisco around Bitcoin. VCs are realising the need to develop services around it and are making large investments in Bitcoin companies,” says El Achkar. “For example, this year alone Bitpay received $30 million, Coinbase $25 million and Circle $17 million in funding.”

These investments will go towards making Bitcoin more secure and incredible, says Jeryes. “They might just be able to bring Bitcoin to life and open a lot of doors.”

It’s also not anonymous and untraceable like many believe. “Bitcoin is in fact far easier to trace than cash. It’s both safe and ethical,” Yusupov chips in. We also can’t necessarily discount bitcoin because of its prevalent use in the illegal drugs, arms and smut trade because some of our most revolutionary technologies have been nurtured in the shadier parts of the internet. “Video streaming and online payment processing were both extensively used by the pornography industry in their early days,” Jeryes reminds us. If Bitcoin makes it, it could be the first truly international currency that could serve as a benchmark for other local currencies.

But for now the common advice for the population is congruent. Don’t invest more than you are willing to lose. And it can still go either way. The coin has been tossed, it’s already in the air and we are, all of us, just waiting to see which side it lands on

“When it comes to Bitcoin, predicting anything beyond the scope of several months is difficult.”

TOM HOLUB Co-Founder BitOasis

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 79

development > tech talk

VODAFONE QATAR GOES 4G The telecom operator announced the rolling out of 4G services to its customer starting in June.

All Vodafone customers with a 4G enabled device will automatically receive 4G service, at no subscription fees, to enjoy using their existing data bundles, the announcement from Vodafone Qatar said. Kyle Whitehill, CEO, pointed out that this was “an important milestone in their strategy to acquire more high value customers and high data users”. “At the same time we have been investing heavily in our 3G network with upgrades to cater for all our 3G customers,” he said.

SECURITY CONCERNS FOR QATAR’S CLOUD

An online survey by Gulf Business Machines (GBM) which polled 1,060 IT professionals based in the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait had some revealing insights.

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s the region mirrors the world’s immersion in a digital age, nearly 75% of IT experts in Qatar believe the GCC is a prime target for cyber-security crimes and employees connecting to company networks from several devices pose a multiplied threat, begging for additional IT security precautions. This year’s survey found that incidents caused by internal staff in the previous 12 months rose to 51%, up from 35% in 2013.

KEY FINDINGS 61% of companies in Qatar invest 15% or less of their IT budgets in security 53% of respondents are allowed to connect personal devices at work while 55% of respondents’ employers partially or do not at all restrict social media access 59% of respondents’ employers main concern around cloud adoption is data security 39% of companies in Qatar utilise free cloudbased online file storage services at work

80 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

AMAZON’S FIRST SMARTPHONE IS CALLED FIRE PHONE

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos introduced the company’s first smartphone, which will be available in the US from July 25 exclusively for AT&T customers.

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he Fire Phone has a 4.7-inch, 720p display, aluminum buttons, a Qualcomm processor, Adreno 330 graphics, and 2GB of RAM. Running on Android-based Fire OS 3.5, it’s 0.35 inches thick and comes with four front-facing cameras that team up to create “dynamic perspective,” a head-tracking tool that changes the phone depending on how you look at it. Unlimited cloud storage and MayDay, a 24-hour customer service tool, are some of the other interesting features. Designed to integrate users more deeply with the Amazon ecosystem, the most incredible tool is probably Firefly. With this, users can automatically recognise anything the phone looks at and hears – a book cover, a snatch of song, a phone number, a handbag. The phone will immediately give users a way to buy it (through Amazon, of course). But the fact that you can only download apps via Amazon Appstore and Google Play might be a letdown for some users; Play has five times as many apps as Amazon’s own app store, which is missing pretty popular apps like YouTube and SnapChat. The device starts at $199.

ANGRY BIRDS CRASH INTO DOHA

Rovio Entertainment’s Chief Operating Officer Teemu Suila dropped in at Cityscape 2014 to make an exciting announcement – the Middle East’s first Angry Birds Activity Park is set to open in Doha.

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ast year there were reports that Rovio was keen to set up an Angry Birds Activity Park in the region (six of which are already up and running worldwide) and Doha, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain were the top contenders for the prize. The story had slipped from our collective consciousness until early last month when COO Teemu Suila was found posing with cuddly Angry Birds toys at the Mall of Qatar stand at Cityscape 2014, after signing the all-important deal to bring the Angry Birds experience to Doha. The Activity Park will make up onethird of the Family Entertainment Centre at the Mall of Qatar (along with Juniverse and Virtuocity) which is being created in partnership with Talal bin Mohammed Trading and ADabisc Future Qatar.

“Rovio has been expanding its entertainment offering since launching the Angry

Birds game in 2009 and our activity park is one of the streams we are looking to expand in different parts of the world with great partners. In Doha we have found the kind of partners with the capabilities to build, deliver and manage this high-quality entertainment avenue,” says Suila. While Rovio brings the story and the visual landscape, it counts on its partners to translate that experience to the physical world, he says, adding that the new park in Doha “will be richer in design and deliver a more holistic experience. This will be a more evolved version. Call it Activity Park 2.0.”

As an entertainment company, Rovio is exploring multiple ways to tell their most famous story. The company is working on a feature length animation based on Angry Birds, being produced in collaboration with Sony’s Imageworks which is expected to be

THIS ROAD APP CAN AFFECT YOUR INSURANCE PREMIUM

ALI AL FADALA, Senior Deputy Group CEO, QIC (L) and DR ADNAN ABU-DAYYA, Executive Director and CEO, QMIC

out in theatres in 2016. “Games will always be at the core of what we do and we are developing new stories and brands on the side.

But as you probably know, between 2003 (whe the company was founded) and 2009 (when Angry Birds was launched) we developed 51 mobile games to try and achieve a break-through in the market. Based on that experience, the company decided early on that when there is a great story to build on, we will take that and expand it to multiple forms of entertainment,” Suila says when asked about the company’s identity. “Along with our serious animation production (last year we launched Toons TV, a mobile cartoon network, which within a year got two billion views), we also want to focus on bringing into our portfolio learning and education experiences based on the Angry Birds brand.”

Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (QMIC) and Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) have signed an agreement to work together in introducing state-of-the-art applications and services that will enhance road safety through innovative insurance offers and incentives.

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he partnership will lead to the pilot of the Masarak’s intelligent Telematics Platform as a means to be used in assessing drivers’ behaviour. The in-vehicle device will be able to collect data for evaluating key driving habits, including: harsh acceleration, harsh deceleration, over-speeding and distance driven. All these factors will be used by the Masarak iFleet cloud-based system to compute the driver scorecard, where drivers can be then compared and ranked. This will eventually be used to identify a set of performance indicators which can enable the delivery of new Pay-How-YouDrive insurance plans, which can serve as a key motivator to keeping driving habits in check and support road safety.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 81

business > auto news JAGUAR F-TYPE COUPE ARRIVES Alfardan Premier Motors (APM) Co unveiled Jaguar’s most dynamically capable, performance focused production vehicle, the F-TYPE Coupe in Doha on June 23. The vehicle is priced QR279,000.

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he vehicle was built on the design of the stunning C-X16 concept sports coupe and the F-TYPE Convertible – winner of the 2013 World Car Design of the Year award. The launch follows a 28% jump in Jaguar sales recorded for APM in the last fiscal year, reflecting the high demand for luxury, performance vehicles witnessed across the entire MENA region.

APM General Manager Rabih Ataya says: “We have received strong interest around the F-TYPE Coupe since its reveal at the Los Angeles Auto Show. We are confident that this sports car will continue to receive an enthusiastic response from customers.”

Jaguar Land Rover MENA Managing Director, Bruce Robertson says: “The F-TYPE Coupe range is built to be engaging, precise, intuitive and alive.”

INFINITI Q50 ARRIVES Marking a new era for the Infiniti range, Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co has launched the Infiniti Q50 in Qatar recently. Already having claimed accolade around the world including the Middle East, the Infiniti Q50 brings distinctive design, world’s first technologies, engaging performance and a new standard of in-car connectivity.

82 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

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nfiniti Middle East General Manager Juergen Schmitz said: “Infiniti Q50’s muscular, athletic appearance brings a blend of dynamic exterior styling and Infiniti’s signature double wave interior to create a design which creates an emotional engagement.”

Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co Chairman & Managing Director, Hisham Saleh Al Mana said: “Infiniti Q50 is one of its kind and marks a new era for Infiniti vehicles, offering the latest in technology in the automotive industry. The Q50 offers its passengers a unique driving experience which they can control through various profile settings in the vehicle.”

ROLLS-ROYCE BESPOKE WATERSPEED IN QATAR

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ith only 35 Phantom Drophead Coupes produced in the collection world-wide, Qatari ultra-luxury automobile aficionados can now join an exclusive international community to place an order for what is an inspired nod to a unique racing heritage.

Alfardan Automotive Group COO, Mo-

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Doha has announced the debut of the Bespoke Waterspeed collection in Qatar. After its global launch last month in Italy, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Doha was chosen as one of a select group of dealers from across the globe to accept orders for the ultra-exclusive vehicle. hamed Kandeel said: “Rolls-Royce has elegantly captured the essence of one of the greatest sporting moments in the 20th century with the Waterspeed Collection.

Its availability within this market signifies both the discerning nature of our clients and it also reaffirms Rolls-Royce’s confidence and commitment to Qatar.”

NISSAN PLAYSTATION CONTEST HELD

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issan and Sony PlayStation(R) staged the Nissan PlayStation(R) GT Academy Middle East challenge in Dubai on June 20-21, whereby six Gran Turismo gamers got a once-in-a-lifetime shot at becoming a real professional racer.

Three racers each from Saudi Arabia and Lebanon split top honours and they will move to Silverstone to prove their real-track mettle.

The top six are: Hadi Abdel Hadi, Bahaa Abdel Hadi and Mohamad Jamal Ghandour (all from Lebanon) and Walid Al Ghamdi, Yasser Al Mansoor and Ahmed Khaled (all from Saudi Arabia). They will undergo a race drivers’ bootcamp at Britain’s famous Silverstone circuit to determine the overall Middle East GT Academy winner, who will then be given the opportunity to be a professional track racer.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 83

business>marketwatch PICTURE PERFECT

Displaying an array of consumer products, Canon Middle East launched its summer campaign under the theme "Perfect Pictures this summer, Whatever Happens,” in the first week of June.

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he collection includes the EOS 1200D, PowerShot G1 X Mark II, PowerShot SX 700, PowerShot D30, IXUS 155, LEGRIA mini X and PIXMA iP 8740 within the DSLR, DSC, DVC and Inkjet product categories.

In an interview with Qatar Today, Canon Middle East Marketing Director, Hendrik Verbrugghe says that the new range of products demonstrates Canon’s expertise in imaging and reflects the company’s strategic commitment to enabling consumers to take the next step in their imaging journey.

What is the importance or impact of the different Canon products in the Qatar market? Which line of products is the most important in terms of market share in Qatar?

The Middle East is an important market for Canon, especially Qatar, where our products are well received amongst consumers.

As a maturing market with a young population, consumer technology is playing an increasingly important role in consumer spending habits.

Canon has a product suitable for ev-

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ery step, whether you’re a beginner or a professional. The recent CanonSummerArabia launch event is proof of our commitment to delivering products suitable to consumers as per their needs. Within the consumer retail line up of products our focus is on DSLR cameras, still compact cameras, portable video camcorders and inkjet home photo printers.

What is the market share of Canon and its competitors in terms of sales in the Qatar market? What are you doing to increase your market share?

Our market position varies in each category across the Middle East. Generally speaking, we hold the number one market share in many of our categories, while in a few we hold the number two position.

Our mission in the region is to become a true value added sales and service company and to achieve number one position in all markets by achieving market share growth.

To achieve this, Canon Middle East will continue its 'closer to customers’ business strategy, work closely with our partners, and drive growth by better understanding the needs of the market and customers.

What is your advantage over other brands?

We make our products stand out from the competition as we initially research what users want from photography – how they use our products, what they’re doing and what they’d like more of and have found one common theme: no matter what level of skill they obtain, everyone aspires to be a better photographer.

We have a heritage of unveiling truly ground-breaking products, including a number of world firsts. Over the past 75 years our engineers have been working to do just that. They’re committed to developing products that deliver the best image quality and challenge what’s possible in optic and camera design.

Some of the products we currently have on the market like the PowerShot G1X Mark II and the Legria mini X are unique in design and the quality of imaging is second to none, reflecting the company’s strategic commitment to becoming a lifetime imaging partner, educating and inspiring consumers to take their ‘next step’ in their creative journey of capturing and sharing their life’s moments.

MICROSOFT LAUNCHES NEW LUMIA PHONES Microsoft Devices has launched the first Lumia devices running Windows Phone 8.1 across the Middle East, Near East and North Africa at a regional conference held in Dubai recently.

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umia smartphones are growing in popularity across the region,” says Arto Nummela, Senior Vice President Microsoft Devices, India, Middle East and Africa.

“This new chapter in the Lumia story builds on the success of the Lumia 520 for affordable smartphones, and also brings new innovations at the high end.

The combination of Lumia differentiators and Microsoft services provides a compelling proposition for both consumers and business users,” Nummela adds.

With Windows Phone 8.1, people still get the Start screen they can make their own, Live Tiles that pro-

vide updates at a glance, Office Mobile, Outlook Mobile, Windows Phone Hubs, and the entertainment experience.

Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 The Nokia Lumia 630, available in both Dual SIM and Single SIM variants, and the Nokia Lumia 635 with 4G capability, are the first Lumia devices running Windows Phone 8.1 available in the region.

“Dual SIM is a key feature in many countries across Middle East Africa (MEA) and we have seen great traction on our Dual SIM devices across the Asha and Nokia X range,” says Ifi Majid, Head

of Global Sell-In and Customer Engagement, Product Marketing for Microsoft Smart Devices.

Lumia 930 The Lumia 930 with Windows 8.1 integrates the best of Microsoft and Lumia to deliver the ultimate video and imaging experience on a smartphone. “The Lumia 930 is our latest flagship device in the Lumia range,” says Ifi Majid. “It comes with beautifully crafted flagship design, flagship specs from processing power to screen quality to feature set and flagship imaging capability, synonymous with our high end Lumia smartphones.”

DUBIZZLE’S INITIATIVE IN QATAR dubizzle, the classifieds website in the Middle East and North Africa, has launched an initiative, “It’s worth more than you think".

The initiative aims to educate the residents of Qatar about the benefits of using classifieds and to instill in their minds and that “letting go” of their unused and unwanted items and passing them on to someone else who needs them more will only add value to the community they live in.

Tariq Zabian, General Manager of Emerging Markets at dubizzle, says: “We want to show Qatar that anyone with internet connection can make a difference. By trading their unused items and passing them on to someone else who needs them, they will benefit others and at the same time make extra cash. These items can be anything, from baby clothes to mobile phones to cars. We bring buyers and sellers together, making your old items loved again.”

business > marketwatch

QIB LOANS FOR BMW VEHICLES AL FRESCO DINING NOW AT SOUQ WAQIF BOUTIQUE HOTELS

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lfardan Automobiles has signed a first-ever exclusive partnership with Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) to provide Islamic finance solutions to their customers. An agreement to this effect was signed by Alfardan Group, COO Mohammed Kandeel and QIB General Manager (Personal Banking group), D Anand.

In his comments, Mohammed Kandeel says: “The agreement is important be-

THE ONE JUNIOR STORE OPENS

cause for the first time ever we are able to offer exclusive Islamic finance solutions to our customers through one of the premier financial institutions in Qatar.”

Anand says the agreement provided added value benefits to QIB and Alfardan customers. “This strategic tie-up is yet another proof of our on-going strategy to strengthen our position in providing Sharia compliant financing solutions,” he adds.

Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels offers new open air Arabic Lounge to soak up the vibrant atmosphere of Doha’s legendary souq with the launch of the Al Shurfa Arabic Lounge in the collection’s new Al Jomrok Boutique Hotel.

Al Jomrok is the latest hotel in the Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels group, managed by Al Rayyan Hospitality. Its new rooftop Lounge called Al Shurfa (“Balcony” in Arabic) is the perfect location for dining outdoors for a relaxed celebration with friends and family, taking in the sights and sounds of the bustling souq below and looking out across the city’s waterfront.

As football is truly upon us Al Shurfa diners will be able to indulge their passion for football and book their table to cheer on their favourite teams at the rooftop terrace, looking out over Doha.

Al Shurfa must be the best vantage point for diners to enjoy the games - sampling delicious cold appetisers and Mezze dishes as well as Arabic cuisine and sensational sandwiches.

Taleb Al Henzab, General Manager at Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels, said, “We look forward to welcoming all our new visitors to experience superb cuisine in this magnificent setting.”

THE One, one of the leading home fashion brands in the Middle East, with branches in Doha’s Landmark and Villaggio Malls, brings a new children’s furniture concept to Qatar. Named THE One Junior, it is big on small-scale versions of adult furniture and accessories, proportioned for little princes and princesses aged 3 to 16.

The newly opened THE One Junior store at Lagoona Mall features a wide range of elegantly sophisticated mini dining tables and chairs, shrunken sofas, beds and armchairs, in addition to cool bedding, rugs, toys, wallpapers, art and lighting. With each piece made to the same exacting quality standards, it will last your little one throughout their growing years.

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KAHRAMAA WINS TWO

PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS

Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA) has bagged two awards, the Innovation Award for its National Programme for Conservation and Energy Efficiency Tarsheed and also one for its “Strong” and “Good Quality” Sustainability Report, while participating in the Ministry of Energy and Industry programme for sustainable development in 2014.

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he awards were announced at the launch of the fourth annual report on Sustainable Development in the Energy and Industry Sector in Qatar and the accompanying awards ceremony for the best sustainability reports. KAHRAMAA President Eng Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari received the awards from HE Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry.

HE Dr Saleh bin Mohammed Al Nabit, Minister of Development Planning and Statistics, HE Ahmed Bin Amer Al Hamidi, Minister of Environment, Dr Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, Economic Adviser at the Emiri Diwan, and Dr Sheikha bint Abdullah Al Missned, Chairperson of Qatar University, senior officials of international companies working in the field of energy in Qatar, and other dignitaries were present.

This is the first time KAHRAMAA has taken part in the programme in which 36 companies participated with their reports on sustainability, compared to only 12 last year. Kahramaa’s award winning report can be downloaded from their website in both English and Arabic.

The report sheds light on areas where KAHRAMAA works to set its “Culture of Performance”. By providing a transparent picture of where it is at present and also its future commitments, the report aims to engage the company’s stakeholders in a discussion about

their role in the delivery of Qatar’s National Vision 2030, which was launched and led by the wise guidance of the Emir, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The report was produced by the Conservation and Energy Efficiency (CN) Department with contribution from everyone – starting with the unlimited support and assistance of Eng Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari and all other directors, managers, and focal point representatives of all departments in KAHRAMAA .

The report shows that it is moving on the right track to achieve sustainability. It also says KAHRAMAA’s operations must aid sustainable development and its activities benefit society and the environment.

The report is aligned with best practices to achieve the following: Report KAHRAMAA’s non-financial performance and communicate the same to company’s stakeholders; show its progress in contributing to society and environment; benchmark with similar corporations and set a roadmap for the power and utility sector on sustainability reporting.

The five priority areas in tune with QNV 2030 are: Customer value creation, resource conservation and environmental management, investing in our people, contributing to the local economy and also supporting local communities QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 87

development > doha diary

A

LIFE ON THE

OTHER SIDE At a recent summit for public relations professionals, we sat in on a session with crisis communication expert and career troubleshooter Donald Steel.

BY AYSWARYA MURTHY

88 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

s journalists, we deal with PR and communications people day in and day out and it was the curiosity of trying to figure out what happens on the other side of the wall that drew us initially to the Global Trends in PR Summit organised at W Hotel Doha recently. One particular session that caught the eye was Donald Steel’s Crisis Communication Simulation. When you are the voice of your organisation, how would you react to a rapidly-escalating crisis involving your company? Would you have planned for every eventuality or would you just follow your gut instinct? What would be your priority? Time? Authenticity? Clarity? “Any business that deals with the public has inherent risks,” he says. “If you operate a business that involves the public in large numbers, a shopping mall for example, you have to prepare for risks like fire, building collapse, crime or worse.

You need to have a plan and rehearse it often. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to never need it. But it is a fact that the public and the markets judge a company based on how they respond when things go wrong and in an emergency your true values tend to shine through.”

During Steel’s 11-year stint as the chief media spokesman for the British Broadcasting Corporation, where he “solely dealt with every kind of trouble and very little pleasant news”, he developed a “deep level of knowledge of crisis communication and expertise through experience”; experience like being on the information frontline when a top presenter is shot dead on her doorstep, a terrorist attack on the centre, journalists being kidnapped and delicate news stories that lead to diplomatic standoffs. Also, being a media mammoth did not mean that the BBC had any control over how the news reported the BBC itself. It was like any other corporation caught in the headlights when something unexpected comes down on it like a ton of bricks.

In W Hotel a crisis was simulated for the exercise. Imagine you are part of the communications team at a major hydrocarbons producer and distributor. The day begins like any other regular work day would, except at 10:37 a.m. an alarming news report comes in. A tanker, suspected to belong to the company, has had an accident near a

A crisis communication simulation underway.

school. Cause unknown. Casualties reported, numbers and seriousness of injuries unknown. With this minimal, unverified information, you’ll have to put out a brief statement to the press on behalf of the company. What would you say? This was the first exercise given to the PR professionals gathered at the session. “A good response is quick, truthful and also portrays the company’s values,” Steel tells us. While this has been true throughout the history of corporate communications, the definition of 'quick' has shrunk dramatically, especially over the past couple of years.

“Earlier we had what’s called ‘the Golden Hour’ after any crisis; one hour to get all your facts straight and the statement crafted, approved and released,” Steel recalls. “Now we no longer have the luxury of one whole hour.” He illustrates this with the case study of the Asiana crash at the San Francisco Airport in July 2013, resulting in three deaths and over 180 injuries. “News of the crash, with pictures, video and eyewitness accounts, was reported on social media within 60 seconds of the crash landing.

It doesn’t get quicker than that. A company needs to be able to say something within the first 15 minutes at least. Or else the public would think the company doesn’t know that something is going on,” he says. This compounds the woes of the communications team – you can’t take the news or social media accounts at face value but there is no time to get your own people on the ground for verification. “Asiana, though a reputable company that did their best, had a lot of missteps – like delays in putting out the first statement, lack of clarity and a failure to update their website to ‘crisis mode’ which meant that even as the number of injuries were mounting, the Asiana website was advertising flights to holiday destinations. We learnt a lot from the terrible accident and the aftermath,” he says.

Back in the ballroom at W Hotel, the first statements to the media had been sent out – most of them expressing regret and support and promising more information when it became available. Now more dire news started coming in. It has been confirmed that the tanker most definitely be-

longed to the company0 and reports from the hospital point are of at least a dozen fatalities, many of them children. Worse still, the press reports that the driver had been operating the vehicle under the influence of alcohol. It is in these circumstances that you have to present one of your top-level executives, preferably the CEO, in a live interview. “A company’s reputation is partly built by what the executives say on media,” Steel says. “The media’s job is to hold you to account and this can get very uncomfortable during a crisis. What we have to help the executives understand is that a media interview is a business transaction, not a social communication. He/she has to be trained keeping that in mind.” This was apparent with the sample interviews Steel conducted with some select volunteers.

Tough questions were aplenty. Will you resign? What is your response to the mother of the dead child? What actions will you take? It’s hard to imagine preparing yourself to face this line of fire in less than an hour since the incident.

This is why Steel repeatedly points out, that morbid though it may be, it’s vital to anticipate all manners of catastrophes and have a plan in place to respond quickly and effectively should these comes to pass. “The plan is everything. This way everyone in the company knows which direction they are taking with the responses and know what their roles and responsibilities are from start to end. Instincts play a role, for sure, but in a large company unless you stick to the plan you are lost,” he says. You’ll be thankful for that when fate throws something bizarre, outlandish and completely unexpected at your door (like when Vodafone Egypt had to deal with accusations earlier this year that the puppet in its TV commercial was sending coded messages on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood).

Being prepared can involve something seemingly simple, like having ready the layout of a press conference with the list of requirements that you can send across to a hotel at short notice. “The hotel might not have hosted a press conference before so it’ll save everyone a lot of time and effort trying to get the details right. Because the

layout is very important and a huge amount of thought goes into it based on experience.

If the CEO is to give a press conference, especially if he/she is announcing bad news, the event has to be controlled and dignified,” he says. There can’t be demonstrators and distraught victims; that’s not what the press conference is for. The chaotic Malaysian Airlines press conference in March taught us how ugly it could get. The mock press conference at W was loud, boisterous and dramatic with obnoxious journalists and grieving mothers, all handled with a firm iron hand in the velvet glove.

Since leaving BBC, Steel has joined Kenyon, a 100-year old international emergency services company. Kenyon supports several large organisations – airlines, cruise companies, hotels, civil authorities – in their emergency training and response, and crisis communication and media services form a key part of their portfolio. For a highrisk business, it’s comforting to know that the power of this professional organisation is behind you in the background, says Steel.

His international experience has also given him unique insights into the cultural differences in how we communicate.

“The way we express sentiments is different in different cultures. I have worked extensively in China where they are much less likely to vocalise feelings in the way we do in Britain. The Chinese prefer to talk about action. It doesn’t mean they don’t care but for us, it might come over as a little cold. To them, our statements might seem over-emotional. But we have to remember that we live in a globalised world, so any statement we make has to read well outside our own culture. Increasingly the Chinese are starting to put a little sentiment into statements and we are being careful about specifying what we are doing and putting out facts,” says Steel. The Middle East and the business here are very global in their outlook and this reflects in their communications, he points out. In the run up to World Cup 2022 and during the event itself, Qatar would probably have to prepare for a wide range of crisis situations and Steel feels both experience and expertise would serve it in good stead QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 89

culture > doha diary

Exploring the amazing underwater environment: Humaid travels around the world, for the pleasure of scuba diving.

CALL OF THE SEA Have you ever considered the possibility of scuba diving in Qatar’s sea waters?

If you love the life under water you should surely investigate this new hobby that you can enjoy right here.

BY ANEY MATHEW 90 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

“I was deeply inspired by Qatar’s history of pearl diving. Growing up in this land surrounded by waters, I developed a natural love for the sea.

When I look back at my first open water diving experience, I can just sum it up in one word – awesome!”

MOHAMMED ALI HUMAID Assistant Manager Qatar Petroleum, Offshore Fields

“S

cuba diving takes you to a different world; all of a sudden you are surrounded by fish, and strange sea creatures you’ve never seen before; the colours look brilliant; the corals and the amazing variety of wildlife are fascinating – beyond anything you can imagine. The way things move and sound underwater are very different from anything you normally experience: the feeling of being weightless is exceptional; it’s altogether surreal and exceptional”, says Mohammed Ali Humaid, a passionate scuba diver.

Mohammed Ali Humaid, the Assistant Manager for Qatar Petroleum’s Offshore Fields, has been diving for nearly 13 years.

Humaid is so dedicated to his hobby, that he is not just a diver but also a scuba diving instructor. As a matter of fact, he’s the only Qatari who is certified to be an Open Water Instructor with British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC). “I was deeply inspired by Qatar’s history of pearl diving. Growing up in this land surrounded by waters, I developed a natural love for the sea. When I look back at my first open water diving experience, I can just sum it up in one word – awesome!”

“It was like I had developed gills; it felt so natural. I felt like a fish, moving with such freedom under water for the first time. You need to experience it to understand”, he says. With more than 1,200 dives behind him, Humaid is completely hooked to exploring the wonders of the sea and has travelled to several countries just for the pleasure of scuba diving. Naturally, Humaid has several captivating fish tales to tell. “An unforgettable incident occurred while scuba diving here in Qatar. I found myself swimming beside a gigantic whale shark that seemed to have a never-ending body. I could actually feel time go by, as I swam alongside

it; it just wouldn’t end. It was like standing somewhere and having a long train pass you by. It was an indescribable moment of awe.”

“Then there was the time when I had an unexpected face-to-face encounter with a gigantic hamour. I had strayed into its territory unawares and there it was – staring at me, as if challenging me for encroaching into its space. Initially I moved forward a bit just to tease it, but soon retreated as I didn’t want to taunt it,” he relates.

Humaid’s intriguing underwater encounters extend far beyond the regional waters.

“I remember the time in Bali when I accidently stumbled into the path of a large school of pipe fish. It was an extraordinary moment that I didn’t want to spoil; so I stayed perfectly still. It was as if the all fish stopped mid-track too – or mid-water so to speak – trying to figure out whether I was part of the environment or an alien they needed to flee from. As I continued to remain still and motionless, some of the bolder ones actually came right up to me, trying to nibble at me as if to check me out. It was a fantastic moment while it lasted!” he says, adding, “You’ve got to experience these encounters to understand them.”

Scuba diving is a much enjoyed sport in Qatar and it might come as a surprise to many, to find that there are some good diving areas and quite a few colourful coral reefs here. The northern part of the Qatar Sea has now become the place for the largest whale shark gathering in the world. As for dolphins, you can see quite a few of them in the Dolphin Reef in Dukhan (a restricted diving area).

“Diving in Qatar is quite safe and you will rarely encounter problems with sharks or poisonous fish. There’s an incredibly huge variety of underwater life to be explored in this region; from schools of small colourful reef fish to large solitary fish, including playful dolphins and fun, slow turtles.

There are also the fascinating ones like the

clown fish, nudibranchs, angel fish, lion fish and of course sea horses.”

“I love diving in Qatari waters! You can dive the whole year round, as the temperature does not drop too much. Summer offers fabulous dives in Qatar, although the water can be murky. Winter-diving on the other hand is great, as visibility is better,” sums up Humaid.

With the summer having firmly set in, the call of the sea can be irresistible. The time seems ideal to dive into a ‘cool’ hobby. Exploring the Qatari waters should take weekends to a whole new level and completely capture the imagination.

Scuba diving anyone?

Into the Deep in Qatar and the GCC According to Humaid, “There are two main diving schools in Qatar, that people can choose from: the American school PADI and the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC).”

“Qatar has both natural and man-made reefs, with land as well as offshore dive sites.

The popular ones are the Old Club reef, the M.O. wreck, New Club Reef, the Barge, Inland Sea, Khor Al-Udeid Beach Reef, Balhambar Reef etc.

“The Old Club Reef just before Sealine Beach Resort, is the most frequented as it has a large variety of fish, crustaceans and corals. The Khor Al-Udeid Beach Reef has the best coral reef among the non restricted dive sites. Halul Island has the best coral reef you will get to see in Qatar and it is undamaged too; but is a restricted site.

“There are many dive sites in the GCC waters. You will particularly enjoy diving in Oman as dolphins can be seen in their hundreds following tuna. Fujairah in the UAE is also a great spot. The best place for diving is of course Jeddah with its long coast line on the Red Sea. Because the area is so restricted, the dive sites are pristine; the colourful coral reefs and the variety of beautiful fish here are said to be most fascinating.”

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 91

culture>qt take BEYOND BLACK AND WHITE Students from all schools in Qatar, participated in an art competition organised by Mathaf, the results of which were exhibited at the museum.

BY SINDHU NAIR

92 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

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he bare white background of Mathaf: the Arab museum of Modern Art exploded with vibrant colours as students from 39 schools in Qatar arrived at the museum to have a look at their work that was exhibited for the first time within a museum. From the black and white chess board with the three dimensional pawns tumbling down to abstract work by three students to a beautiful representation of the country in black and white, the paintings and the sculpture exhibited were a testimony that there was no dearth of young talent within the country.

The exhibition represented work by 364 students from 39 different schools from

across Qatar. According to Maral Bedoyan, Head of Education, Mathaf had planned the competition hoping that students would really wow them if given the time and encouragement to create art, and it was nice to see that belief confirmed.

“We purposely chose an open theme, black and white, because we wanted teachers and students to interpret and respond in their own way,” she says.

And the students did interpret it in different ways with many exploring different mediums to reflect the theme, like a dress that was made of all the waste materials, the cds and newspaper. It helped that the material used was black and white. Another interesting exhibit was a camel made in wood and painting white with black and white paper frills thrown on it with message welcoming people to Qatar.

Like us, Bedoyan cannot choose favourites. She says: “I think there is something to admire in all of the works we selected. A message we strive to get across every year is that we value process and depth over perfection. We ask students to submit

statements about their work every year, and the statements tell you a lot: some students researched social issues or artists, some explored formal techniques, and others talked about personal struggles. Speaking as an educator, the works closest to my heart are the ones where students demonstrate critical thought, passion and hard work. Work where I can see that some kind of journey is taking place in the student’s mind.”

While these works of art were chosen from an array of talent from each school, the judges, according to Bedoyan had a difficult task at hand, “I think the judges were spoilt for choice this year, and that’s a wonderful problem to have. I hope students who weren’t selected view this year as a learning experience and submit work to future competitions,” she says.

Mathaf has always reached out to students from schools through its education programme all of which are very inter active in their approach, the goal of this outreach programme was to create more opportunities for children to explore, create and in the end find their individual voices.

“We also hope to build stronger relationships with teachers and schools in Qatar, and to have conversations about how we can support art education in the schools,” says Bedoyan.

What seems most exciting of this project is that next year it might grow bigger than what it is now as Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa Al Thani expressed a strong interest in taking the Student Art Exhibition beyond the museum’s walls and to display winning works in public spaces QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 93

culture>doha diary DIRTY TALK IN DOHA On World Environment Day, Youth Company International put together a compelling dialogue on how we are irreversibly changing our planet.

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he series of eight talks held at the Student Center in Education City, supported by the Ministry of Environment, saw enthusiastic attendance, with over 450 students, corporates, government officials and community members present. In a video address, HE Sheikh Ahmed Amer Mohamed Al Humaidi, the Minister of Environment, addressed the audience, highlighting the importance of the role of youth in securing our precious resources. Qatar has a terrible track record in consumption and waste creation, the presenters said and it was everyone’s responsibility to work towards reducing that.

The first speaker of the evening, the Dutch Ambassador HE Yvette van Eechoud illustrated this point in her short and interesting talk about how small Dutch companies had sprung up around reuse and recycling - from boutique phone repairs to leased jeans, “young entrepreneurs are doing relevant and exciting things while having fun at the same time”, she said. Another interesting talk was by MoE’s wildlife photographer Dilip Kumar who wowed the audience with some of his magnificent shots of birds flying through Qatar along with some statistics about the number of species of birds – both resident and migratory – that can be found in Qatar. The event also saw the launch of the book The Lizards of Qatar by Aurora Castilla.

94 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

HISTORIC MANUSCRIPTS VIEWED BY REGIONAL SCHOLARS Top international Islamic manuscript scholars came together at Sheikh Faisal Museum, Doha, the largest private museum in the region, after attending “The Illumined Word” seminar at the Museum of Islamic Art, to review and validate the Sheikh Faisal Museum’s extensive and valuable manuscript and calligraphy collections. Among these experts were Dr. Nabil Safwat, Art Historian from Dubai, Mahmoud Zaki of the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts and ALECSO, Arab League of Nations, Professor Paul Hepworth, Book Conservator from Istanbul, Karin Scheper, Book Conservator at the University of Leiden, and Dr Nourane Ben Azzuna, Assistant Professor in Art history at the University of Vienna.

The Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani collection includes a number of manuscripts that have been obtained from many Arab and Islamic countries and includes subjects like science and philosophy.

BIDDING ADIEU

PHOTO COURTESY: MOHAMMED ISMAIL

Katara Art Center’s swan song event attracted a record number of supporters who turned up to reminiscence about their experiences at the KAC and share their hopes for its future.

I

t was a bittersweet ceremony, full of memories and hope, that brought the KAC chapter to a close. Attended by a supporters and the media, the evening featured short talks by some of the people behind the organisation, the artists, designers and partners it has collaborated with and a unique music performance at the end by Karim Sultan, who performed a piece produced using the sounds created in and around KAC. “The emails we received expressing sympathy and support after the announcement of closure leaves no question that we will be able to continue in another form. We will be setting up a new strategy and find a way to move forward,”

said KAC founder Tariq Al Jaidah. Artistic Director Mayssa Fattouh said they were in the process of working on a new brand identity before the shock closing and she expressed hope that they will be able to reveal it soon. “One cannot underestimate the value of an organisation like KAC. Because we were small, we were able to interact directly with the community and because we were small we were vulnerable to a lot of external factors,” she said. Other speakers who took to the stage were political cartoonist Khalid Al Baih, VCUQ’s Director of Painting and Printmaking Rhys Himsworth, Maktaba’s Sarah Champa and UCL lecturer Dr Karen Excell and more.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 95

culture > doha diary

PHOTO EXHIBITION CAPTURES THE SOUL OF QATAR AND BRAZIL

Qatar Brazil: A Journey from the Amazon to the Desert is a unique visual interpretation of this year’s Qatar Brazil 2014 Year of Culture. A group of photographers from two different continents documented their journey as moments captured in time, engaging in an inspiring exchange of artistic discovery and cultural dialogue. The photography exhibition showcased the best works of Qatari and Brazilian photographers Aref Hussein, Abdullah Al Tamimi, Andre Joaquim and Leonardo Wen in Katara from June 3 to July 1 in Qatar Photographic Society’s Gallery 18.

Held in collaboration with the Qatar photographic Society (QPS) and the Ministry of Culture, Qatar Brazil 2014 sent two Qatari photographers from QPS on a two-week expedition across Brazil to photograph its landscapes, people, food, culture, and touristic highlights. In turn, two Brazilian photographers were invited to Qatar to journey across the Arabian Peninsula to experience its history, people, tradition, food and culture through Brazilian eyes.

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UPCOMING

EVENTS

RAMADAN FAMILY TOUR Museum of Islamic Art Every Monday during Ramadan, 9:00 p.m.

Through this expert-guided tour, get a special insight into the collections currently on exhibit at the MIA. RAMADAN SPORTS FESTIVAL Aspire July 2 The two-week festival will feature eleven different sports for men and women, including beach soccer, basketball, football, junior football, flag football, volleyball , table tennis for special needs.

SPLASH & DASH Aspire Dome Swimming Pool and Indoor Athletics Track July 2 - August 31, Every Sunday & Wednesday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Aspire Dome Swimming Pool and Indoor Athletics Track will host swimming and running open sessions.

The registration is open until August 31.

The on-site registration is subject to the availability at Splash & Dash welcome desk every Sunday and Wednesday between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

GILDING THE LILY Museum of Islamic Art July 2, 9 and 16, 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m.

In this class you’ll learn how to gild with real gold leaf and complete the piece with a beautiful painted floral border, resulting in a lovely card suitable for any occasion. For ages 16 and above.

For booking a spot in the class, contact rsouag@qma.org.qa LITTLE DA VINCIS & PERSIAN PORTRAITURE Museum of Islamic Art July 3, 10 and 17, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Join us in creating a glass painting inspired by the remarkable floral designs in MIA’s collection. Students will go on a trip through the galleries, learn about the objects from Iran and Turkey, and create their own artwork on glass. For children between the ages three and five. For bookings, contact mmoura@qma.org.qa TIE THE SULTAN’S TURBAN Museum of Islamic Art July 6, 10, 13 and 17, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Meet the MIA’s powerful men and women who lived and ruled during the Islamic golden ages. Let’s see what

their outfits looked like and what kinds of headdresses they wore. Then let’s make our own royal headdress! For children between the ages 9-12.

For booking, contact dzada@qma. org.qa ARABESQUE WOODEN TILE Museum of Islamic Art July 9 and 16, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

In this two-part workshop each session has a different activity inspired by the patterns and floral designs in MIA. Come learn about the history of the objects, geometry in Islamic Art, and create your own pieces by painting on wood. For booking, contact nqussini@ qma.org.qa RAMADAN RETREAT: RELAX, RECHARGE & GROW Sealine Beach Resort July 17 -19, 4 p.m.

Look inward and see what is moving you, what is bothering you, where there are opportunities for change and growth. The retreat then empowers you to leverage those opportunities.

The weekend is all about enjoying the ‘simple pleasures’ of life – good, wholesome food storytelling and sharing, stretching the boundaries of our comfort zones, the spirit of sisterhood, a feeling of community.

For more information, contact info@ hwwqatar.com.

CERAMICS OF AL-ANDALUS Museum of Islamic Art April 30 - August 30 Focusing on rare and beautiful ceramics from Spain, the objects on display exemplify the blending of Muslim and Christian artistic motifs.

Through the display of Andalusi ceramics, we highlight our philosophy of collecting and conserving key objects in the history of Islamic art to show why and how a museum collection is developed.

FOR MORE INFORMATION LOG ONTO WWW.EVENTLY.QA OR FOLLOW @EVENTLYQATAR

PRESENTED BY

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014 > 97

MY HOME IN QATAR ARNEL P PUNSALAN

Qatar Today looks at two expatriates from everyday life, one who has lived here for a significant amount of time and another who has just made Doha her home, for their take on life in this city.

Highway Engineer, WS ATKINS Been in Doha since: September 2007 (seven years)

COMING TO DOHA Having previously worked in the Middle East for many years, I was referred by a friend to my previous employer, the Gulf Engineering and Industrial Consultancy. I came here on a business visa and then later converted to residence visa.

THE CHANGING FACE OF DOHA In the past six and a half years I have witnessed a major transformation to the State of Qatar, be it in the infrastructure or growth in population. I remember when I arrived back in 2007 it would usually take you half an hour or up to one hour before one could find a taxi. There were not too many residents as well.

Of course on the down side, traffic congestion was not an issue at that time. The expats community mostly consisted of Indians, Nepalis, Phillipinos, Pakistanis, and Egyptians among others. Today there is a huge rise in the foreign workforce which includes expats from Greece, Portugal, Spain and Korea. With such a large influx of expats, road capacities are no longer adequate, and one can see that the Qatar government is trying to keep up with the rising population. On a more nostalgic note, I am starting to miss some of the old roundabouts and a few of the good restaurant that have been demolished at the Musherib area to make way for the upcoming metro.

NEW BEGINNINGS

QATAR MADE ME A BETTER PERSON TODAY Without sounding too patronising I would like to

say, “Thank you Qatar”. Compared to my previous life, I would say that Qatar was just right for me, as I wanted a simple life. It has provided a fulfillment of my career and my personal life as well. Working in a vibrant company with wonderful colleagues makes work and life easy. I have even managed to save money and buy my own house and even some property back home.

DISCOVERING PEOPLE JUST LIKE ME During my earlier years in Doha I spent most of my weekends with my friends. It was in my second year that I discovered the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers-Qatar, one of the several Philippine Professional organisations recognised by the Philippine Embassy here in Doha. The group has about 1,700 active members involved in various aspects of Civil Engineering in Qatar. The main objective of the organisation is to promote the professional development of each member, and support socio-civic activities that will be beneficial to the host country and other communities.

My life here evolved with the activities of the group taking most of my weekends and weekday evenings.

It was a total privilege to be the president of the chapter last year. In the same year we created another group, the PICE-Qatar Toastmaster Club which is registered in the Toastmaster International.

My message to everyone who is new here is to get involved with social activities from several groups and have a meaningful stay here in Doha.

GAYNOR JONES PR & Communications Manager, Movenpick Hotel Doha Been in Doha since: March 2014 (four months)

to l i ke yo u i n o u r d l u d wo a t u re o " be feTake Twle ase " P s m n? etail c o l ut y o u r d t o d ay t we e o tarT @Qa

AN OPEN-MINDED WELCOME I was initially looking for opportunities in Dubai but a position came up in Doha which interested me. I did not have much information about the city before I arrived but have been pleasantly surprised with its offerings. My first impression of Doha was that it was very much under construction. Now that I have spent more time exploring life here, I realise that it has a lot to offer socially and professionally. I am enjoying interacting with the diverse mix of nationalities that one comes into contact with and the open minded mentality of the expats that live here.

Everybody seems to have common goals and 98 > QATAR TODAY > JULY 2014

aspirations in this city and there is a kind of closeness that comes from that. Personally, I’d like to really get to know the ins and outs of the hospitality industry in Doha, build strong experience in my field over time and be part of the build up towards the World Cup in 2022.

I am from the beautiful Cape Town in South Africa. Right now I miss my friends and family the most and second to that I miss the rain and cold winter. Also I miss easily accessible fresh produce which is very cheap back home. It is hard to find fresh fruit and veg that are not too expensive here for obvious reasons.