Campus issue 20 low by Oryx Group of Magazines

YOUSUF JASSEM AL-DARWISH

SINDHU NAIR ABIGAIL MATHIAS AYSWARYA MURTHY

VENKAT REDDY M HANAN ABU SAIAM

SANDEEP SEHGAL ALPANA ROY RAVI RAMAN

HASSAN REKKAB LYDIA YOUSSEF KANWAL BALUCH

KHALID ALBAIH

ZULFIKAR JIFFRY THOMAS JOSE

TWITTER/INSTAGRAM @KHALIDALBAIH

PRATAP CHANDRAN BIKRAM SHRESTHA ARJUN TIMILSINA BHIMAL RAI

AYUSH INDRAJITH MAHESHWAR REDDY B

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2013 THE YEAR’S END IS ALMOST UPON US AND YET THE ACTION ON THE SCHOOL CIRCUIT SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN. AS ACTIVITIES AND NEW WAYS OF LEARNING ENTER OUR HORIZON, IT IS NOT JUST STUDENTS WHO KEEP BROADENING THEIR LEARNING CURVE. WITH QATAR’S KEEN APPRECIATION OF THE ARTS, CAMPUS SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND ITS RELEVANCE TO THE YOUNG. INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED COMEDIAN, RUSSELL PETERS’ VISITS, WHILE QATAR’S YOUNG FILM MAKERS TAKE CENTER STAGE. WITH A FILM FESTIVAL DEDICATED TO THE YOUTH LATER THIS MONTH. DOHA CLEARLY FOCUSES ON THE YOUNG AT HEART.

Address all correspondence to CAMPUS, Oryx Advertising Co. WLL, P.O. Box 3272 Doha-Qatar. Tel: (+974) 44672139, 44550983, 44671173, 44667584. Fax: (+974) 44550982; Email: campus@omsqatar.com. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The publisher does not accept responsibility for advertising contents. Licensing/Republishing CAMPUS content: To obtain permission for text syndication in books, newsletters, magazines, newspapers and web or to use images/pictures carried in CAMPUS, please contact our syndication and licensing department on the numbers given above. Permission is also required to photocopy a CAMPUS article for classroom use, course packs, business or general use. Custom reprints: Any previously published article/s to be used as stand-alone pieces can be reprinted by us on special request. The reprint cost is based on the length of the article and the quantity ordered. Contact our custom publishing division on the numbers given above for more information.Previous issues (January 2004 onwards) of CAMPUS are available for sale, contact our library department. To subscribe to CAMPUS call our subscription department on the numbers given above.

Published by Oryx Advertising Co. WLL, P.O. Box 3272 Doha-Qatar. Tel: (+974) 44672139, 44550983, 44671173, 44667584. Fax: (+974) 44550982. Email: campus@omsqatar.com website: www.omsqatar.com

THE WRITE-EXPERTISE Find out about creative writing workshops in Doha from the writers themselves.

38 PLAYING WISE

ISSUE 20 NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2013

Find out how students got together during the WISE summit and created innovated ways of learning.

COMEDY KING

Russell Peters first show in Doha was a-much talked about event. Abigail Mathias unearths why.

EVERYTHING ABOUT EMMA

LIGHTS CAMERA - ACTION

We find out why this one-time Harry Potter star is still as famous.

ART EDUCATION

The experts at Mathaf, the Arab Museum of Modern Art tell us how much there is to learn from art.

TAKE THE TEST

When it comes to IELTS and TOEFL exams, some of us tend to shiver. We ease your nerves with expert advice.

Campus bring a few of Qatarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s upcoming filmmakers to the front row.

BANKABLE ADVICE The country head of Mashreq bank shares his professional expertise with the readers of Campus.

FIGHTING FIT Our fitness gurus offer a few concrete steps to a more toned and alert body.

CAMPUS NEWS

QATARI STUDENT WINS AWARD

mna Al Zeyara, a computer science student at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, won first place in the undergraduate research competition at the 2013 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in Minneapolis, USA.

CMU-Q TO BUILD LINKS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY

hirty executives from key Qatari organizations recently gathered at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar to participate in a two-day executive education course focusing on dynamic organizational leadership. CMU-Q’s programs in executive and professional education engage professionals who want to improve skills that are critical to good management, and equip organizations and their leadership with the tools needed for success. Attendees came from organizations that Carnegie Mellon has built strategic partnerships with, including the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, the Permanent Committee for Drug and Alcohol Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Al Jazeera Media Network, RasGas, Qatar Finance and Business Academy, Al Faisal Holding, Ezdan Holding and Commercial Bank of Qatar.

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CANADIAN AMBASSADOR AT CNA-Q

he Ambassador of Canada to Qatar, M André Dubois, was the guest of honor at the College of North Atlantic Qatar’s open house for its recently launched Security Academy on October 22 2013. The College of North Atlantic, Qatar (CNA-Q) is now offering one year certificate and two year diploma programs in Emergency Management, which will provide students with the training, skills and know-how to carry out emergency management activities in organizations. “We are very proud of the important contribution that the Security Academy’s Emergency Management Certificate and Diploma will make in providing valuable training for companies and government institutions in Qatar,” said Ambassador Dubois, “Proper emergency management training is essential for any organization’s corporate and security planning.” To find out more information about the Emergency Management program, please visit www. cna-qatar.com.

STARS S OF SCIENCE

tudents from 12 schools across Qatar participated in Keralite Engineers Forum’s (KEF) Science & Technology Exhibition on October 25 2013 at Al Jazeera Academy. KEF, which is the oldest association of Indian engineers in Qatar, held the exhibition to encourage students in Qatar to get creative with science, as part of Qatar’s National Vision 2030. A panel of highly experienced judges who themselves are engineers, professors and inventors, chose the winners. In the sub-junior category, first prize went to A H Anirudh of Bhavans School, second prize to Mohamed Khalid Al Jenahi of Al Maha Academy, and third prize to Sarthak Ketanbhai Modi of Delhi Public School. In the junior category, first prize went to Jan Erika Mari DC and Donnel Christopher J Soro, second prize to Suhaib Patel of Ideal Indian School, and third prize to Anita Joy and Sarangi Anand of MES Indian School. While in the senior category first prize went to Vanessa Klair Tolentino and Marianne Fatima Valenzuela of Philippine School, second prize to Medina Dangol, Saagil Khan and Vishnudev of Doha Modern Indian School, and third prize to Nadia Amin and Aamera Effar of Shantiniketan Indian School. All winners received trophies, certificates and cash prizes worth QR10,500.

QATAR RED CRESCENT’S EDUCATION DRIVE

s well as working in core areas of relief such as providing healthcare, medical services, food, water, shelter and sanitation, Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) pays special attention to the field of education. QRC has been working on numerous projects both inside and outside Qatar in a bid to provide both children and adults with the knowledge and skills they need to live a decent life and participate in building society. One of QRC’s most important education projects in Qatar is “Their aid begins by their children” in which QRC and His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, aided 373 Syrian students to study at the Syrian School and the Jordanian School during the academic year 2012-2013. Over 6,500 expat workers benefited from QRC’s “Wekaya” campaign in which the charity conducted research and studies and raised awareness about communicable diseases amongst expat workers. Outside Qatar, QRC has been carrying out different educational projects in Palestine, Sudan, Pakistan and Mauritania.

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QATAR LEARNS HOW TO WRITE AWAY!

hroughout November the College of North Atlantic, Qatar offered free writing workshops in the university’s Advanced Writing Centre. The workshops, which were run by Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar, author and Assistant Professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, focused on “power writing” which taught participants the fundamentals of writing confidently in a structured format, and “big screen writing” in which participants learned how to develop dramatic script scenes and interesting characters. Mohanalakshmi is the creator of the popular Qatar Narrative series and has run many successful writing workshops in Qatar.

SPOTLIGHT

Culture Debate:

What is all the fuss about the 10

art in Doha?

s the winter season made its presence felt, a plethora of cultural activities have taken center stage and some of them have even raked up controversy. Qatar is known to be spending huge amounts of money in acquiring art and has hosted famous artists in its museums, the most recent among them being the British artist Damien Hirst, whose exhibition Relics is currenty on at the Al Riwaq. Another recent sculpture, a five-meter tall one depicting the (in)famous head butt on Italyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Marco Materazzi by French footballer Zinedine

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Zidane, was said to be acquired by the Qatar Museums Authority as part of its public art works and was erected on the Corniche. Created by Algerian-born French artist Adel Abdessemed in 2012, it had previously been on show at the Pompidou Centre in Paris. And recently, just one month after it was installed, this sculpture was removed. Though the reasons behind the statueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s removal remain vague, the social media was abuzz with massive criticism saying the statue had hurt religious sensitivities, while others simply criticized the artwork for glorifying an act of violence. This month, Campus puts on its detective cap and finds out what the student community thinks of this huge art movement that the country is now engaged in.

GROWING UP AROUND ART Doha’s young have a rich and varied palate for art ANGEL: I used to love art when I was young. In high school, it was my biggest passion. But as I got older I moved on to other things like music and reading. Claude Monet is my favourite artist. The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is my all-time favourite.

ZUHAIR: Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night was the first work of art that made me stop and take a second look.

SORAYA RIDANOVIC, NU-Q

SORAYA:

RAWAND:

My favourite artist ever is Salvador Dali. His works really make me reflect.

I loved the graffiti art on the streets of Cairo that found special expression after Mohamed Mahmoud street become a canvas, depicting the martyrs of the revolution. I don’t agree with the idea that paying high prices for art necessarily makes it good.

Starry Night by Van Gogh

Graffiti on the streets of Cairo

The Creation of Adam in Sistine Chapel

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“HEAD-BUTT”: CONFUSES MORE THAN OFFENDS We can do better FARIDA ZAHRAN, NU-Q

FARIDA:

NOOR: I did not see it in person but I cannot understand what the whole commotion was about. What was the big deal about it? It can have many interpretations.

I thought it was very irrelevant. It seemed like a random piece that was installed without any thought.

JASSIM: It was a very irrelevant piece of work that doesn’t conform to our religion.

Coup de tete de Zidane by Adel Abdessemed

Gunpowder drawings by Cai Guo-Qiang

Claude Monte’s water lillies

Damien Hirst’s favouite muse, the shark

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I HAVE SEEN THE ZIDANE SCULPTURE AND IT HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH QATAR.*

The Museum of Crying Women by Francesco Vezzoli

A Miraculous Journey

The Hymn

DOES DOHA LOVE DAMIEN? Love him, hate him but can’t ignore him JASSIM: His art is all about “shock value”. I cannot understand the hype around this artist as controversy in itself is not what makes art creative. I don’t even like the installation outside the Al Riwaq which is more of an eye-sore than a piece of art. It looks like a page off a science textbook and is very disturbing to have on the Corniche. Generally, I am not a fan of modern art as I feel that the people who view the art need to put in more effort in trying to interpret it that the artist did to create it.

SILMA: When I saw the Miraculous Journey, I didn’t know what to feel about it, it is nothing like what I have seen before and hence I could not react. But it is getting people to notice the country.

SILMA SUBA, NU-Q

SORAYA: The babies outside Sidra is a really interesting installation

ZUHAIR: AHMAD: I like the babies outside Sidra.

I must admit the most interesting installation I have seen so far is the one that depicts the growth of a fetus to a baby.

IT WAS AWESOME. MORBID THINGS ALL THE WAY.*

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MY FAVOURITE EXHIBIT/ INSTALLATION IN DOHA Doha’s art scene has something for everyone NOOR: The Spider at the Qatar National Convention Center. This is by the French-Canadian sculptor Louise Bourgeois and is over 30 feet high and 33 feet wide. Bourgeois named this “Maman” after her mother.

NOOR ODEH ACADEMIC BRIDGE PROGRAM

SILMA: Mathaf’s Tea with Nefertiti. The Making of the Artwork with the artist was very exciting. It made me feel like we were right there in Egypt.

RAWAND: Cai Guo-Qiang’s gunpowder drawings .

ANGEL: Gifts of the Sultan at MIA. It was part of our art history field trip and all of the exhibits and paintings were extremely intricate and beautiful. I definitely felt more cultured after visiting it.

“Maman” at the Qatar National Convention Center

FARIDA: Confusionism at Katara Art Center by Iraqi-Canadian artist Mahmoud Obaidi which was on till November. It featured exhibits imbued with both humor and political depth. I loved it. It was very relevant to the region with all the violence that is prevalent here.

WORLD’S LONGEST CHANDELIER BY BEAU MCCLELLAN.*

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I HAVEN’T PERSONALLY SEEN ADEL ABDESSEMED’S EXHIBIT ION BUT I HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT IT. IT SEEMS LIKE A SCARY FORM OF ART, DIFFERENT FROM WHAT DOHA VIEWS AS ART.*

BACKING QATAR’S CULTURAL DRIVE Keep it coming! SILMA: FARIDA: It is interesting to see so many different artists in focus. There will be dialogue around them and that can only be good for us.

VIBHAV: It’s a step in the right direction though I feel Qatar is not doing it the right way. They should include more of what the people in the country want to see. Qatar has a distinct culture and the art should reflect that instead of being completely opposed to it.

ZUHAIR: The increased activity around art will go a long way in stoking the passion in young artists, giving them more exposure and helping them evolve.

Qatar is being very bold. Art truly has no boundaries now and the recent installations and exhibitions are breaking traditional mentalities. I talked to a few art students at VCU-Q and they felt that there is a dire need for art critics in the country, for us to get a better perspective of the art displayed here. There should be more art from Qatari artists to make a true cultural difference.

VIBHAV GAUTAM, NU-Q

ANGEL:

SORAYA: It’s interesting how the East meets West in many of these exhibits. Art is more than just a spectacle; it’s an explosion of ideas. I hope Qatar will achieve a more open attitude towards different kinds of artists and their works.

Qatar is clearly trying to put itself on the map and it’s working. Hopefully it’ll establish itself as an Arab nation known for its appreciation of art and culture.

I LOVE THE HYPOCRISY. QMA IS HOST ING BOTH THE ABDESSEMMED AND THE HAJJ EXHIBIT ION AT THE SAME T IME.*

Artefacts from The Hajj Exhibition

Adel Abdessemed’s exhibition at Mathaf

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One of Salvador Dali ‘s bestknown surrealist masterpieces

NOOR ODEH ACADEMIC BRIDGE PROGRAM

FARIDA ZAHRAN, JUNIOR IN COMMUNICAT IONS, NU-Q

SILMA SUBA

Materials at play at The Golden Age

SOPHOMORE STUDENT, NU-Q

JASSIM KUNJI, JOURNALISM GRADUATE, NU-Q

VIBHAV GAUTAM FRESHMAN, NU-Q

ANGEL POLACCO JUNIOR, NU-Q

ZUHAIR MOHAMMAD CMU-Q

SORAYA RIDANOVIC FRESHMAN, NU-Q

AHMAD AAZMAND JUNIOR, CMU-Q

RAWAND HELMI

TAKING ART TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION

NOT T INGHAM UNIVERSIT Y, UK

*ANONYMOUS OPINIONS HEARD AROUND VCU-Q

ANGEL: We need more art exhibitions that appeal to the tastes of our generation – like abstract art and cultural art from other countries.

JASSIM KUNJI, NU-Q

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AHMAD: SORAYA: Mandatory art class but more fun and less lecture-y. Art should become a way of learning.

The social media is a great tool to promote art and impart knowledge about it.

rt education focuses on conversation and connects individuals from different cultures and backgrounds. Art is a powerful language; however the vocabulary of art is not made up of words, but rather of visual

BY A KHAWL RI AL MAR

Understanding

ART

through Education It is very important to observe art, study it from a different perspective, look beyond it and ‘digest’ it through your own interpretation, says a museum education specialist. 18

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elements. Museums provide a different unique interactive form of teaching which is by using visual examples instead of theoretical teaching methods. The museum uses different steps to introduce students to art using observational practices, group discussions, writing practices in the gallery and art workshops. Observing a famous painting for example is a totally different experience compared to looking at a printed version of the painting in a book or magazine. Art education helps children express their feelings through creating artwork related to them which causes an impact on behavior and increases academic performance. Museum practices also improve clarity and creativity in communication of verbal and nonverbal ideas. Art enables a deep understanding of important issues such as culture, history, diversity and human behavior including building self-confidence through discussions about the students’ own art creations. Mathaf, the Arab Museum of Modern Art, has established a very strong bond with schools in Qatar in the past few years through the organized school visits provided by the museum including different programs and activities that involve the whole community. The education specialists at Mathaf, the Arab Museum of Modern Art, do believe that is it very important to discuss the meaning of the museum as a whole because it does help the child adapt to the place and understand its valuable content and the reason of its existence. Mathaf’s structured educational program enables students to discover their creative skills and think outside the box. For example, during the gallery practice the educators concentrate on various subjects during the group discussion with the children, the child analyzes what he/she has observed and then they start to think from different perspectives. To endorse that experience the educator provides a small booklet or written practice to enable the child to express through writing and drawing. Museum specialists and experts understand how the depth of experience is very important and that is why they have created intensive programs that enable students to question and reflect on art they encounter and thus they become more critically aware. Art invites everyone to talk and be diverse. The author is a renowned artist and is also working with Mathaf, the Arab Museum of Modern Art, on its students community program.

EXPERT TALK

write away The creative writing workshops in Qatar BY EE P SRIMOY

YOU PHOTOGRAPHY: JUSTIN HARBOR

have a flair for writing but are you too shy to share your work with the world? A closet writer who day-dreams about writing the next best-seller yet donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where to begin? Or do you simply want to improve your communication skills? If you think joining a writing community, a workshop in creative writing or even a full-fledged writing course is what you need, this article might help you take confident steps to where you are already headed. Creative-writing courses are designed around the idea that aspiring writers will eventually produce publishable work.

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People who enroll for creative-writing programs get course credit and can, ultimately, receive an academic degree in the subject; but a workshop is not a course in the normal sense. The fruit of the idea of writing workshop is to process, to open a creative space, a regime sometimes, for forcing people to do what is fundamentally contrary to human nature: actually write! Qatar-based writer Mohanalakshmi says, “I write every day, something: an article for a journal or magazine, edit an academic piece, fiddle with parts of a story, or pitch up to my blog to say something, anything.” The idea is to keep at it, write a little, everyday. But since self-awareness tells us how easy it is to flout this made-to-seem-easy rule, writing workshops can bridge the gap between thinking and doing. Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar is a South Asian-American who has lived in Qatar since 2005. She is an Assistant Professor of English in Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, and she has to her credit many successfully run writing workshops in Qatar. She is the writer of six e-books including a “mom-ior” for first time mothers, Mommy But Still Me, a guide for aspiring writers, So You Want to Sell a Million Copies, a short story collection, Coloured and Other Stories, and a novel about women’s friendships, Saving Peace. Most recently, From Dunes to Dior, is a collection of essays related to her experiences as a female South Asian American living in the Arabian Gulf. Her second novel is set in Qatar which explores whether this generation of people believes that Love Comes Later. But it took her nearly ten years from her first creative writing course to call herself a writer ‘with any degree of confidence or understanding what being a writer meant’.

ON DOHA WRITERS WORKSHOP:

presents an opportunity to broaden the educational classroom beyond the physical boundaries of university buildings by making knowledge available to anyone with access to a computer and Internet connection. They represent a hybrid of university support, venture capital, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and private industry.’ While 100 people signed up for the course, 45 or so have entered the online forum. “Nothing like a kick-off to separate the doers from the wishers,” she quips. She gives two reasons for conducting MOOC: one is a future educational research project that she is interested in developing and the other is for her passion as a writer to help others tell their stories. She plans to launch another MOOC on ‘short story’ soon. Follow her blog: http://www.mohanalakshmi.com/ for details on her up-coming workshops.

DOS/DON’TS OF WRITING: Write everyday Find a writers’ group to share your ideas Read as much as you can Don’t procrastinate Don’t send out work that isn’t edited

“The diverse multi-ethnic and multi-generic interests make for more interesting reading and discussions.”

To inspire and encourage Qatar’s first formal community of aspiring writers, Mohanalakshmi ran the Doha Writers Workshop (DWW) in 2008. For nearly two years, she organized activities for group of teachers, students, and professionals living in Qatar who are interested in writing, reading, and the act of creating narratives with words. “The diverse multi-ethnic and multi-generic interests made for more interesting reading and discussions,” she says. The DDW meets twice a month to work on manuscripts, write spontaneously, and plan writing-centered activities for the Doha community. More information on events and workshops are available at doha_writers.livejournal.com.

ON MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSE (MOODC): Mohanalakshmi recently launched MOOC on “writing the personal essay”. She says, “If you’re not in the university business – either a student or professor – you may be thinking, what’s a MOOC? A MOOC, or a Massive Open Online Course, is a free class that thousands – often hundreds of thousands – of students take via the Internet. MOOC

College of the North Atlantic, Qatar, is offering a free writing workshop with the ‘Advanced Writing Centre’ of the university and this is what you need to know: There is a limited capacity of 15 participants for these sessions. One should be 17 or above to register for these courses. To register contact the Advanced Writing Centre directly at: awc@ cna-qatar.edu.qa. Here are the course details: 1. POWER WRITING (Date: November 11 and 18, 25, 2013; Schedule: Mondays, 3 nights): This writing workshop will focus on the fundamentals of writing to promote your ability to write confidently in structured format. The focus will be on both analyzing writing and using specific techniques to enhance your own writing. 2. BIG SCREEN WRITING: Session 2: Scripting Scenes (Date: November 13, 2013; Schedule: 5:30-8:30 pm) and Session 3: Making characters matter ( Date: November 27, 2013; Schedule: 5:30 pm-8:30 pm): These courses would help you develop your ability to script scenes with dramatic purpose and paint your characters in a way that will hold your audience. You can also consult Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing’s ‘Writer’s and Artists’ lively on-line community to seek advice on writing in a friendly, co-operative atmosphere where you can risk everything, without losing anything. You can get expert advice on articles, read inspirational author interviews, take part in competitions and get editorial services for every stage of your writing journey; most importantly, touch base with a host of like-minded people who share their work in the forum.

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FASHIONISTA

IN A WORLD WHERE LINDSAY LOHAN AND AMANDA BYNES GET SO MUCH UNWARRANTED PUBLICITY, HARRY POTTER STAR EMMA WATSON IS A YOUNG CELEBRITY WE CAN REALLY LOOK UP TO. 22

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We It was an incredible and life-changing experience – I really wish everyone had the chance to see the difference Fair Trade makes with their own eyes.

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know her mainly for being the blondehaired, feisty super nerd Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series, but off-screen, 23 year-old Emma is so much more. Actress, model, designer, style icon, and more importantly, student, Emma has many titles to add to her resume. Making wise choices in her career as an actress, putting her studies first and keeping a low but very stylish public profile, Emma makes all the right moves that not only makes us look to her as a celebrity role model, but our parents want her to be our role model too. Born in Paris, France, in 1990 to two British lawyers, Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, Emma Watson grew up in Oxford with her mother and younger model brother Alex Watson, attending Stagecoach Theatre Arts, a part-time theatre school where she acted in various productions. And it was through one of her Oxford theatre teachers that she landed an audition for the first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Impressed by the then nine year-old’s confidence, she was cast as one of the three main characters, Hermione Granger, and subsequently appeared in all seven Harry Potter movies.

SHE’S INTELLIGENT Emma has always talked about how important her studies are to her. While many young stars drop out of school in pursuit of Hollywood fame, Emma made schooling a priority. During the filming of the Harry Potter movies she would be tutored for five hours a day on set, taking 10 GSCEs in which she got eight A*

grades and two A grades. For Emma, being smart and educated was just as important as being stylish, pretty, or famous. “There are too many stupid girls in the media,” she once said. Emma didn’t have to go to university after banking around £19 million by 2009, making her a top female earner in Hollywood, but she chose to go anyway, studying Liberal Arts at Brown University in Rhode Island, as well as attending Worchester College in Oxford.

SHE’S SOCIALLY AWARE Emma is also socially conscious. She designed three collections with People Tree, the ethical fashion label that is associated with Fair Trade, giving fair wages to the manufacturers of garments living and working in third world countries like Bangladesh. Emma has been vocal about her support of Fair Trade fashion, which consists of completely handmade and organic clothing, for many years. “The design process continued with me trying on each and every piece to get the fits just as I wanted them and then I visited Bangladesh to see the clothing actually being made and meet the people making it. It was an incredible and life-changing experience – I really wish everyone had the chance to see the difference Fair Trade makes with their own eyes.”

SHE’S STYLISH Alongside her brother Alex, Emma made her debut into the modeling world as the

face of several Burberry campaigns, and was chosen as the face of Lancôme in 2011. Also in 2011 she received the Elle Style Icon Award, presented to her by Dame Vivienne Westwood, firmly cementing her status as an international style icon, with designers clamoring over each other to dress her in their pieces. Never putting a fashion foot wrong, it was Emma who brought the pixie crop back into fashion, chopping off her long blonde locks as soon as she was done filming with the last installment of Harry Potter and becoming a brunette. But despite being regularly voted as sexiest actress or Woman of the Year, as she was earlier this year by GQ magazine, Emma is down-to-earth and conservative when it comes to her personal style. “I find the whole concept of being ‘sexy’ embarrassing and confusing. If I do an interview with photographs people desperately want to change me – dye my hair blonder, pluck my eyebrows, give me a fringe. Then there’s the choice of clothes. I know everyone wants a picture of me in a mini-skirt. But that’s not me. I feel uncomfortable. I’d never go out in a mini-skirt. It’s nothing to do with protecting the Hermione image. I wouldn’t do that. Personally, I don’t actually think it’s even that sexy. What’s sexy about saying, ‘I’m here with my boobs out and a short skirt, have a look at everything I’ve got?’ My idea of sexy is that less is more. The less you reveal the more people can wonder.”

SHE’S AN AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS When it comes to acting, Emma chooses

her roles carefully, having recently starred in the 2012 coming-of-age drama The Perks of Being a Wallflower which was a hit at the box office and won many positive critical reviews. This year she also starred in the Sophia Coppola-directed movie The Bling Ring in which she took the lead role of Nicki, based on the real life Bling-Ring, a group of teenage robbers who burgled celebrities like Paris Hilton and Orlando Bloom across California between 2008 and 2009. Coming up she will be playing the role of Ila in the biblical epic Noah. Emma has scooped up numerous awards for her acting, everything from the People’s Choice Awards in 2013 for Favorite Drama Movie Actress, to Teen Choice Awards in 2011 for Best Liplock (with Harry Potter himself).

SHE SUPPORTS DOING WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN Apart from being so down-to-earth, another reason why we love Emma so much is that she champions setting self-goals and doing what you believe in, despite what others may say. “Becoming yourself is really hard and confusing, and it’s a process. I was completely the eager beaver in school, I was the girl in the front of the class who was the first person to put her hand up, and it’s often not cool to be the person that puts themself out there, and I’ve often gotten teased mercilessly, but I found that ultimately if you truly pour your heart into what you believe in – even if it makes you vulnerable – amazing things can and will happen.”

“Becoming yourself is really hard and confusing, and it’s a process. I was completely the eager beaver in school

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YOUNG TURKS

NEW-AGE NEWS DELIVERY BY RYA AYSWA HY MURT

Carnegie Mellon University Qatar (CMU-Q) alumni Anas Halbawi, and current students Ali Naqi and Noshin Nisa speak about building the app for the popular Doha News website.

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The

online popularity of Doha News has soared in the recent months. Along with the launch of their new website, they also launched an app to keep smartphone users abreast with their content. The development of the app was entrusted to three fresh-faced, young engineers from CMU-Q, none of whom had any field experience but made up for it with their new perspectives and bounding enthusiasm. Project Manager Anas Halbawi has now graduated but when he first got involved with the project, he was still in his final year and browsing through a career fair. There he stumbled onto the Doha News stall and his interest was piqued when he came to realise how his skills would come in handy at a news agency. “I had a good conversation with Omar Chatriwala, co-founder of Doha News, and ended up applying for the internship position. When I got an email from Omar during my final exams’ week telling me that I got the job, I did my little happy dance,” he says. It seems the lack of experience bothered neither the Doha News team, nor Anas himself. “At university, we focused on learning the building blocks of programming, tackling problems, and finding efficient solutions. Those tools paved the way to development of any sort, regardless of the platform you were working on. It’s like, for example, when you’re teaching kids the English language. You teach them all the basic grammar rules in order to be able to structure their sentences correctly rather than teaching them how every single sentence in the English language is formulated,” he explains. For five and a half months, Anas and his team – Noshin Nisa, the User Interface (UI) lead, and product manager and developer Ali Naqi – designed, developed, tested and redesigned, redeveloped and retested the app. Noshini, working with UI designer Zaid Haque, was in-charge of the user-interface and user-experience of the app, focusing on

making it as pretty and easy to use as possible and it was Ali’s job to plan the lifecycle of the app from setting the features list to testing the app. “That period of time consisted of four phases – learning the framework, designing and prototyping, developing and testing. Learning the framework took around a week and a half until we got a good grasp of it. The next two phases overlapped as our designers had to shuffle the look and feel of the app a couple of times until we got to an agreement. With that came redevelopment every time a change was made to reflect the new design.

Screenshot of the Doha News App That was done in the span of about four months. The last month was mostly about adding final touches and testing the app,” says Anas explaining the process. For the team it was important to get this highly-anticipated app right the first time. The app was going to be made available for both Android phones and iPhones (it is scheduled to hit Apple Store shortly) and with user-generated content being an important facet of the site, the team was determined to make this the most promi-

nent feature. “Doha News gets a lot of its content from the community in Qatar be it content or photos, and therefore we decided to make user submissions one touch away from anywhere inside the app. This allows users to immediately take a picture and submit it to Doha News, which will hopefully also increase the number of submissions,” Anas says. The app will include other useful features such as browsing through articles, searching, bookmarking articles for offline reading, sharing through social media and browsing the articles pictorially. “We did a lot of prototyping,” explains Ali. “We created an iteration of the final product, obtained feedback and made changes. After a particular feedback session we completely changed the design of the application. Taking something you already have and modifying it from scratch can be challenging.” The app launched quietly, without much fanfare, a few weeks back. But their work wasn’t over yet. Next came the troubleshooting phase. “We expected bugs to show up since most of them are discovered only once the app is used by the public. Most of the bugs were general to all phones, but some were also phone specific,” says Anas. The extensive testing done before the launch also kept complaints to a minimum. “We developed the application in Titanium (an open, extensible development environment for creating native apps); therefore we had to test at every stage to ensure the features are functional on both platforms,” clarifies Ali. The team worked to fix the issues as soon as they were brought to their attention. “We’d then send the fix to the users who raised the issue. Once they have confirmed that the problem no longer existed, the updated version was pushed out on the Play Store as an official fix,” Anas says. And it seems to have paid off. Since its launch, the app has been getting around 80-100 installations per day, according to Anas. “We have been getting very positive feedback. People are happy with the fact that they can finally read one of their favorite news sources on their phones. The simplicity of the app was also a major hit,” he says.

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2013

BIGWIG

“WE NEED A MORAL COMPASS” This is what the new country head of Mashreq Bank, Ross Officer has to say to the younger generation.

times difficult and challenging circumstances. We all need a “moral compass” to point us in the right direction in life.

FOR A CAREER IN BANKING, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THE STUDENTS OF QATAR? AS A LEADER WHAT QUALITIES WOULD YOU HELP FOSTER IN THE YOUNG GENERATION? There are many qualities which we all need in life to succeed, which are not just confined to young people. There are four which stand out, namely; RESPECT - Treat other people and other points of view with respect, even when you disagree with them. Value diversity. AMBITION - Be as ambitious as your imagination will permit. You should value education, and get as much as you can out of it. RISK TAKING - You need to take risks in life in order to grow and realize your dreams. Do not be afraid, especially when you are young. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY - Take responsibility for yourself and for your career. Don’t rely on your parents, your employer or your country to give you what you want in life. Build your future through your own efforts.

Call me. I will be pleased to give advice, reflecting your circumstances and ambitions. The first questions I will ask you are: What are your career ambitions? How hard are you prepared to work? and what can you give to Banking?

IN THIS ERA WHEN THE YOUTH’S POPULATION IS GROWING AND THE JOB MARKET NOT FAST ENOUGH, WHAT OPTIONS DO THE YOUTH HAVE TO A CAREER? There will always be career options. My advice is that you should not expect to get a job and good career prospects with an employer unless you can exhibit a willingness to work hard, a willingness to learn and develop, and a willingness to engage with other people in the organization. Employers can choose who they employ, and they will always seek those job candidates who show the best attitudes towards working with others, and a “hunger” to grow and develop.

ONE LEADERSHIP VALUE THAT YOU HOLD DEAR? HOW IMPORTANT ARE VALUES IN THIS GENERATION AMIDST FAST-PACED TECHNOLOGY? Values are and will always be very important, both to this generation and all previous and future generations. While ongoing technological developments are profoundly changing the world in which we live, values are critically important as a means of guiding us through some-

Listening . Good leaders must have clear visions, and formulate clear strategies for the achievement of their visions, and they must convincingly sell these to those they are leading. But no one has a monopoly on good ideas. Good leaders listen to those they are leading, and are prepared to modify their actions accordingly.

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CAREER TRIVIA

THINGS THAT SHOULDN’T BE ON

YOUR CV

WE SPEND SO MUCH TIME FOCUSING ON WHAT NEEDS TO BE ON A CV THAT SOMETIMES IT’S EASY TO FORGET THAT THERE ARE ALSO THINGS THAT HAVE NO PLACE THERE. WITH MANY RECRUITERS SCANNING CVS FOR KEYWORDS AND SPECIFIC SKILLS YOU MAY FIND THAT YOU MAY PASS THE FIRST DRAFT BUT FAIL AT THE SECOND HURDLE WHEN A CLOSER INSPECTION WOULD REVEAL THINGS THAT DON’T NECESSARILY SHOW YOU IN THE BEST LIGHT. 30

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HERE’S A LIST BY THE CAREER EXPERTS AT BAYT.COM, THE MIDDLE EAST’S NUMBER 1 JOB SITE, OF THE SEVEN THINGS WHICH YOU SHOULD NEVER INCLUDE IN YOUR CV TYPOS It may seem obvious but you would be surprised at the number of times we hear recruiters complain about grammar mistakes and typos. These mistakes show lack of attention to detail, something which doesn’t go down well if you are trying to give the best possible fist impression. In fact, sloppy grammar and typos are the biggest turn-offs on a job seeker’s CV, according to 21.3% of employers who took part in the Bayt.com Hiring Practices in the MENA poll, February 2012. Our advice: Always read and re-read everything you write, then get at least two other people to proofread it for you.

AN UNPROFESSIONAL PICTURE The picture of you lounging at the beach may profile your best smile, but for your CV it doesn’t make the cut. Your CV photo should ideally have you dressed professionally (like you would for an interview). However, this does not mean you look dead serious – don’t forget to smile for the picture! A smiling picture shows you as an open and positive person.

INFORMATION COPIED VERBATIM FROM ELSEWHERE Never copy any block of information on your CV word-forword from any other CV or web source. Always customize and make sure that every word on your CV truly represents you, your career aspirations, your skills, and your experience.

POOR VOCABULARY In the digital age most employers use online recruitment methods, online screening, and online filtering and sorting tools, so it’s all about keywords. Make sure your CV is rich with the exact keywords employers in your target industry are actually looking for. Even if you are looking for an internship, be sure to include what department you are interested in (accounting, human recourses, marketing, etc.).

FALSE INFORMATION Your CV is one of the most essential tools you have to help you market yourself to the employer, but bending the truth is never the way to go about it. Including false information, exaggerating facts or bragging about things you haven’t done will get you nowhere. According to the Bayt.com Hiring Practices in the MENA poll, February 2012, clear exaggerations are among the most common mistakes job seekers make on their CVs, and sooner or later, the employer will realize the truth.

LOW GPAS It is a good idea to include your GPA on your CV, but if your score is below 3 it’s best not to mention it, so that you do not run the risk of being judged solely on the basis of your grades. However, you can still include your university name, graduation date, and any awards or recognition you received.

AN ULTRA-THIN EXPERIENCE SECTION The employer is very interested in what you have achieved in high school and university, so don’t get skimpy with details mentioning your co-curricular contributions here. The Bayt. com Job Index Survey (August 2013) indicates that the most desirable skills regional employers are looking for among job seekers are the ability to communicate well in both English and Arabic (50%), the ability to be a team player (48%) and good leadership skills (47%). If you have no experience to put down on your CV then elaborate on your extra-curricular participations (drama club, sports, language courses, etc.) – these are great for demonstrating your people skills.

Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East with more than 40,000 employers and over 13,300,000 registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels. Post a job or find jobs on www.bayt.com today and access the leading resource for job seekers and employers in the region.

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CAREER BUZZ

Mind your language

AN OVERVIEW OF IELTS AND TOEFL IN QATAR BY EE P SRIMOY 32

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ith English Language Proficiency Tests getting widely accepted in colleges and universities, institutions, professional bodies and border agencies, it has become one of the critical factors to consider for those aspiring for a global education or employment. Whether you want to study, work or immigrate to an English speaking country, such as USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc. English language proficiency test is the first step you need to take. There are many English language proficiency tests available for test takers to choose from, but IELTS and TOEFL stands out as the most popular tests globally and are the most widely accepted. Though, these tests began as a requirement to study, work or immigrate to English speaking countries for non-native speakers, over the years it has started getting widely accepted in many English medium colleges and universities in non-English speaking countries as well. IELTS and TOEFL are widely accepted in the whole of Middle East in all English medium colleges and universities. While IELTS is jointly owned by British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment, TOEFL is provided by ETS (Educational Testing Services), a US company based in New Jersey. As we interview Dhiraj Gurung, Head of Examinations, British Council, Qatar, we seek to find answers to the relevance of these tests in Qatar.

If you are planning to study in an English medium college or university, think about taking IELTS early on but don’t drive yourself into a panic over it. are a good number of foreign Universities including US universities in Qatar and all of them accept IELTS as one of their entry requirement. In the last five years, the number of IELTS test takers has grown significantly and one of the reasons for this is the success stories of candidates who have taken IELTS in the past.

WHAT IS THE REGISTRATION PROCESS? HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN IELTS TO OUR READERS? IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System (IELTS). It is the world’s most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and global migration with over 2 million tests taken last year. IELTS assesses all of your English skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking – and is designed to reflect how you will use English at study, work, and at play in your new environment abroad. The IELTS test is developed by some of the world’s leading experts in language assessment. It has an excellent international reputation, and is accepted by over 8,000 organizations worldwide, including schools, universities, employers, immigration authorities and professional bodies. IELTS is the most widely accepted English language test that uses a one-on-one speaking test to assess your English communication skills. This means that you are assessed by having a real-life conversation with a real person. This is the most effective and natural way of testing your English conversation skills. You can take IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training, depending on the organization you are applying to and your plans for the future. I would however recommend anyone who is interested to know about IELTS to contact British Council or refer to our website www. takeielts.britishcouncil.org.

COULD YOU PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT IELTS IN QATAR? Well, IELTS is very popular in Qatar and I think it is helping open doors to opportunities for students and professionals in Qatar. There

British Council offers multiple registration and payment options. You can visit our office at Al Sadd Street and register for any available test date or register online, upload the required documents and pay online. It’s that simple!

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR THE STUDENTS TO PREPARE FOR THESE TESTS? I think, like any other test, it is important to prepare for IELTS in order to get the best result. Having said that, one should not forget that IELTS is an English language proficiency test and any language cannot be mastered overnight. It requires dedication and sincere hard work. While we are on this, let me also tell you that, we offer various kinds of support services to our candidates to prepare for IELTS. We offer different kinds of IELTS preparation courses through our teaching center ensuring that our courses meet the need of the test takers. Every candidate who registers with us receives a free ‘Road To IELTS,’ which is an online preparation course. We have various books available at our office in Al Sadd. Also, our website has various practice materials and videos, which are very useful for students preparing for IELTS. I strongly recommend students to visit our website before they take the test.

ANY TIPS FOR OUR STUDENT READERS? If you are planning to study in an English medium college or university, think about taking IELTS early on but don’t drive yourself into a panic over it. The British Council can help you make the IELTS journey simple and smooth.

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EXPERIENCE

THE WANDERING PHYSICIAN BY AHMED H M SALE

“Knowing such problems exist would be the first step towards change.”

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June 28, following my first year of medical school, I left for Mwanza, the second largest city in Tanzania. I was privileged to be part of Weill Cornell’s summer global health program in Mwanza which lasted for eight weeks. I worked at Bugando Medical Center and Sekotoure Hospital and in other medical centers around Mwanza. Being in such an environment was a great learning opportunity as I was exposed to a new health system where resources are limited, even at the major hospitals in the region. The hospitals I worked at were in a very bad shape and had so little to offer. I had the chance to participate in medical camps that roamed around rural villages near Mwanza. Patients rely primarily on traditional healers and do not seek medical care until the disease progresses to advanced stages. This was my first time working in a place

where patients spoke neither Arabic nor English. I started to appreciate the difficulties of the language barriers that my many nonArabic speaking colleagues face here in Doha. I have come to understand that this difficulty between healthcare providers and patients is one facet that impedes the quality of care provided. Not knowing a lot of Swahili or any of the local languages was the main barrier that prevented me from interacting with my patients and was the limiting factor in providing them with the care they needed. I relied on English-speaking Tanzanians to help in translating and overcoming this challenge, which was a unique experience and taught me a lot about the importance of being part of a team. I have realized the importance of creating culturally- sensitive and easily understandable tools that would assure effective communication with patients. I also was part of a research project on infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS. Being in a place where you see many tropical diseases that you don’t usually see back home, or other infectious diseases that have been eradicated from many countries around the world, was quite

sobering. Being part of an exciting and engaging work atmosphere was the best part of my stay. I have found the Tanzanians very welcoming, cooperative, and willing to offer all that they can to make sure I gain the best out of such experience. I feel so fortunate to have worked with many great individuals who have such diverse stories but share a common passion for global health. I’ve learnt so much during my stay in Tanzania, and I’ve also realized that there is a lot more to be done. My interest in global health has grown. I see myself, in the future, spreading awareness and educating people about the challenges in developing countries, and acting actively to make a positive change in these places. It is my duty as a future physician. There is much to be done, and, to begin with, knowing such problems exist would be the first step towards change. The author is a medical student at Weill Cornell Medical College Qatar and he describes his experience spending eight weeks of his summer break at hospitals in Mwanza, Tanzania along with his classmate Lama Obeid.

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TALK

Bright Young Things:

Qatar’s Next-Gen Filmmakers Here in Doha we just can’t get enough of movies. Not just watching them – making them too. That is where Doha Film Institute steps in, churning out Qatar’s young professional filmmakers.

there is one thing that brings people in Qatar of all ages and walks of life together it is film. We just can’t get enough of movies, whether we are watching them accompanied by a big bucket of popcorn at the cinema, downloading them at home on our computers or making them ourselves. Since Doha Film Institute, more commonly known as DFI, opened its doors in 2010, hosting the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, young filmmakers in Qatar have emerged in the hundreds. The not-for-profit organization, established by HE Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad

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Al Thani and headed by Abdulaziz Al Khater, is here to grow Qatar’s filmmaking community, by enhancing knowledge of the filmmaking industry, cultivating film appreciation and by providing everything an inspiring filmmaker would need from A to Z to turn their original stories into films.

A PRODUCTION COMPANY DFI’s Film Financing supports regional and international filmmakers in their storyteling, fosters the exchange of knowledge and enables filmmakers from the MENA region and beyond to fund and produce their own stories. It aims to create a credible and sustainable film financing model, develop training opportunities to strengthen the film

industry workforce, foster networking opportunities between regional talent and the international film making community and discover and support emerging voices. The institute’s film financing activities are an important step in establishing Qatar as a global film and cultural hub. Open to first and second time filmmakers only, the DFI’s Grants nurture emerging filmmaking talent from across the globe. This allows the institute to have a hand in discovering the next generation of film talent from around the world, promoting creative and cultural exchange among MENA recipients and talented individuals who represent film culture around the world.

STUDENTS FROM THE 7-DAY-CHALLENGE

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

THE FILMMAKERS

For those of us who have an original story idea for a film but don’t quite know how to put pen to paper and develop it into a script, or how to pick up a camera and turn that script into an actual real life, moving film, there are DFI’s educational programs, all under the umbrella of Gulf Film Development, or GFD which nurtures local film talents in Qatar and the GCC region through year round educational workshops. In the Addasha introductory workshops, participants get a solid and creative foundation in the basics of filmmaking, exploring both the technical and artistic aspects of the craft, while Qoul Qasa is a creative screenwriting workshop where budding writers learn the tools and techniques needed to write a successful dramatic script. Future directors of photography get an intense, hands-on experience in professional cinematography in the Akkas cinematography workshop, and digital editing is explored in the Montage editing workshop.

Out of all the workshops run by DFI for talented young filmmakers, one of the most popular is the ‘Tahaddi 7-day filmmaking challenge.’ Starting filmmakers find their feet in an intense, but fun-packed workshop learning the filmmaking process from start to finish, making their own short film in just a week. Three participants in Tahadi are student filmmakers Ghaida Al Farsi, Ahmed Al Kindi and Ali Al Thani. 20 year-old Ghaida, a petroleum engineering student at Texas A&M University in Qatar, and 22 year-old Ahmed, a senior student at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, are both from Oman. Tahadi was their first, hands-on professional filmmaking experience. Together they worked on a short film directed by Ahmed called “Leap of Faith”. For Ghaida, who had always had a keen interest in the world of film, Tahadi was an eye-opening experience. “I’ve always loved films, not just the cinematography and plotlines, but mostly the emotions it elicits. If a film does not

express itself and draws out emotions, whether positive or negative, I don’t consider it successful, not to me at least,” Ghaida explains. “When the Doha Film Institute presented the opportunity for us to make our own film in the 7-Day Filmmaking Challenge, I went for it without a second thought. I wanted to give it a shot and see what really goes behind the scenes in making a film.” For Ahmed, his interest in filmmaking was a gradual one. At high school he would write short stories and envision what they would look like in film form. But it was only in university that he began taking a keen interest in film professionally, volunteering in the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, attending DFI film screenings and even opening Education City’s first proper film club. “When I heard about the challenge, I figured why not give it a shot, and see what filmmaking is all about,” Ahmed says. After having been through the 7-day filmmaking challenge, both Ghaida and Ahmed believe that there is definitely

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AHMED AL KINDY

enough scope for filmmaking in Qatar. “Qatar has a huge number of young creative minds that want to tell stories through film,” says Ghaida. “They have the ideas and the ability, all they need to do is polish their skills and have suitable equipment. Workshops and courses, such as those the DFI holds for anybody interested, are opportunities that should not be missed. Not only do participants learn how to make a film, they also get more comfortable with expressing themselves and confident with voicing their ideas on film.” “After I joined the 7-Day Filmmaking Challenge I realized that there are a growing number of filmmakers in Qatar,” says Ahmed. “I believe initiatives such as the 7-Day Filmmaking Challenge and other workshops provided by the Doha Film Institute, make filmmaking more accessible to film enthusiasts.” When it comes to the scope of filmmaking in Qatar, 24 year-old Ali Al Thani holds a different view. Ali recently finished filming his first short film, “Sonder,” about a naive childhood and the regret that comes with it, and has also worked on other larger scale film productions. Filmmaking had never crossed his mind as an actual career path until he watched Woody Allen’s

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ALI AL THANI

GHAIDA AL FARSI

DOHA’S TWO NEW FILM FESTIVALS

DFI recently expanded its film festival format to include two new film festivals. The first of the two festivals is the Ajyal Youth Film Festival which invites generations to come together to discuss cinema through events that inspire creative interaction, opening up a fun, collaborative environment where young people can express themselves. The Qumra Doha Film Festival will be held in March and is a week-long festival committed to exploring the imagination and lyrical visions of first- and second-time filmmakers. It supports their vision in bringing their projects to fruition and provides a launchpad for their work.

“Annie Hall”. The experience of watching a character he completely connected with changed his mind about film and made him feel that through film it was possible to create characters that people on a large scale could connect with. However he believes that Qatar’s filmmaking scene is still on the brink and needs an extra push before it actually becomes something. “The current climate welcomes stigma which is really off-putting, especially if you’re just starting out as a filmmaker,” Ali explains. “However, that also lowers the expectations, so when that day comes, where you’re hard work finally pays off, it’s going

to catch everyone off guard.” Finances were not an issue for any of the three filmmakers as the equipment was provided by DFI, the actors were volunteers and the crew members were all participants of the 7-Day Filmmaking Challenge. What they did learn though was the importance of having as many contacts in the industry as possible, as well as the importance of the aspect of film distribution. The experience of making contacts, finding locations, actors and costumes, shooting the films and even feeding the actors and the crew was, as Ghaida puts it, “exhausting but rewarding.”

TALK

GAMING – THE GENNEXT WAY TO

LEARN BY A NEETH S THOMA

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s a part of WISE’s cultural program, PLAY is an invitation for young and old to explore the world of gamebased learning. Prompting a growing interest in many education stakeholders, game-based learning is a good example of the transformations of the learning environments. Throughout the world, academic and digital players are jointly developing a wide range of game-based tools, across school levels and disciplines (math, sciences, culture, languages, citizenship, etc.). PLAY aims to introduce educators, the youth and the general public to a range of new approaches being taken by developers in the gaming and learning sector, and to familiarize the audience with a selection of these new game-based tools that can be used in home, classroom and informal learning settings. PLAY was developed in collaboration with Katie Salen, executive director of the Institute of Play, New York, and with the art collective Trafik, renowned for conceiving interactive artworks at the intersection of visual, plastic and digital disciplines. Salen said: “One big goal of the PLAY programme is to bring the world of game-based learning to life for an audience who may be new to the idea. We hope the program will both inspire and educate the audience about the many forms that games and learning can take.” Many experts believe that success in the 21st century depends on education that treats higher order skills, like the ability to think, solve complex problems or interact critically through language and media.

PLAY aims to introduce educators, the youth and the general public to a range of new approaches being taken by developers in the gaming and learning sector. Games naturally support this form of education. There are three key moments in game-play with important implications for learning. The first is when a would-be player approaches a game and expresses a wish to participate: “Can I try? Can I join in?” The second moment comes when a player asks, “Can I save it?” In other words, “I’m deeply interested in this experience, which has value and meaning,

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and I’d like to pick up where I left off.” The third moment comes when a player attains a level of mastery and offers advice to a novice: “Want me to show you how?” A corollary to this moment occurs in the community of practice that arises around games, when one player asks another, “How did you do that? Will you teach me?” The PLAY list has an infographic that offers a visual overview of the list as a new world territory. One defined by regions and topographical features such as math, science, history, and creativity and activated by varying styles of game play, from sandbox or puzzle style games, to those pairing action, adventure and role-playing. At the exhibition which was conducted from October 24 to November 2, in Doha, the public was able to play with a large-scale artistic installation reflecting the potential of game-based learning. The public also discovered a selection of 40 game-based learning tools from all continents and many learning areas. The PLAY 160 is an artistic tribute to game-based learning and was displayed on the Ceremonial Court in Education City. This was created by the multi-disciplinary design collective Trafik and this large-scale interactive installation reflects the potential of the sector in a playful and sensory way. “Translating the approach of game-based learning with our own design and programming skills, PLAY 160 immerses the public into an intuitive experience where visitors of any age may discover, rediscover and play with the basics of color, geometry as well as music composition,” says Pierre Rodiere, founder and head designer of Trafik. In line with the latest developments in the field of light design and kinetic art, PLAY 160 is a 60 meter multi-dimensional instrument that explores the representation and projection of colors, forms and sounds in space. It is composed of 160 luminous bars shaping a giant light tunnel. By using a simple tablet, the public can play with colors, patterns and sounds and instantly interact and manipulate the installation. Each of the three modes of gameplay offers a unique gaming and artistic experience and the chance to share a giant live show. Salen mentions GlassLabs (a project of Institute of Play) which developed the SimCityEDU games. The Lab seeks to explore and build a

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The PLAYlist has an infographic that offers a visual overview of the list as a new world territory. body of credible evidence around the following three hypotheses: (1) digital games with a strong simulation component may be effective learning environments; (2) game-based formative assessments may be well suited to detecting learning gains and offer ethical assessment environments, insofar as they capture learning in the environment where it occurs; and (3) game-based assessments may yield valid, reliable assessment measures. The games are built on arguments and how the students can reach the various solutions as a learning process. One of the interesting game based learning tools which were demonstrated was MINECRAFT EDU. The age range of this game is 5+ and the subjects covered are English, reading, math, science, digital citizenship, media literacy, civics and computer science. This method of learning is a powerful means of involving both the teacher as well as the student. Just as students don’t learn promptly from a textbook; the textbook is a tool that supports a teacher to assist learning. Digital gaming does the same thing. A perfect example is the teacher who uses Angry Birds to teach basic physics concepts. Now, playing Angry Birds doesn’t mean you will learn any Newtonian laws, but in the hands of a teacher with a good lesson plan, students can engage with Angry Birds and use it to consolidate learning.

STUDENT COLUMN

FEEDING ON NOTHING The author fights to create a bias free society and points out that Male Anorexia exists and can be deadly too.

exist in a world where nothing belongs to us. Your money, the air you breathe and the home you live in is not yours. It’s only natural that the thoughts that run through our heads aren’t ours either. Even a Gecko’s tail has a mind of its own, but we do not. As advanced and as intelligent as the human race claims to be, we only blindly follow everything. Human beings attract clichés like a magnet attracts metal; it is as simple as that. One of the most common clichés that the world indulges in is that ‘having an independent mind’ is how a male is different from a female. I’ll admit it was harmless when blue meant boy and pink meant girl. It escalated a bit when a woman breaking through the glass ceiling was considered unacceptable by some. But allowing these gender clichés to cause suffering and death is exceedingly obnoxious. Patrick was counting the number of meals he had per day, the number of calories they had in them and the weight he would gain. With each second that passed by, he was losing

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BY RITICA H RAMES weight and he was destroying his body. But nobody was there to point it out to him. “It’s probably exam stress,” his parents reasoned. “That break up must’ve been tough on him,” his friends discussed. But there was only one person who knew that it was neither the exams nor a girl that was causing him to tone down so dramatically. It was his fixation with food, primarily the numbers that came attached to it. He obsessed over his weight like a teenage girl did with her hair and little did he or anyone else around him realize that he was digging his own grave. Every year, millions of men suffer at the hands of an eating disorder called anorexia, formerly called anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is an illness of deliberate self-starvation. But for one tiny second, close your eyes and picture the word ‘anorexia.’ Did you see an extremely thin, weak and frail looking girl? If yes, congratulations! The cliché has been rooted well in your minds. Due to the fact that anorexia is primarily associated with female,

those with the XY chromosome feel immune to anorexia. Doctors misdiagnose them, hospitals refuse to acknowledge their diagnosis and rehabilitation centers claim the lack of appropriate facilities to treat them. Patrick’s anorexia was triggered by the burden he felt to carry on as an athlete and as captain of the Lacrosse team. His one failure took over every aspect of his life and soon enough, it began to define him. According to him, this led to a chain of negativity in his life. Patrick said, “I graduated with a business degree and had great expectations, yet I ended up in an inside sales job with a large electronics distributor. I hated the job. It beat me up emotionally, and I only ended up eating less, binge drinking and purging after I ate,” he said. “By this time, my weight was down to somewhere around 50kgs. I needed an intervention in my life or I was going to die.” Approximately 15% of anorexic patients are men. Men with eating disorders display the same symptoms as their female counterparts. Owing to the fact that patients feel they are overweight when they aren’t, they indulge in starvation, binge eating, penance and extreme workouts or physical exercise. Furthermore, their self-esteem levels might hit rock bottom and they might begin to feel worthless

or unattractive. Food and weight of the individual translates into compulsive eating rituals and odd behavior. One point of paramount differentiation should be noted when it comes to consequences of the eating disorder. While women with eating disorders lose fat, men tend to lose muscle. This adverse effect combined with ignorance of health professionals can prove to be particularly fatal. Men can also become impotent. Patrick recalled how in the most difficult state he was calling out for help. He considers this to be the smartest decision he made in his entire life. After successfully coming to terms with his illness, yet another obstacle was thrown at him. “It was alarming to learn that many treatment facilities in the U.S. do not even accept men into their programs, and those with programs have long waiting lists.” It is no surprise that anybody with a psychological disorder is reluctant to accept help. With societal biases on this issue, it makes it worse for men who are dealing with it. Men are shamed to accept that they have, as commonly perceived, ‘women’s problem’ and refuse to disclose details of their struggle

and share their problem with anybody. The second problem is that health care professionals frequently misdiagnose these patients and the anorexia worsens, eventually reaching a state where treatment can do very little good. Given the scarcity of medical groups that recognize male eating disorders, the treatment automatically becomes very expensive and cannot be afforded by all. Some treatment centers even charge over $2000 a day! Think of Patrick as your own son, father, brother or friend. Give him the same amount of sympathy you gave the wonderful and very talented Christy Henrich, the world class American gymnast whose death from anorexia nervosa at 22 led to major reforms in the way women’s gymnastics was covered on television and in the news media. In a world that is fed on size zero and chiseled bodies, it is high time we protect ourselves from this blind run at the cost of your lives! Let us not banish a group of young, bright and talented young people to live on the dark side of the moon. Let us teach them to appreciate life for the small successes and laugh off the failures.

ON CHRISTY HENRICH A NEEDLESS TRAGEDY Christy Henrich, one of America’s top gymnasts during the late 1980s, suffered from anorexia nervosa, and died at the age of 22. What kept Christy going during the last year of her life was the thought of getting married. Henrich, whose weight had plummeted as low as about 21 kg, died of multiple organ failure – the result of years of eating disorders. A tragedy that people say was precipitated by the sport itself. According to Dr. Gail Vaughn, a licensed Missouri counselor who treated Henrich during the last year of her life, anorexia preys mainly on young women who balk at becoming adults and starve themselves to stay thin and girlish. THE AUTHOR, RITICA RAMESH IS A 16 YEAR-OLD GIRL STUDYING IN DOHA’S BIRLA PUBLIC SCHOOL. SHE IS AN AVID READER AND A VERY PASSIONATE WRITER.

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BEAUTY

How to Pull Of f Modest Chic Five wardrobe essentials that take conservative dressing from drab to trĂ¨s chic BY N HANEE I HIND

As international fashion becomes bolder and more revealing, conservative women in the Middle East are discovering ways to take the latest trends and put a modest spin on them. Even though there is no lack of shopping options in Qatar, it can be tricky to put together culturally appropriate outfits. The abundance of strapless tops and skinny jeans can seem frustrating to a shy dresser, but it is actually an opportunity to get creative. If you want to take advantage of the options available to you and bring a fresh new outlook to your wardrobe, then consider these five trendy cover-ups:

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SHRUGS The shrug, the small cropped-jacket like garment, is a great way to cover your shoulders while still being able to wear something sleeveless. Experiment with shrugs in varying lengths and contrasting materials. For a dressier, evening-time look, try a floral print shrug over a little black dress.

CARDIGANS Cardigans are just what you need for the fall season. They come in a wide variety of styles, from the plain and casual to the formal and demure. Look professional at work in a preppy puff sleeve cardigan, or layer one over your shoulders and tie the sleeves for a more laidback look.

JUMPSUITS Baggy jumpsuits. That’s right. Keep your body type in mind when choosing jumpsuits, as they can often shorten the appearance of the legs. Wear your favorite pair of heels, or a belt cinched in at the waist, to give your body a more defined shape.

KAFTANS MAXI-SKIRTS Experiment with maxi skirts. When in doubt, choose a simple skirt and team it with fun jewelry and a tucked-in top. Take a page from Blake Lively’s book and choose accessories that contrast with the color of your maxi.

Long, flowy kaftans are possibly the most lightweight cover-ups in the book and a Middle Eastern favorite. Try teaming a paisley print kaftan with a new pair of jeans for a casual Bohemian look. When it comes to colors, anything goes – warm tones, cool tones, neons, pastels...don’t be afraid to choose something bold.

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WHAT’S COOL

CAMPUS COOL QUOTIENT The temperatures have finally dropped. It could not be a better time to embrace the weather. We offer some of the hottest products (excuse the pun) that will have you getting off your couch and out onto the streets.

Offering the sheer coverage of a second skin, this long-wearing foundation feels light as a feather on the skin. It instantly conceals blemishes for a flawless complexion that lasts for up to 10 hours, as well as re-texturizing the skin to provide naturallooking coverage.

For non-stop hydration try the crème infused with HydroSenn – a natural ingredient that contains antioxidants.

You probably didn’t know it but 85% of our hair is made up of Keratin. It is necessary to restore the strength and structure of our locks. Step in, the Pro-Keratin Refill range L’Oreal Professionnel’s first Keratin-restoring cure for hair.

Roses De Chloé is the unique fragrance from the house celebrating five years of success and elegant variations. The rose immediately exudes incredible freshness, a sensation derived from the bergamot, which is gradually joined by a heart of damascena rose essence, with a magnolia accord.

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Japanese designer, Yohji Yamamoto, who has already teamed up with Adidas in the past for the Y-3 line, has created an utterly fierce pair of football boots for the three-stripe brand. Yamamoto has transformed the adizero F50 football boots into a pair of imperial lion-dogs, mythical Japanese creatures associated with the Imperial Era.

San Francisco by OPI brings street chic style with West Coast flair to nails and toes for Fall/Winter 2013. This new collection features a palette ranging from sky and sea-colored hues of blues and gray to reds, burgundies and browns inspired by some of the city’s most iconic elements – Chinatown, the Golden Gate bridge and the Embarcadero.

A slim lip color combines the creamy texture of a lipstick with the glorious shine and fluidity of a lipgloss. Twinkly’s spring-inspired bold shades will leave your lips with a warm flush.

Global casual wear brand Giordano’s new fall collection is out. The brand, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary in the region, has spoiled us with a new collection that includes lots of lively colors and a variety of pieces that can be mixed and matched, meaning you’re all set for your Autumn wardrobe. Hoodies are the star of this collection for both men and women, in a wide palette of colors to choose from.

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HEALTH & FITNESS

BEACH BOOTCAMP BY PETE COLLINS AND CHRIS RIGBY PHOTOS BY ROB ALTAMIRANO SHOT ON LOCATION AT SHARQ VILLAGE AND SPA HOTEL

This month we have nine body weight bootcamp exercises that you can do anywhere â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at home, the beach and your local gym. You will hit all the major muscles, keeping you fit, toned and in great shape. Carry out the following circuit, 30 seconds per exercise for a total of three rounds. For an advanced workout add a 50mt sprint between each exercise.

01 PUSH UP HAND RELEASE Start in the prone position, back straight hands extended to the ground, head facing naturally forward. Now bend the arms until the chest touches the ground before releasing the hands quickly about two inches, to complete the move strike the hands with both hands and press back into the prone position.

02 CYCLE SIT UPS Starting position, lay flat on the back, fingertips on temples and one knee raised up to the trunk and the other extended out. Now switch the legs and arms with the legs moving in a cycling motion, working the abdominals and external obliques.

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03 MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS Start in the prone position with the arms extended out and one knee raised up towards the torso. Now dynamically alternate the legs maintaining the prone position keeping the weight displaced over the upper body.

LEFT : Chris Rigby 29 yrs of age- Doha based PT & CrossFit Instructor RIGHT : Pete Collins Fitness, Head Trainer at Evolution Bootcamp and CrossFit Oryx.

04 COMMANDO PUSH UP Start in the push up position, now bend the arms whilst raising the knee towards the elbow at the same time maintaining core stability. Now extend back into the push up position to finish the movement. Alternate sides each time.

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05 GLUTE BRIDGE Lie on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, bring your feet up towards your buttocks. Push your hips into the air using your glute muscles and keep your back straight and in alignment with your hips. Avoid arching your back. Squeeze the glutes together and lift hips towards the ceiling. Hold for three seconds then simply lower.

06 LUNGE JUMP Stand in a forward lunge position feet shoulder width apart, keep the back straight, chest up and shoulders back. Now dynamically jump up switching legs and landing in the alternate lunge position.

07 PLANCHE First stand up straight and hold the arms out in front. Now lower your body with your legs into a squat position and allow your body to fall forward onto your hands. Once on your hands, you need to kick up your lower body off the floor (using one foot or 2) and allow all of your body weight to be loaded onto the upper body. Try and hold this semi hand stand position, keeping your legs bent for as long as you can, before allowing your feet to fall back to the floor.

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08 ROW SIT UP Lay on the floor with the soles of the feet together and the knees pushed out to the side. Raise the hands above the head and make contact with the ground. now sit up forward until the finger tips touch the ground in front of the feet, working the abdominals.

09 BURPEE Finally, start in the standing position, now dynamically drop to the ground laying flat. Now using the upper body press up until the chest rises then quickly flex the hips and bring the legs up into a frog-like position before jumping off the ground clapping above the head.

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World renowned stand up comedian Russell Peters performs at the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama AFP Photo, Adam Jan

TALK

BY L ABIGAI S MATHIA

The night Doha laughed its loudest 54

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otorious indeed. Perhaps a little outrageous too. On October 20, Russell Peters performed a one-night-only show, his first ever performance in Doha at the Sheraton, as part of his ‘Notorious World Tour.’ Tickets quickly sold out in the city and the parking lot outside the Corniche was in clear chaos, as everyone made their way to watch the so called ‘funniest man alive’ on stage. From the moment he stepped on the podium, the audience was in clear hysterics. He made fun of everyone in equal measure; The Arabs, the Indians, the Pakistanis and the Canadians as well. The crowd was clearly laughing at themselves and laughing in unison. Evidently the comedian had brought the country together with his spot on imitations and famous one-liners. But who is this funny guy? With his Indian roots and Canadian upbringing, Russell, first gained immense popularity on the world wide web. He currently lives in L.A. and mentioned during the show that he has recently become a father. Jibes on Indian parenting ensued. Forbes estimated that Russell was the third highest paid comedian between 2009 and 2010. His book ‘Call me Russell’ has topped the National Bestseller list in Canada. We are admittedly a tiny speck in the list of many countries world wide that Russell is visiting. Huge success does have its pitfalls. Much before his show, controversy erupted in this city when the organizers mistakenly mentioned that an official dress code was required at the event. Russell had to step in and explain that it was a misprint on the part of his organizers and that anyone and everyone was welcome to partake of his laugh riot. “Please clarify to the people of Qatar that EVERYONE is welcome at my show and you can wear whatever you want...#NoDiscrimination,” he said. Russell was in the news again as talks of an association with the former Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Will Smith, made international headlines. He’s also one of the most recognized Asian faces in a series of Hollywood blockbusters like New Year’s Eve. Though Russell is rampantly followed online, no one was allowed to shoot any photos or videos of the Doha performance. Anyone caught doing so,

J Chris Newberg, The American comedian who performed alongside Rusell Peters in Doha.

Russell is often saying what people have on their mind but they are probably too polite or petrified to say. was warned of being ‘ejected’ from the area, according to a sign displayed prior to the performance. If there was any humor in that sentence, it was lost on the tall AfricanAmerican security guards that patroled up and down during the performance. They weren’t kidding about the ejection. One of the main reasons for Russell’s colossal fan following is precisely attributed to his unapologetic in-your-face humor. He is saying what is on everyone’s mind but they are probably too polite or petrified to say. He has been attributed to creating a huge legacy of

international comedians who feel inspired towards the medium. Some of them come from Qatar as well. To share the same stage may be an honor if a little frightening. Much to the audience surprise, American comedian, J Chris Newberg was first to hit the Doha stage that night. Chris has appeared on the Jay Leno’s Tonight Show and on America’s Got Talent. Describing the opportunity he says, “I performed with Russell once in San Diego. We met in L.A. at the Laugh Factory and became friendly. He invited me out for the tour and I, of course, jumped at an opportunity to work with and learn from him. He’s a tremendously talented guy and the experience has been remarkable.” During his first performance in Qatar in which he asked the audience to sing along, Chris says, “The Doha experience was unreal. I had never been to the Middle East and the only familiarity I had with it was on T V. Doha is beautiful and the crowd’s reaction to me was overwhelmingly kind. I would come back anytime. Not that I have been asked yet, (he winks).” With his box guitar Chris seemed almost out of place, except that it was just where he wanted to be. “I talked with several people from Qatar after the show, and all were kind and really cool. I had no idea what to expect, but people are people and funny is funny, so everyone was so fun to talk to,” says Chris adding, “Yes, I am this irritatingly happy and positive.” If you made the mistake of sitting in the front row at the Russell Peters show, you were sure to be picked on. Some of us were tempted to believe that the people in the front were planted by the comedian. How else can you explain the quick retorts by the comedian? Or maybe he is that good. A heavily pregnant lady in the audience proclaimed that she had only made it that night to see Russell and might go in to labor at any time. Though we had never met, Russell managed to get my sister to stand in line for one hour for a ticket to his show. He also got my husband to shorten his holiday and pay an additional fee for an air ticket to make it for the Doha performance. Some of the Spanish and Irish audience members said they had never laughed so much – a clear indication that his humor crossed all ethnic backgrounds. Chris can be followed @thechrisarmy.

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Sun, sea and splash

Practice before the plunge

Crashing inStyle The first Redbull Flugtag event in Qatar went down swimmingly with the spectactors, who had thronged the MIA Park on a sunny Friday afternoon to watch one outrageous ‘aircraft’ after another plunge into the sea.

A message for the masses

This thing is supposed to fly?

Three pilots and a hairdresser – the ulimate winners of the event

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The crowd gathered around the ramp

Spectators from the dhow who had some of the best views of the action

Holding on for dear life

Pizza inspired flying maching? Droooool...

Big guys preparing to take off

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

We had to have atleast one football-themed flight, right?

A redbull-fueled afternoon at the park

The winning flight

Angry pilot tears through the sky

The Mustang that thought it was an airplane

Too late to turn back

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AROUND TOWN

UK’S RED ARROWS LIGHT UP THE SKIES

ne of the world’s leading aerobatic teams, Britain’s famous Red Arrows, displayed their skills in Qatar as part of a Middle East tour. The team, with its nine distinctive red jets, performed a series of precision formations and dynamic loops and rolls in Doha on November 7. Thousands of people enjoyed the aerial display from the Doha Corniche (West Bay end). Officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows represent the United Kingdom and have been thrilling crowds, at home and overseas, since the 1960s. Squadron Leader Jim Turner, Team Leader of the Red Arrows, said: “It is a huge honor and privilege to have been invited to the Middle East and have the opportunity to perform our display in so many wonderful locations.” The event in Qatar forms part of a five-week tour of the region by the Red Arrows, who are expected to complete displays in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

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TELLING THE UNTOLD STORIES OF THE MUSLIM WORLD

ournalists inside the Muslim world can debunk popular stereotypes about Islam by reporting on untold stories to global audiences, experts told students at Northwestern University in Qatar. Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) hosted the three award-winning journalists from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting in Washington, D.C last week for a speaker series about covering the Muslim world for international audiences. The accomplished journalists included Alia Malek, a Syrian-American and author of A Country Called Amreeka: US History Retold through Arab American Lives, Ayman Oghanna, an award winning Iraqi-British photojournalist and Habiba Nosheen, a Pakistani-Canadian multimedia

journalist whose documentary, Outlawed in Pakistan, aired on PBS Frontline earlier this year. The reporters stressed to students the importance of reclaiming media portrayal of Muslims and Islam. “As budding journalists from diverse backgrounds my advice to you is to banish stereotypes and show global audiences what they do not expect to see in a foreign land,” said Oghanna. “Find contradictions and things we have not seen before because no one is more qualified to do that than you, here in the region.” “It’s absolutely true that there is obvious racism against Muslims in the world, but to be able to address this, we need to challenge our own communities and biases,” said Nosheen. “If we are tired of having outsiders tell our stories, we have to tell them ourselves.”

VCUQATAR HOSTS ZWARA

irginia Commonwealth University in Qatar recently hosted an institution-wide open house ‘Zwara’. The event was open to the public. Zwara is designed to encourage the community to get familiarized with VCUQatar, the university programs, events and new developments, through an afternoon filled with activities for children, families, community members and prospective students including games, workshops, demonstrations, campus tours and exhibitions. The open house offered prospective undergraduate and graduate students from high schools and universities from across the region the opportunity to meet current students and faculty, and learn about the integrative experiences unique to the university’s programs. VCUQatar faculty and staff were on hand to provide information on curriculum, schedules, course requirements and admission to the university.

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ROBOTIC WORLD

ver 500 students participated in the 2013 Qatar National Robot Olympiad on November 1 and 2 at the Doha Exhibition Center. The event has doubled in size compared to last year, with more than 200 teams represented schools from across Qatar. The National Robot Olympiad forms part of the ‘Go robot’ schools programme, supported by Maersk Oil Qatar and the College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) under the patronage of the Supreme Education Council and with the support of Qatar Petroleum. The program aims to foster interest and develop skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, helping children engage with complex engineering projects in a fun way. Teams competed in a range of demanding challenges using LEGO MindStorms robots for the chance to represent Qatar at the World Robot Olympiad finals on November 15-17 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Participants competed in one of six categories, and ten teams were selected to travel to Jakarta. The Olympiad is the culmination of six months of related activities. Since April more than 300 teachers have attended intensive robotics training sessions at CNA-Q and hundreds of robotics kits have been donated to schools across Qatar. More than 1,500 students have been involved in the program since it began in 2012. Sheikh Faisal Al Thani, Deputy Managing Director of Maersk Oil in Qatar commented, “The 2013 National Robot Olympiad has been an

overwhelming success. Congratulations to the winners and all the students who took part. They overcame many complex challenges which in the years to come will help them and country as a whole. Dr Theodore Chiasson, Dean of Information Technology at College of the North Atlantic - Qatar and the World Robot Olympiad representative in Qatar, described how the program inspires students to excel in science. “The National Robots Olympiad has gone from strength to strength this year, with more schools, students and teachers involved than ever before. The Olympiad and the ‘Go Robots’ program continue to stimulate creativity, which is the hook for students to become interested in science and engineering.” The ‘Go Robot’ program, formerly known as the Schools Robotics Program, supports the Qatar National Vision 2030.

WINNERS OF THE OPEN CATEGORY: PRIMARY LEVEL: INDEPENDENT TEAM - FALCONS PREPARATORY LEVEL: ACS DOHA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SECONDARY LEVEL: TARIQ BIN ZIYAD INDEPENDENT SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR BOYS

WINNERS OF THE REGULAR CATEGORY: PRIMARY LEVEL: INDEPENDENT TEAM - FANTASTIC BOT INVENTORS PREPARATORY LEVEL: DPS MODERN INDIAN SCHOOL SECONDARY LEVEL: DOHA MODERN INDIAN SCHOOL

NEW YORK PERFORMANCE ARTIST WOWS DOHA STUDENTS Acclaimed New York-based performance artist Marina Abramovic spoke at VCUQatar on November 7. This is the kind of sold-out event that people queue up to buy tickets for in London and New York.

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