contents
september 2012
44 c ove r story
44 Building Brand Qatar What is Qatar’s identity? How can it stand out amongst its peers? What qualities can it leverage to promote itself to an international market? How do you quantify a national brand? These are some of the questions we put to regional and international branding experts as Qatar Today looks to build Brand Qatar.
40 NEW SPONSORSHIP LAWS ON THE WAY?
60
40
Ezdhar Ibrahim investigates the controversial Human Rights Watch (HRW) report into the contentious sponsorship laws in Qatar ahead of a mass influx of workers to prepare the country for FIFA World Cup 2022. The Labour Ministry claims its figures are exaggerated.
22 When is the best time to invest?
Global financial instability has meant that risk aversion has been the dominant theme in asset markets. This has left investors with the question of when to invest, or even if they should delay the decision until markets are more stable. HSBC details the best time to place your chips.
22
34 Has Qatar’s healthcare sector turned a corner?
Just two years ago, the outlook for the health sector seemed bleak, with hospitals and health facilities reported to be under severe strain. However, as OBG explains, it seems to have had a complete transformation.
published by oryx advertising co. wll, All rights reserved. qatar today is published monthly by oac, po box no. 3272, doha, qatar. subscription rate qr 180 per year. address all subscription correspondence to qatar today, oryx advertising co. wll, po box 3272, al hilal area, doha, state of qatar. for single copies call us on + 974 44672139 or mail to qtoday@omsqatar.com. material in this publication must not be stored or reproduced in any form without permission. request for permission should be directed to qtoday@omsqatar.com. reprint requests should be directed to info@msqatar.com. qatar today is a registered trademark of oryx advertising co. wll
6 Qatar Today
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september 2012 volume 38 issue 9 www.omsqatar.com
contents
september 2012
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122 85
OUR Concentration on Education
85
130
Qatar Today’s September Spotlight is shining on Education. The Qatar government is placing a huge focus on this sector – evidenced by their financial outlay on education city. We talk to the leading institutions to understand how they are helping to enthuse a new generation of worker.
72 Country report:
Singapore: A City in a Garden
Qatar was Singapore’s third largest trading partner in the GCC in 2011 with trade amounting to QR27.84 billion. Qatar Today asked both parties what was being done to strengthen bi-lateral relations and what were the key components of the trade agreements.
66
SMART PHONE OR DIGITAL CAMERA?
More images are being uploaded to the web via a smart phone rather than a “traditional” digital camera, which are almost becoming antiquated ahead of their time becuase of the adaptibility of smart phones. Which device do you prefer to take your clicks?
114
Phantom Series II unveiled
Rolls-Royce don’t do regular updates, so when they do, it’s something which involuntarily catches your attention. Rory Coen spoke to Geoff Briscoe, Regional Director, Middle East, Africa and Latin America at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars about their latest addition, the all-new Phantom Series II.
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130
QATAR’S SHINING STARS AT LONDON 2012
Whilst Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mutaz Essa Barsham came home from London with a bronze medal each, Rory Coen gives the lowdown on how Qatar’s other ten Olympic athletes performed last month.
114 regulars N e w s Bi t e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 O & G OVERV I E W. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 BAN K NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 a r a b s n ipp e t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6 W o r l d Vi e w. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8 TEC H TA L K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 0 auto news ............................................... 116 Market Watch...........................................122 D o h a Di a r y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 2
Volume 38
issue 9
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Chief Executive Executive Vice President Vice President
september 2012
Yousuf Jassem Al Darwish Sandeep Sehgal Alpana Roy Ravi Raman
Editor Sindhu Nair SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS cassey oliveira RORY COEN EZDHAR IBRAHIM SENIOR FASHION & LIFESTYLE CORRESPONDENT ORNA Ballout senior Art Director Venkat Reddy deputy Art Director Hanan Abu Saiam assistant art director Ayush Indrajith senior Graphic Designer maheshwar reddy Photographer R obert F Altamirano
senior Manager – Marketing Zulfikar Jiffry ASSISTANT MANAGERS – MARKETING Chaturka Karandana THOMAS JOSE senior Media Consultant HASSAN REKKAB MARKETING RESEARCH AND SUPPORT EXECUTIVE EMILY LANDRY senior Accountant Pratap Chandran Sr. Distribution Executive Bikram Shrestha Distribution Support Arjun Timilsina Bhimal Rai
Published by Oryx Advertising Co WLL, P.O. Box 3272; Doha-Qatar Tel: (+974) 44672139, 44550983, 44671173, 44667584 Fax: (+974) 44550982 Email: qtoday@omsqatar.com website: www.omsqatar.com Printed at: Gulf Publishing and Printing Co WLL Copyright © 2012 Oryx Advertising Co WLL
Qatar Today invites readers’ feedback Share your views on the magazine or any issue connected to Qatar. One lucky reader will win an exquisite Mont Blanc writing instrument.
12 Qatar Today
september 2012
published by oryx advertising co wll, All rights reserved. qatar today is published monthly by oac, po box no. 3272, doha, qatar. subscription rate for qr. 180 per year. address for all subscription correspondence to qatar today, oryx advertising co wll, po box 3272, al hilal area, doha, state of qatar. for single copies call us on + 974 44672139 or mail to qtoday@omsqatar.com. material in this publication must not be stored or reproduced in any form without permission. request for permission should be directed to qtoday@omsqatar.com. reprint requests should be directed to the info@Omsqatar.com. qatar today is registered trademark of oryx advertising co wll reprint requests should be directed to the info@Omsqatar.com. qatar today is registered trademark of oryx advertising co wll reprint requests should be directed to the info@Omsqatar.com.
Write to: The Editor, Qatar Today, PO Box 3272, Doha. Fax: (+974) 44550982, email: qtoday@omsqatar.com Qatar Today reserves the right to edit and publish the correspondence. Views and opinions expressed in the published letters may not necessarily be the publication’s views and opinions.
september 2012
from the desk
August
was lethargic. Most of us found it difficult to wake ourselves from our self-imposed slumber induced by Ramadan fasts, shorter working hours, heavy iftars and late-night suhour gatherings. In between bouts of energy, I found myself longing for the peaceful few days I had had in Sri Lanka in July. Thinking about that country in the context of this month’s cover story, “Building Brand Qatar”, I tried to identify the one element that made Sri Lanka so memorable. Of course there was its history, its scenic beauty and its amazing cuisine. But the deciding factor went far beyond the sum of all these experiences. It was the people, their smiling faces, that touched a chord. From the driver, our chaperone for the journey who trusted us blindly without probing about his recompense, and regaled us with stories of floods followed by a famine that ravaged Lanka’s fertile soils, to the guide who showed us cultural hotspots, and the easy rapport both of them established with my children. To me, these simple men were the ambassadors of Sri Lanka, the brand-builders of the country. Qatar Today took the exercise of Branding Qatar to experts in the region and overseas to garner their creative thoughts. They unanimously agreed that a country that is geared around its people and their needs will always score highly. This will spread stories that attract businesses, tourists and even expatriates to do business, visit, and make a life in Qatar. That is why the stories of labourers, taxi-drivers and other expatriates, along with the Qataris themselves, are all important in building Brand Qatar. This month we have two Qatari experts discussing the issue of sponsorship – a system that binds all expatriate workers to their employers – as they try to justify this form of “bonded” labour (Qatar and Saudi Arabia are the last of the Gulf countries still to practise this sponsorship system). Education, without any doubt, is key to consciousness and one sector in which Qatar is making gigantic strides. Our Education Spotlight gives you updated information on all the options available in the country. And now it’s September, so get set for a happening last quarter of 2012!
Happy Reading.
Sindhu Nair
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letters feedback qtoday@omsqatar.com
Congrats to Authentic Olympians Never before have I had such exposure to so many Olympic sports as I had this year. The raw emotions which were evident in sports such as Fencing, Archery, Judo and Volleyball really shook me. In contrast, I found the football and tennis rather dry and tasteless. You just knew they had bigger fish to fry somewhere else. Whilst Roger Federer will leave London and start preparing for the US Open next week, most of the genuine Olympians will be making their plans for Rio in 2016. Gemma Browne
Are we kidding ourselves?
qt poll – septembeer
It’s good to see some of the oil and gas companies are making concerted efforts to reduce their CO2 emissions, but I understand that there are others not pulling their weight in this regard. The author intimated that it was a controversial topic, whereby a reduction in CO2 emissions might retard the ability to produce natural gas with high margins. Is it even possible to produce all this gas without a high CO2 turnover? Are we kidding ourselves into thinking that the little bits we do ourselves to help the environment matter?
Poll result is based on messages received till 20th of every month
Neha Manola
Q
Everybody wins
I’ll be keeping an eye on how ConnectIreland does with its incentive scheme of paying people to introduce them to international companies that might be interested in basing themselves in Ireland. Some might see it as a desperate attempt, but it’s quite clever in many ways. Ireland has a huge emigrant population and they will see this as a slick way of making easy money. J. Byrne
Concerts at traffic lights
I think the last thing the drivers of Qatar need is a sound system which provokes more speed and less concentration on the road. I’m not criticising what Bang & Olufsen is trying to achieve in entertainment systems, but with this extra capacity for clearer sound, I’m sure I am going to be treated to a concert at every traffic light very soon. Sabrina Arienti
Is there a deficit of males training for vocational careers in Qatar?
SMS answers to +974 33072524 A lucky winner will win a NOKIa C5-03
are qatar’s residents conscientious about environmental issues?
67% 33% Yes
no
The winning number of the last QT poll is 3478655
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Qatar Today invites readers’ feedback Share your views on the magazine or any issue connected to Qatar. One lucky reader will win an exquisite MontBlanc writing instrument.
Check out all articles of Qatar Today on www.issuu.com/oryxmags/qatartoday
Write to: The Editor, Qatar Today, PO Box 3272, Doha. Fax: (+974) 44550982, email: qtoday@omsqatar.com
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Qatar Today reserves the right to edit and publish the correspondence. Views and opinions expressed in the published letters may not necessarily be the publication’s views and opinions.
SINGAPORE – A CITY IN A GARDEN 72
NEWS BITES
HH Sheikha Moza PAVES THE way
h
er Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser led the way for future generations by registering as an organ donor. HH Sheikha Moza visited the Qatar Organ Donation Center (Hiba) at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) beginning of last month, where she met a group of patients, donors and other distinguished guests. Her Highness spoke with several organ donors and recipients of transplanted organs who were able to share their own personal experiences and explained how the organ donation and transplantation programme has changed their lives. HH Sheikha Moza, who is a committed patron of Qatar’s organ donation and transplantation efforts, paved the way by adding her name to the list of generous donors who are prepared to offer the gift of life to others. Following her lead, a number of other dignitaries who were present made the same gesture. “The Qatar Organ Donation Center
is dedicated to the promotion of organ donations and the maintaining of a national donor register. Our aim in Qatar is to become self-sufficient as a country and every single one of us must reflect seriously, as our religious duty demands, on how we can play a part in this effort,” said HH Sheikha
QH increases stake in mining conglomerate
q
atar Holding has increased its stake in multinational resources giant Xstrata (LSE: XTA) to just over 12% from 11.5% for approximately 26.8 million pounds ($42.4 million), according to a filing with the London Stock Exchange. QH has been increasing its stake in Xstrata at a time when the miner’s biggest shareholder, Swiss commodities trading giant Glencore International (LSE: GLEN) with a 34% share, is trying to pull off a merger. In late June, Qatar announced its dissatisfaction with the terms proposed for the merger, suggesting compensation of 3.25 Glencore shares per Xstrata share versus the 2.8 Glencore had offered. On August 21, Glencore CEO Ivan
Glasenberg said the company is standing firm on the fairness of its offer and will not overpay on the deal. “We believe there was a significant premium in the 2.8 already,” Glasenberg said of the offer announced in February, adding that the compensation was negotiated with Xstrata management, who are fully supportive of the deal. Xstrata shareholders are due to vote September 7 on the deal. Success requires the approval of holders of 75% of the shares but Glencore cannot vote, so Qatar now has the power to block the merger. The combined company would be the fourth largest global diversified natural resources group with an estimated market cap of (QR327.6 billion) $90 billion. The merger had been targeted to close in Q3.
Moza. His Excellency Abdullah Khalid AlQahtani, the Minister of Health, said: “Qatar has come a long way in increasing donation and transplantation of organs for our citizens. It is our aim to become self-sufficient as a country.”
highlight New appointment at QF Dr Thomas Zacharia, a prominent scientist and senior administrator at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been appointed as Executive Vice President of Research and Development at QF. Dr Zacharia assumed his new position on September 1, 2012, and will contribute to QF’s overall mission by advancing and promoting the organisation’s research initiatives, a key aspect of Qatar’s projected transformation to a knowledge-based economy. Dr Zacharia’s selection was made following an international search. He is the recipient of several scientific and technical awards, having served on a number of national and international scientific advisory committees. He is also a fellow of the American Welding Society.
september 2012
Qatar Today 17
news bites
Solar energy plant in Qatar closer to reality
q
STec and GASAL Q.S.C. successfully completed negotiations on a hydrogen and nitrogen long-term supply agreement following a signing ceremony held at Qatar Solar Technology’s West Bay Headquarters last month. GASAL Q.S.C. will invest in multiple high purity hydrogen production units and extend and connect QSTec to its industrial gas pipeline system in Ras Laffan Industrial City (RLIC) for Nitrogen. The new units will be designed and built by Air Liquide Engineering and will be operated by GASAL through an extension of its pipeline system in RLIC during 2013. Dr Khalid Klefeekh Al-Hajri, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of QSTec, said: “The signing of the agreement with Gasal represents a significant milestone for QSTec and brings us closer to building a brand new industry of solar energy in Qatar. Our polysilicon plant will need pure Hydrogen and Nitrogen gases in order to make the very highest quality of polysilicon; the essential building block of the world’s most efficient solar technologies.”
QF to use trams from 2012
q
F has taken a step towards a car-free site with an order for the turnkey construction of a tram system from Siemens Rail Systems. The system will be installed on Qatar Foundation’s campus in Doha and serve 25 stations across the site. When completed, the Avenio trams will run on 11.5 kilometres of track without the need for any overhead contact lines. They will be equipped with the Sitras Hybrid Energy Storage system (HES) from Siemens, with energy being supplied at the tram stops. The system will become operational in autumn 2015.
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The trams will be specially equipped to cope with the country’s climatic conditions. In addition to an extra powerful air-conditioning system, special sun shades on the roof will protect the electrical equipment from radiant heat. The low-floor design and optimal arrangement of the double-leaf doors featured in the Avenio platform allow passengers to get on and off quickly, thus enabling shorter stop times at stations. By dispensing with the need for overhead contact lines, the system reduces electrification costs, improves energy efficiency and has a positive effect on the urban landscape.
ASPA Summit to create synergies
o
n October 1-2, Peru be welcoming in Lima the Heads of State and Government of the Arab and South American countries, along with numerous business leaders from both regions, for the III ASPA Summit. “In a moment of economic uncertainty in other parts of the world, these regions bring together an enormous potential – yet greatly unexplored – for economic exchange and cooperation,” says Rafael Roncaglioglo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru. “For sure, each region faces its own daring challenges. South America, where the combination of a stable and expansionary macroeconomic environment and natural resources has created an attractive setting for the international investors looking for emerging market opportunities, still confronts the need to transform its high growth rates of recent years into sustainable development and social inclusion. For its part, the Arab region traverses a historic period of social and political transformation, along with an evolution and diversification of its economic structures,” he continued. In this context, the ASPA Summit is an opportunity for the Arab and South American countries to show to the world a common ambition: to look beyond the current domestic challenges and to work together to shape the new global world, building a relationship of strong dialogue, trade, investment, cooperation and culture between the two regions.
in numbers
Siemens will supply
19
double-articulated trams Each Avenio tram will have overall length: 27.7 metres Width of 2.55 metreS. Each Avenio tram can carry up to 239 passengers.
news bites
QH’s recent purchase
q
atar Holdings buying a 20% stake in BAA, which operates several airports in the UK and Scotland. Qatar Holding confirmed that it has agreed terms with Ferrovial and other existing investors for the sale and purchase of a 20% indirect shareholding in BAA. The transaction is conditional upon approval of European Union competition authorities. The Spanish company said that it would sell part of its stake in the holding company that owns British airport operator BAA to Qatar Holding for about €607 million, according to a Reuters report. A consortium formed by Ferrovial, FGP Topco, had in 2006 acquired BAA, which operates Heathrow and Stansted airports
in London, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports in Scotland, as well as Southampton airport in southern England. The agreed terms will see Qatar Holding enter the owners’ consortium with 20% shareholding and commensurate reductions in the shareholdings of Ferrovial and other investors who participate in this transaction. Ferrovial said that after the sale of 10.6% of FGP Topco, it would retain a 39.37% holding in BAA. Qatar Holding, which recently upped its stake in the UK miner Xstrata, maintains its view that Britain remains an attractive investment destination and there is longterm fundamental strength in the British economy.
Sheikha Mayassa in Forbes powerful women list
h
E Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, daughter of HH the Emir, has been named on the Forbes magazine’s 2012 list of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Only three Arabs have been named to the list and all of them hail from the GCC countries. They are Shaikha Al-Bahar, Chief Executive Officer of the National Bank of Kuwait, Shaikha Lubna Al-Qasimi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, and HE Sheikha
Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums Authority. Besides being the chairperson of the Qatar Museums Authority, HE Sheikha Mayassa is also an active philanthropist who is involved in a number of Doha-based charities like Reach Out to Asia and several social initiatives. The list is headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been placed in the second position.
Qtel to buy Wataniya
Q
atar Telecom (Qtel) is offering QR8 billion ($2.2 billion) to buy the remaining 47.5% stake it does not own in Kuwaiti telecom company, Wataniya. Qtel, which already owns 52.5% of Wataniya, will pay 2.6 dinars per share, an 18% premium to Wataniya’s last traded price, through a tender offer open to shareholders. Qtel has been raising stakes in its subsidiaries, taking advantage of the country’s economic position at a time when other large telecom firms are shying away from deals. The company has received ap-
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proval for the transaction from the Gulf state’s market regulator, Capital Markets Authority (CMA), it said in a statement last month. “Increased competition and pressures on the industry from new entrants as well as incumbents will most likely erode value over time and require increasingly dynamic responses,” said Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, Chairman, Qtel In June, Qtel agreed to double its stake in Iraq’s No. 2 operator Asiacell to 60% for $1.47 billion, seeking to exploit rising demand for broadband.
QH to increase stake in QIC
q
atar Holding is contemplating increasing its equity stake in Qatar Insurance Company (QIC), which is a dominant player in the domestic insurance market. The entity, a unit of the country’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), is keen to increase its holding through purchase of new shares, QIC said in a communiqui to the Qatar Exchange. Qatar currently owns 12% of QIC, according to Thomson Reuters data. QIC – whose first half net profit was impacted by exceptional provisions towards special claims related to the natural catastrophes and other huge claims reported in 2012, like the fire of Villagio mall – said it had received an offer from “strategic partner” Qatar Holding. Net premiums had risen by a marginal 0.28% to QR828.89 million, while gross claims incurred surged 16% to QR662.90 million but reinsurance recoveries fell 5% to QR273.62 million during JanuaryJune this year, according to its financial statement.
Scientists to convene in Doha
T
op Arab scientists from across the globe will convene in Doha this October to present research designed to benefit Qatar and the region. These scientists, including field leaders such as Dr. Omar Yaghi and Dr. Magid Abou-Gharbia, are assembling for the third Annual Research Forum, co-hosted by QF and the Arab Expatriate Scientists (AES) Network from 21 to 23 October 2012. “This forum will showcase the invaluable contributions that Arab scientists around the world have made to Qatar’s research development – from laying the roadmap for establishing QF’s three research institutes to collaborating in ongoing research to solve some of the most pressing issues in our country and region,” said Faisal Al-Suwaidi, President of Research and Development at QF.
CUSTOMERS INSPIRING ROLLS-ROYCE 114
O & G overview
RasGas fights emissionS
r
asGas has successfully emissions reduction of 66%. In addition, in launched several pace- terminal operations, the Jetty Boil-Off Gas setting emission reduction Recovery Project was designed to minimise initiatives ranging from flaring at loading terminals in Ras Laffan. In shipping, RasGas’ use of larger vessels flare minimisation to a new greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction policy, ac- fitted with liquefaction facilities resulted cording to its newly released 2011 Sustain- in a reduction in the number of voyages required, which cut emissions per nautical ability Report. mile. Older vessels were The company has develAGI SCHEME OF RASGAS retrofitted to use clean LNG oped its first GHG manageas a fuel, reducing direct ment strategy and policy, ELIMINATED emissions from the vessels which includes independent and indirect emissions from third-party GHG verificarefinery production of retion, screening of emission tonnes/year of CO2 sidual fuels. reduction opportunities, enHamad Rashid Al-Mogagement with local stakehannadi, Managing Director holders and assessment of tonnes of SO2 of RasGas, said: “Our 2011 options for developing voloperational results highuntary reporting. Among RasGas’ efforts to reduce emis- light our key strength: the ability to safely sions in 2011, the Company continued to and reliably deliver on our commitments. operate the region’s first acid gas injection The strong safety and operations perfor(AGI) scheme, which stores CO2 and hy- mance underpins good environmental perdrogen sulphide (H2S), reducing emissions formance. In 2011, we invested more than of CO2 and sulphur dioxide (SO2) from the QR178 million ($49 million) in projects that production process. This has resulted in reduce emissions and enhance our waste eliminating one million tonnes per year of management.” Additionally, the new RasGas headquarCO2 and 11,000 tonnes of SO2 each year. The company also completed a five-year ters in Doha was recognised as the first flare minimisation programme, the first of LEED-certified project for its energy-saving its kind in Qatar, which resulted in an overall features integrated into the office design.
1,000,000 11,000
IEA predicts sluggish oil demand growth
f
altering economic growth will undercut global oil demand this year and next, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said, citing slowdowns in China and the US in particular. “Sluggish economic growth could restrict annual oil demand growth to 0.9 million barrels per day (mbpd) in 2012 and 0.8 mbpd in 2013, with demand averaging 89.6 mbpd and 90.5 mbpd,” down from July’s estimates of 89.9mbpd and 90.9mbpd respectively, the IEA said in its latest Oil Market Report. The IEA highlighted slower demand in the US and China, which together account for a third of the global market, while technical changes in its calculations also cut its 2012 forecast by 0.25mbpd. The IEA, set up to advise developed countries on energy policy, reduced its 2013 economic growth forecast to 3.6% from 3.8% but left its 2012 estimate unchanged.
Milestone Journey RasGas’ first dedicated liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, the Fuwairit, set sail from Qatar to Spain on its 100th delivery voyage. Upon its arrival in Spain, the Fuwairit will have shipped 13.6 million cubic metres of LNG - enough LNG to power a city the size of New York for six months.
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BUILDING BRAND QATAR
44
bank notes
StanChart fights back for its reputation
s
tandard Chartered Plc agreed to pay QR1,237.6 million ($340 million) to New York’s bank regulator over transactions linked to Iran, in a speedily arranged deal that helped push up the emerging market-focused lender’s shares. The deal with New York Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky on August 14 caps a week of transatlantic tension and a furore over why a state agency
had upstaged other authorities. The British bank still faces a separate probe of its Iranlinked transactions by other US agencies. The resolution also averted a hearing set for August 15, at which the bank had been called to demonstrate why its license to do business in New York should not be revoked. Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong shares rose as a result of this though it is below where they were before the allegations hit the bank the first week of August.
QIB and QIIB sign financial package for Nakilat
QNB takes China Union Pay
q
atar National Bank (QNB) has started accepting China UnionPay (CUP) Cards at its point-of-sales (POS) machines. This follows an agreement that was recently signed with CUP, the largest card scheme in Asia. This new service enables holders of the CUP cards visiting the country , to use their cards easily at various POS locations. The step will open new horizons between QNB and CUP in the future. China UnionPay is now available in 127 countries worldwide, including Qatar. This relationship will be expanded to cover other channels like QNB’s internet payment gateway and its wide network of ATMs in Qatar. QNB is said to be a leader in the POS and e-acquiring (electronic payments) business in Qatar. Recently it has successfully launched “tap and pay” contactless cards and become the first bank to enable customers to pay for purchases with their contactless cards. Additionally, QNB was the first acquirer to launch Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) in Qatar.
highlight IMF predicts gloom
q
IB has announced the signing of a financing package for the Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) in partnership with Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB). The value of the Sharia compliant “Murabaha” financing is $380 million. The joint arrangement is a big leap forward in enhancing co-operation between these two Islamic finance institutions, as the market demand for Sharia compliant
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financial solutions continues to increase. QIB provided QR655 million ($180 million) of Nakilat’s financing tranche, with QIIB providing the remaining QR728 million ($200 million). The signing ceremony was held at QIB’s headquarters. Ahmad Meshari, QIB’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, and his counterpart from QIIB, Abdulbasit A Al-Shaibei, represented their respective banks at the signing, with Nakilat represented by its Managing Director, Muhammad Ghannam.
The IMF has updated its economic forecasts with a gloomier global outlook than the one it presented in April. Despite this, the QNB Group notes that its outlook for the MENA region has improved sharply. The IMF now expects the MENA region to grow at a rate of 5.5% in 2012 on a par with the average for emerging economies. This is up 1.3% on its April forecast of just 4.3%, and by far the largest positive revision for any region or country.
Ban k n ot es
“When is the right time to invest?” Timing the market to invest has never been an easy task. The recent rise in risk aversion has been the dominant theme in asset markets as investors have become increasingly concerned about the stability of the Eurozone and weakerthan-expected data from the US and China. This has left investors with the question of when to invest, or even if they should delay the decision until markets are more stable.
The
general rule ‘buy low sell high’ is becoming even harder to judge, especially given recent volatility in global markets. Investors may sit and wait patiently for the ‘right time’, but nobody ever tells you when the fall is finished or when values will increase. Every investor worries if shares will fall further, should they wait in order to buy stocks at lower prices. This approach creates a risk itself, what if you miss that golden, once in a hundred year opportunity? Markets can turn quickly, both down and up, and if markets gain momentum and rise before the investor has an opportunity to invest, they may have missed out on potentially huge upswings. This happened fairly recently, back in 2009 which was a scary time for many investors, the best example was when the US Index, the Dow Jones sunk on March 2 before recovering and adding almost 20% in the next month. It is important for investors to establish and understand their personal financial circumstances, financial objectives and risk tolerance before investing. Investors should not get too apprehensive about short-term market movements and stay more focused on longer-term investing. By taking a long-term approach, your investment has time to recover from downswings, which are a natural part of any investment cycle, as well as to benefit from upswings. Historically there is evidence that investors have made money in stock markets over longer time periods where bumps and knocks have less of an impact. An approach to consider is investing at regular intervals, and perhaps buying more if the market dips further to take advantage of lower prices. This type of investing is often referred to as “dollar cost averaging”. This strategy can help smooth market risk and volatility which investors may experience and instead of investing a lump sum, by investing a fixed dollar amount on a regular schedule and buying smaller amounts over a longer period of time, investors should be able to gain benefits from long-term investing in share markets. This method implies that more shares can be purchased at lower
prices, and fewer shares purchased when prices are high. Over a period of time, this means that the total average cost per share of the investment is lower overall. Investors should be reminded that investing requires self-discipline and a cool composure but investors should also consider diversifying their investments in order to smooth out volatility in returns. Diversification offers many benefits for investors and involves investing across a range of different asset types mixing bond-like securities, listed stocks and maybe alternative assets like commodities or hedge funds. Spreading investments across a range of assets that have low correlations should lower the risk of your investments as well as yield higher returns (on average) as these often perform independently, with outperformance potentially balancing underperformance. Most importantly, it is recommended that you seek independent assistance from a professional financial advisor who can provide guidance about your personal situation and advise you about your investment options.
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26 Qatar Today
june 2012
By Kris Werner Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, HSBC
ban k n ot es
Casting around for income Squeezing every last drop out of your finances is not only a good discipline for expats to get into, it’s a discipline that will help you meet chunky financial commitments such as school fee payments with possibly a bit to spare.
It
may even fund you through a period of reduced earnings, help you through a sabbatical, or enable you to complete that Masters degree you have been promising yourself. Whatever your reasons for maximising your income, casting your net as widely as possible will help you realise both your commitments and ambitions. Below we’ve listed five strategies to improve your income. Interest-bearing investment products There is a wide range of investment products that are designed to produce an income on a regular basis. These include savings accounts, fixed-interest bonds, as well as government and corporate bonds. Rates on basic savings accounts are pretty low at the moment and unlikely to change in the near future, so it’s worth widening your search to include fixed notice accounts that promise a higher rate of interest in return for locking your money up for longer. Bonds - both corporate and government remain a good source of income. Bond funds, in particular, can provide a spread of good quality bonds offering different rates and maturities. Bonds versus equities Anyone looking at their income options may at first discount equities, but these investments, too, can provide a good source of income. What you need to look for here are shares in companies capable of paying a decent income through regular dividend payments. If you are not confident to invest in shares directly, you can invest in an equity-income fund that provides a broad spread of income-producing equities. One of the key considerations will be the economic backdrop. The last three years have seen some good returns on bonds, so investing in income producing equities may be a good way of hedging your bets in case the tide turns. Property If you are lucky enough to have a second property, perhaps now feedback qtoday@omsqatar.com
is the time to consider how you can derive an income from it. Depending on location, you may be able to secure an income from a holiday let. This option obviously gives you the potential to use the property yourself when you wish. If you plan to be away for some time then letting the property long term could also be a viable option. In terms of rental income, compare similar properties in similar locations to give you an idea of what you can hope to achieve. Using a professional property management company may reduce the strain of dealing with enquiries, but don’t overlook property upkeep, advertising as well as any legal and tax implications. Pensions Many expats have small pension pots often scattered around the globe. These can potentially be made to work harder towards your retirement. At the same time, pension plans put in place some years ago may need reviewing to ensure that any residency and tax status opportunities are being maximised in order to squeeze out as much income as possible. Take into account your eventual retirement location. Are there any currency exchange implications to consider? Tax status As an expat in Qatar you already enjoy a tax free income, but make sure you are making the most of any other tax efficiency strategies which capitalise on your residency status. This could be a question of reviewing your investments to make sure products used are running as tax efficiently as possible. Choose investment products that make the most of your current tax and residency status, as this can help boost returns. Also look at the location of investments and pensions to make sure they are not suffering unnecessarily tax-wise. Investments can be based in regulated financial centres that are designed to ensure your savings stay as tax neutral as possible while you are away from your normal country of residence
BY David Russell Chief Executive Officer, Guardian Wealth Management Qatar David Russell joined Guardian Wealth Management in Geneva, helping from inception to establish an office which is now regarded as one of the leading providers of independent financial advice to the employees of many international organisations. With the expansion of the company into the Middle East, David was elected to take over the reins as the Senior Executive Officer for Qatar. He brings a wealth of experience to the Qatar office as well as a sound legal background, which stands him in very good stead in ensuring the team bring the best in financial advice to theIR many expatriate clients.
28 Qatar Today
june 2012
CONCENTRATION ON EDUCATION
84
arab snippets UAE
syria
UNHRC representative defects
s
yria’s top representative at the UN Human Rights Council has defected because he no longer felt able in that position to do anything for the Syrian people. “Basically, when I felt I could not help my people any more I had to move on,” Danny Al-Baaj, the first Syrian diplomat in Switzerland to abandon Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, said. “When I was involved in any negotiations (on Syria) my concern was to protect the country not the government,” he added. Al-Baaj said he took his decision a long
time ago and had been in contact with Syrian opposition group, the Democratic Forum based in Paris. He had been in Geneva for two years and met the opposition group ‘some time ago’, before announcing his resignation on August 10, he said. Speaking from Geneva where he is considering his next move, Al-Baaj described the Democratic Forum as one of the main opposition groups. It is headed by Michel Kilo, a long-time opponent of the regime. The development comes ahead of the release of an official UNHRC independent commission of inquiry report into Syria.
Burj Khalifa gets lucrative for Iranian investors
saudi arabia
IMF: Curb Spending
s
audi Arabia’s government is spending more than it should do if it wants to preserve the country’s oil wealth for future generations, the International Monetary Fund said in a report released last month. “While the government has built significant policy buffers, fiscal spending is above the level consistent with an intergenerational equitable drawdown of oil wealth,” the Fund said in an annual assessment of the Saudi economy. The IMF did not specify an appropriate level of spending, but said the government should be flexible in providing social welfare benefits, broaden its tax base and ensure its expenditure was efficient. Partly in response to unrest in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia boosted spending to a record SR804 billion ($214 billion) in 2011, 39% more than initially planned and 23% higher than in 2010, its fastest growth in a decade. Saudi Arabia is spending more than $60 billion on a logistics hub, airport improvement and roads to reduce
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travel time. The investments also yielded the largest sukuk, or Islamic bond, offered in the Middle East this year and an initial public offering on the stock exchange in June. “There is a large infrastructure boom happening in Saudi Arabia,” said Jarmo Kotilaine, Chief Economist at National Commercial Bank. “Once they create these sukuk instruments, they cut their reliance on direct government funding and make it possible to buy into the projects. This policy benefits the government and investors.” The country is spending $500 billion to build power plants, schools, roads and other facilities to modernise the country and create jobs for youth. Saudi Arabia’s economy is forecast to expand 4.8% this year, the fastest rate after Qatar among the six Gulf Cooperation Council states, according to an April survey of economists compiled by Bloomberg. Net foreign assets of the Kingdom’s central bank increased 20% in June to SR2.2 trillion from a year earlier, according to data.
i
ranian investors have snapped up property worth $128 million in the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa, in the last six months, according to data from Dubai’s government, using cash in many cases as Western sanctions crimp access to banks. Iranians were the second-largest buyers of luxury apartments and commercial space in the Burj Khalifa, after Indian citizens, in the first half of the year, Dubai’s land department said last month. Foreign investors bought real estate assets worth AED28.3 billion in the first half of 2012, up 36% over last year. The land department said, 358 Iranians had purchased the apartments over six months to June 30 as Dubai’s property market shows signs of slowly stabilising after home prices slumped by more than 60% from their peak in 2008. “Iranians have problems getting finance, which is why they are mostly involved in cash buys,” said a Dubai-based real estate broker who declined to be identified. “We have sold three floors on the Burj and all of these involved Iranian buyers.”
AFP PHOTO/CESAR MANSO
world view
Disaster strikes IRAN, VARZAQAN : Iranians mourn over the covered bodies of loved ones in the village Baje-Baj, near the town of Varzaqan, on August 12, 2012, who were killed in twin earthquakes that hit northwestern Iran on August 11. Officials in Iran called a halt to rescue operations following twin quakes that devastated scores of villages, killing 250 people and injuring hundreds, saying all survivors had been located and saved.
Fuel to Fire? SPAIN, Leon : Firefighters work at the site of a wildfire in Destriana, near Leon on August 21, 2012. Numerous wildfires have broken out across Spain in the sweltering heat in recent weeks, an extra headache for authorities struggling to get the country out of its financial crisis and recession.
32 Qatar Today
september 2012
AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE
world view
Asylum to Assange
AFP PHOTO / CARL COURT
UNITED KINGDOM, London : Wikileaks founder Julian Assange addresses the press and supporters from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on August 19, 2012, after he was granted asylum by the Ecuadorian Government on August 16. Assange thanked the Ecuadorian government and supporters, and also urged President Barack Obama to end the US “witchhunt” against his whistleblowing website.
A new dawn MYANMAR, YANGON : A Myanmar man reads a local journal in Yangon on August 20, 2012. Myanmar said it had abolished media censorship on August 20 in the latest in a series of rapid democratic reforms, delighting journalists who lived for decades under the shadow of the censors’ marker pen.
AFP PHOTO / STR AFP PHOTO/Soe Than WIN
Putin cracks down on Pussy Riot RUSSIAN FEDERATION, Moscow : Members of the all-girl punk band ‘Pussy Riot’ Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (R), Maria Alyokhina (L) and Yekaterina Samutsevich sit in a glass-walled cage after being sentenced in Moscow on August 17, 2012. A Moscow court handed a two-year prison sentence to three feminist punk rockers who infuriated the Kremlin and captured world attention by ridiculing President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s main church. Pussy Riot release rallies have stretched from Sydney to New York as a growing list of celebrities joined ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and pop icon Madonna in a campaign directed against Putin’s crackdown on dissent.
september 2012
Qatar Today 33
v i e w p oi n t
Innovate or Lose Relevance The Urgent Need for Telecom Operators
Telecom operators in the Middle East, and around the world, are facing an unprecedented number of threats to their revenues, margins, and business models. While the popularity of smartphones is booming and business and consumer demand for new communications services is growing, telecom operators are finding themselves marginalised and underperforming in an industry they once ruled.
To
begin with, consumers and businesses have become more demanding than ever before. Consumers expect their applications and services to be available everywhere, all the time. Meanwhile, as industry verticals become increasingly digitised, businesses are demanding a wide variety of new services such as mobile payment platforms and cloud computing. Telecom operators are grappling to satisfy the demands of such savvy end-users, with heavy capital expenditures to boost network capacity and connectivity, which puts pressure on their cash flows and margins. Furthermore, new competition has emerged to satisfy and often shape end-user demands – much of it from companies outside the traditional telecom operator ecosystem. These rivals are proving to be very successful as demonstrated by Google, Apple, and other electronics and OTT (Over-The-Top) players. As a result, the telecom ecosystem has become much more competitive and the integrated value chain on which telecom operators have long depended – the proprietary networks, critical applications and services, billing platforms, and even the billing relationship with end-users-is rapidly moving out of their control. Innovation gets least importance What distinguishes this new breed of competition goes beyond their marketing savvy or operational excellence. In fact, telecom operators are up against competitors’ proven capacity to innovate and take innovation to the market place. This is especially challenging for telecom operators who have traditionally shied away from committing to innovation. Indeed, Booz & Company’s 2011 Global Innovation 1000 study found that the telecom industry
34 Qatar Today
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spends significantly less on R&D as a percentage of revenue (an average of just 1.4%) than the software and Internet, and computers and electronics industries (12.8% and 6.1%, respectively). Other organisational and operational indicators, detailed in a recent Booz & Company publication, also point to the systemic weakness telecom operators face in relation to innovation. Critically, the current situation calls for telecom operators to adopt an innovation-focused mindset and radically change some key aspects of their business models in order to keep pace with their competitors. That means venturing into areas that may be unfamiliar to them, including new IT and cloud services and developing content, applications, and other digital services. Operators today should therefore know where they stand and then develop the innovation capabilities required to reinvent themselves in this fast-evolving environment. This means more than developing new ways to monetise data services. Rather, operators must shift their entire mindsets away from strategies such as cost optimisation and synergies among current offerings and operating companies, or relying on M&A and globalisation to drive inorganic growth. Instead, they should focus on enabling entirely new innovative services and industry partnerships that can generate new revenue streams. For Middle East telecom operators this means boosting innovation efforts through four key pillars. First, they should develop separate centres to promote innovation. Second, they must foster a strong internal culture of innovation. Third, they should open up their networks and platforms to outside developers. Fourth, and finally, they must create autonomous venture capital arms to invest in promising new technologies and adjacent industries.
v i e w p oi n t
The first pillar is the development of an innovation centre, which is the nucleus of the innovation ecosystem. It can provide operators with a platform for capturing and developing new ideas-whether generated internally or externally, through collaboration with partner companies, companies funded by the operator, universityfunded research, and the like. Making sure these innovation centres work will require monitoring the number of patents filed, the number of ideas commercially deployed, the number of partnerships established, the number of new ideas, papers, and reports published, and the timeframe between an idea’s inception and its commercialisation.
The second pillar, fostering a strong culture of innovation, demands that operators pay attention to the seven elements: innovative processes; rewards and incentives; people development; key performance indicators; clear communication; leadership support; and a diverse workforce. Establishing this strong culture will help telecom operators’ gain organisation-wide support for innovation initiatives and ensure that the programme lasts.
Pillar number three is establishing open innovation application programming interfaces (APIs). Operators have many valuable assets, including networking and IT equipment, which can be of considerable value in the search for new products, services, and revenue streams. By giving developers and other innovators access to these assets, operators can ensure that they are being used to their fullest potential. In addition, operators should develop an optimal marketing strategy to maximise the use of their API portfolio.
The fourth and final pillar is to create an investment arm. Some operators, such as Vodafone and T-Mobile, have established venture capital units to invest in promising businesses at an early stage of development and to accelerate the pace of innovation. Such units need to be composed of people with specific core skills, including a solid background in, and understanding of, the telecom ecosystem. They need the ability to identify investment targets, assess the right investment size and the risk involved, and negotiate with the management of the target company. Rapid changes in the information and communications technology industry, and the rise of new technologies, are already posing a serious threat to the traditional business models on which telecom operators have long depended. If they invest more in innovation and develop the processes and capabilities needed to successfully take it to the market, they will have an opportunity to be back in the game and lead the next wave of change within their industry
Visit
www.booz.com and www.booz.com/me
By Adel Belcaid, Principal, Booz and Company and Bassam Hajhamad, Prinicipal, Booz and Company
About Booz & Company: Booz & Company is a leading global management consulting firm, helping the world’s top businesses, government ministries and organisations. Our founder, Edwin Booz, defined the profession when he established the first management consulting firm in 1914. Today, with more than 3,300 people in 60 offices around the world, we bring foresight and knowledge, deep functional expertise, and a practical approach to building capabilities and delivering real impact. We work closely with our clients to create and deliver essential advantage.
36 Qatar Today
september 2012
v i e w p oi n t
Health care sector returns to strength Just two years ago, the outlook for the health sector seemed bleak, with hospitals and health facilities reported to be under severe strain. However in just a short time it has seen a remarkable transformation.
A
spate of problems both in terms of overburdened facilities group Gallup found that Qatar had the highest levels of patient and mounting chronic health problems, such as obesity satisfaction at 90%, followed in second place by the UAE at 79%. According to Faleh Mohamed Ali, Assistant Secretary General and diabetes, saw the sector facing an uphill battle to meet demand. In 2010 it was estimated that the country had 1.4 for Policy Affairs for the Supreme Council of Health, the majorhospital beds for every 1000 people - the lowest total in the ity of this increased public health care spending goes to hospitals GCC. And with the population having risen 176% between 2000 (57%), outpatient clinics (14%), health care management and fiand 2010 to 1.7 million, according to government figures, a WHO nancing system (8%) and other service providers (21%). In terms study reported that government-run hospitals and clinics were of hospital revenue, despite the decrease in direct expenditure “ill prepared” to cater for the projected 240% increase in patient of households on health care, from 16% of their total direct expenditure in 2010 to 13.8% in 2011, the overall value rose from demand by 2025. QR1,548.6 million ($425.44 million) in 2010 Jjust two years later, the health care secin 2010 to QR1,663.5 million ($457 million) tor looks to be in far better shape. Since 2011, in 2011, according to figures released by the rather than drift inexorably towards a crisis of In Numbers Supreme Council of Health. supply and demand, the government has priThe government expects this trend to conoritised health. This has involved a two-staged tinue until the social health care insurance policy of administering short-term “cures” system is implemented in 2014. This will and long-term preventative measures boostrepresent a complete overhaul of the health ing health care spending and provision, and system, and it is hoped that the measure will in the long term, reducing the burden from reduce the burden of health care provision – expatriates and tourists to ensure nationals particularly stemming from the rising expatrihave priority access to facilities. ate population – on the state. Under the Social Health Insurance (SHI) plan, the government Qatar: Top health care spender will be responsible for insuring nationals, In July 2012 it was announced that Qatar while the onus of insuring expatriates will fall ranked as the top health care spender in the world, having invested up to QR12 billion on health care in 2011, on the companies that employ them. The SHI, which will be rolled registering a 27% increase from 2010. According to the newly- out in five stages starting in November 2012, will focus on shoring released National Health Accounts (NHA) report, this translates up coverage for nationals while those who visit Qatar will be reinto an increase in per capita health expenditure from QR5,682 to quired to purchase health insurance when they obtain their visas. QR6,988, between 2010 and 2011. At a time when austerity measures and cuts to health care spending are being adopted in Eu- Increasing the role of Private Hospitals Furthermore, the state is seeking to broaden the role of private rope and elsewhere, this rise is particularly marked. The spending has already had tangible effects in terms of deliv- hospitals within the sector. In July, the Supreme Council of Health ering better standards of health, and it was also announced in July allowed three private hospitals (Al-Ahli hospital, Al-Emadi hosby the Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) that improved health care pital, and Doha Clinic) to conduct medical check-ups for people services (together with progress in social, economic and other seeking extensions of family visits or obtaining family residence key societal indicators) have been a contributing factor in fall- permits. With the population of the GCC set to rise dramatically ing mortality rates. The figure fell from 1.88 per 1000 in 2001 to in the coming years, it seems likely that an increasing strain on 1.15 in 2010, according to the QSA. Moreover, figures show a de- health services will be a persistent regional theme going forward. crease in infant, newborn, and children under-five mortality rates For now, Qatar at least has achieved a remarkable turnaround in compared to the previous years. And earlier this year in March, just two years, and is well placed to deal with rising demand for a health care satisfaction poll covering the GCC by research health care provision
Per capita health expenditure
QR5,682 in 2010 QR6,988 in 2011
feedback qtoday@omsqatar.com
By Oliver Cornock The author is the Regional Editor of Oxford Business Group
38 Qatar Today
september 2012
v i e w p oi n t
BRINGING THE CLEANTECH BOOM TO THE COUNTRY
For Qatar, special attention to environmental issues, especially climate change, is likely to ensue from the 18th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, commonly known as COP 18, which is to take place here in the last quarter of 2012.
Moreover,
the sporting world is looking ahead to the year 2022, when Qatar hosts the FIFA World Cup. Qatar must come to grips with the challenge of providing comfortable playing and spectating environments amid typically high summer temperatures while meeting the goal of running a carbon-neutral event. Governments, businesses, and other organisations are responding in a variety of ways to environmental challenges and the associated expectations of stakeholders. One of the most exciting and promising responses, in economic terms as well as environmental and social terms, is the rapid growth of the cleantech industry.
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According to the Cleantech Group, a research firm based in the United States, cleantech represents a diverse range of products, services, and processes, all intended to provide superior performance at lower costs, while greatly reducing or eliminating negative ecological impact while improving responsible use of natural resources. The diversity of clean technologies that are on the market or in development, reflects the reality that many environmental priorities can be addressed with a multiplicity of solutions installed widely, not exclusively with large-scale fixes. Cleantech solutions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions exemplify this diversity. While high-volume carbon capture and storage is widely regarded as a promising concept, other technologies for reducing GHG emissions are attracting investment and progressing through research and development.
v i e w p oi n t Returning to the idea of carbon capture, a number of comScanning the Technology Landscape The search for new technologies to lessen GHG emissions and panies are developing systems that use algae and bacteria for lower concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere, as well as the carbon capture and storage, as well as other environmental redrive to commercialise these technologies, are taking place in mediation functions such as water treatment and chemicals Qatar with encouraging early results. Qatar Solar Technologies processing. Some companies are seeking to ‘close the loop’ of (QSTec) is building a plant to make polysilicon, an essential ma- carbon emissions by feeding carbon dioxide from power plants terial for the production of solar power generation equipment. to algae that can make synthetic oil or other biofuels. Others are converting industrial waste gases, some Launched as a joint venture between Qaof which function as GHGs, into fuels and tar Foundation, SolarWorld AG, and the chemicals. Qatar Development Bank, the first stage of the plant is scheduled to be completed Can Qatar Become a Cleantech Hub? in 2013, at which point it will produce Technology also has the potential to re8,000 metric tonnes per year of polysiliduce GHG emissions in any number of con: enough to make solar equipment that ways, notably by improving the energy will generate 1.4 gigawatt of solar energy. performance of buildings and equipment. Further construction will increase outThe construction of the QSTec Worldwide, buildings account for some put more than fivefold and will enable inpolysilicon plant points to a 40% of GHG emissions, according to varitegrated manufacturing of solar cells and major opportunity for Qatar ous estimates. Qatar has instituted the modules for use locally as well as across Global Sustainability Assessment System the Middle East and beyond the region. to become a manufacturing hub (GSAS), a scheme for rating green buildThe construction of the QSTec polyfor solar and other ings that is custom-tailored to the needs silicon plant points to a major opportucleantech equipment. of the Middle East and is now mandanity for Qatar to become a manufacturing tory for all private sector and government hub for solar and other cleantech equipprojects in Qatar. By gaining experience ment. More specifically, Qatar might aim and innovative capacity with energy-effito take advantage of its regional position cient buildings through the application by specialising in technologies and prodof GSAS, Qatar could become a regional ucts that are designed to work in similar source of knowledge and products that natural conditions to Qatar’s own. The prospects to succeed from such a position are promising. For ex- will work well in other Middle Eastern countries. Qatar has a tremendous opportunity to emerge as a cleantech ample, the World Bank has committed to invest significant capital in the development of solar power generation capacity in the R&D and manufacturing hub for the Middle East and North Africa region and is beginning to make some high-profile efforts in Middle East and North Africa. Another potential cleantech market might be energy-efficient this direction. As suggested by the QSTec polysilicon plant, as water treatment and desalination. As noted in Qatar Today’s well as the experience of other countries, both private and public August 2012 issue, desalinating ocean water is an expensive and financing are key to the cleantech equation. Public financing can energy-intensive process that also increases concentrations of take the form of direct investments from government entities salt in the ground and in the sea. The high energy demand of de- and sovereign financial institutions. Perhaps more importantly, salination drives further carbon emissions. New technology for the public sector can design mechanisms for catalyzing further producing desalinated water with a more efficient use of energy private sector investment in the cleantech industry. Careful atcould help Qatar and other water-scarce regions to meet the wa- tention to funding mechanisms and milestones will help Qatar ter needs without incurring heavy costs or causing inordinate harness the power of cleantech to secure a prosperous economic future that promotes social and environmental well-being harm to the climate.
Visit
dehayes@deloitte.com, milbaig@deloitte.com
By Declan Hayes Renewable Energy and Cleantech Leader, Middle East and milhan baig Renewable Energy and Cleantech assistant director, qatar ABOUT DELOITTE: Deloitte is a leader in the Renewable Energy and Clean technology sector. We focus on the entire spectrum of renewable energy and clean technology, from individual components to the wider ecosystem (e.g. smart cities). Deloitte’s Renewable Energy and Cleantech team is based in the Middle East and has unprecedented access to specialists across the globe. Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Deloitte is the first Arab professional services firm established in the Middle East region with uninterrupted presence for over 85 years. Deloitte is among the region’s leading professional services firms, providing audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services through 26 offices in 15 countries with over 2,500 partners, directors and staff that are committed to becoming the standard of excellence.
42 Qatar Today
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listening post
“HRW
figures exaggerated” Qatar mulling over an alternative system to the sponsorship law In June 2012, a 146-page report released by the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), “Building a Better World Cup: Protecting Migrant Workers in Qatar Ahead of FIFA 2022,” critically examined the recruitment and employment system that “traps many migrant workers in their jobs”. The problems, according to the HRW, include exorbitant recruitment fees, which can take years to pay off, employers’ routine confiscation of worker passports, and Qatar’s restrictive sponsorship system that gives employers inordinate control over their employees.
d
by e z d h a r i b r a h i m
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iscussions have been going on in the GCC states about the sponsorship system that has been in operation for over 50 years. While some have passed legislation amending aspects of the system and giving it some flexibility, in line with demographic, social and security requirement, Qatar is still mulling over a new system for regulating the residence of expatriates. In May 2012, Deputy Labour Minister Hussein Al-Mulla announced that Qatar may replace the sponsorship system with contracts between employers and employees, but failed to specify how these contracts could replace current immigration laws or whether workers would be entitled to switch jobs. In Bahrain, meanwhile, the sponsorship system has been abolished since last month, though there are still some speculations on how the changes are being incorporated. Qatar Today looks into this crucial issue of sponsorship system, posing a series of questions to officials and experts in the
field, to gauge the reactions of the decisionmakers. “The word ‘sponsor’, as they (HRW) understand it, is associated with slavery, which is wrong. There is no connection between the two, because in the sponsorship system there are constraints on what employers can do, unlike with slavery,” says Mohamed Hassan Al-Obaidli, Director of Legal Affairs at the Labour Ministry. Qatari lawyer of Al Zaman Legal Services, Yousef Ahmed Al-Zaman says: “The sponsorship system applied in Qatar and the rest of the GCC is a legitimate system and by no means incompatible with the principles and declaration of human rights and the fundamental principles of international law. The whole controversy about the sponsorship system representing a form of forced labour, human trafficking and modern-day slavery is aimed at furthering the interests of foreign countries, companies and organisations.”
listening post
The legal basis Al-Zaman says the original aim of the Qatari legislation making it obligatory for every foreigner wanting to live in the country to have a sponsor was to control and manage foreigners’ residence status within a clear regulatory framework. The basic objective was for the state to exercise its legitimate rights to assert its sovereignty to protect Qatari society as a socioeconomic entity while promoting its social stability. This was made necessary by the massive imbalance in the country’s demographic structure, something not seen anywhere else in the world outside the GCC. Without these controls and restrictions there would be general chaos. Supporting the argument that the sponsorship system doesn’t contravene human rights is the fact that some European countries, to protect their societies, have recently passed into law a system of sponsored residence for foreigners wishing to visit those countries. Hassan Al-Obaidli says the sponsorship system remains in place and is handled by the appropriate agencies outside the Labour Ministry, but the Ministry is nevertheless liaising with those agencies to devise an alternative system that will safeguard the rights of both workers and employers. The idea is still under discussion and it will be some time before it sees the light of day. “We are trying”, he says, “to ensure that the new system is closely aligned with the changes that have been made in other Gulf states.” “We are studying the experience of other countries like Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and also in close coordination with the UAE, since there has to be harmonisation of all their laws in view of their similarities in terms of labour conditions and the ratio of migrant workers to their native populations.” Al-Zaman says that problems are caused by people who trade in visas, despite this being punishable under Qatari law. Article 15 of Law No. 4 of 2009, regulating the entry and exit of expatriates and their residence and sponsorship, stipulates: “Visas may not be assigned or transferred to third parties in any manner whatsoever nor can they be used by third parties, whether or not such transfer, assignment or use is for consideration.” He, however, adds that the practice of sponsors charging workers a fee to get the sponsor’s signature in order to renew their residence permits or travel abroad on leave
is illegal and constitutes a contravention of the law. Workers absconding from their sponsors likewise pose a danger to society. All these violations and infringements, he says, are caused not by the sponsorship system but by greed and attempts to exploit workers unlawfully. The issue is not unique to Qatar and the Gulf but has always existed, especially in Europe, albeit in different ways. Credibilty of international reports Reacting to the HRW report Al-Zaman says, “The Gulf states have unwittingly laid themselves open to accusations of violating workers’ rights and other exaggerated claims. It all goes back to their being so relaxed about importing labour and opening the gates of immigration to their countries that foreigners now make up the majority of their populations, and Gulf nationals are a small minority amidst this massive aggregation of male workers. No human society has ever seen such a concentration of expatriate workers being welcomed with open arms.” Al-Obaidli says, “We are developing our laws to keep pace with progress. We don’t claim to be a utopia – yes, there are in-
“The sponsorship system applied in Qatar and the rest of the GCC is a legitimate system” Yousif Ahmad Al-Zaman qatari lawyer of al zaman legal services
The population structure in some GCC states has become dangerously unbalanced over the past 30 years, to an extent never seen anywhere else in the world. Statistics show that, in the UAE nationals make up no more than 10% of the population, in Qatar not more than 16% and in Bahrain about 50%.
Labour complaints 2011
In 2011 the Labour Ministry received
7,659 labour complaints
782 were taken to court
43 were referred for examination and follow-up
5,006 were settled out of court
Subjects of the complaints:
Workers submitted complaints on a variety of issues, with travel tickets and late payment of wages still topping the list. 99.5% of workers complained about late payment of wages and 98.6% about travel tickets, 91.1% about their end-of-service bonuses, and smaller percentages about other issues. Source: Labour Relations Directorate statistics, 2011
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Qatar Today 45
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“We are trying to ensure that the new system is closely aligned with the changes that have been made in other Gulf states.” Mohamed Hassan Al-Obaidli, Director of Legal Affairs at the Labour Ministry.
fringements and problems for workers, but it doesn’t add up to abuse. And we are trying through the Labour Office’s measures to respond to complaints and enquiries that come through the hotline. There are also tours of inspection; we conduct awareness campaigns and seminars for companies on health and safety procedures; and as a motivational measure we have introduced a scheme to recognise companies that adhere to the provisions of the Labour Law, recognising 10 compliant companies as a first step.” Limits to be set Al-Zaman says that in order to spare the country from accusations, a scientific solution to reduce dependence on these workers is needed. “The one thing that is certain is that the more workers we have, the greater the overcrowding, problems and demands will be. The GCC states must set limits on the process of recruiting workers from abroad, as other countries do, and focus on bringing in only such workers as are necessary. However, the development projects that account for the bulk of our labour requirements could also be organised to take place at a steady pace in a carefully thought out and well-planned manner, because otherwise we will all pay a heavy price for this development.” Al-Obaidli, says that a comprehensive strategy for the provision of services, and ideas for bringing in workers in phases, is already underway. “Qatar’s development of laws and policies, he says, has nothing to do with the World Cup; this is just one of a number of
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stages and strategies relating to its five-year plan and Qatar National Vision 2030. We have tried to explain this to Human Rights Watch, as their focus has been fixed on the World Cup,” says Al-Obaidli. He adds that problems in labour relations will not end so long as there are common interests, and because Qatar is developing rapidly, it has come under scrutiny by outside organisations, especially since winning the hosting of the 2022 World Cup. Abuse against expatriate workers ? HRW interviewed 73 migrant construction workers for the report, and met and corresponded with government officials, employers, contracting companies, recruitment agents, diplomats from labour-sending countries, and worker advocates. Workers reported a range of problems, including unpaid wages, illegal salary deductions, crowded and unsanitary labour camps, and unsafe working conditions. All but four of the workers said they paid recruitment fees ranging between $726 and $3,651, borrowing from private money lenders. Refuting the HRW figures, Al-Obaidli claims that there is no abuse to speak of as there are only individual cases. “This is not the picture given by HRW, because that organisation has its own objectives and ways of gathering data. The number of violations in proportion to the number of workers in Qatar is negligible. On the directions of the Minister, we publicise violations of workers’ rights, and soon we will be publishing the names of companies committing violations,” he says. Al-Zaman feels that that what is
published in international reports about infringements of workers’ rights in Qatar are all exaggerated, with the broad aim of creating the legislative and social climate for giving expatriate workers more rights and freedoms at the expense of Qatari nationals while obliterating their national identity. “I have my doubts,” he says, “about the credibility of those reports, which have unfortunately shown partiality on many issues, as the institutions issuing them kowtow to the wishes of certain countries, financial institutions and transnational corporations to achieve their own interests at the expense of the countries of the region. Their criticism of the sponsorship system is not solidly based in the reality of workers’ lives here in Qatar.” So while the workers and most of their cramped living conditions are familiar and always comes under condemnation, Al-Zaman feels that the “abuses” mentioned are natural things that inevitably happen in everyday life, just as they happen in America, Europe and every other country! Recruitment fees? Al-Obaidli says that in Qatar, labour approvals are granted for free, and problems in the recruitment process arise from malpractice in the countries that send the labour. “In Qatar, he says, we have caught some violations, minor cases that have been dealt with. But the problem remains, because Qatar is signatory to agreements with more than 30 countries and is trying, through joint committees, to find a solution to these problems. Some countries have started to work with us in order to stamp out this practice.” A Workers’ Council for Qataris An Emiri decree has been issued setting up a Qatari Workers’ Council for all Qatari workers, because everyone who works in the private sector, regardless of job title, is called a ‘worker’ so long as he works under a manager. It is restricted to Qataris only; foreigners have no voting rights and can join only as associates to use its services and to look into complaints brought by foreign workers. The Labour Ministry has no role in the Workers’ Council; it merely offered the idea and some research to the authorities, and there its role ended. So what about the expatriate worker who wants to change his job? A question that will remain unanswered for a while.
Building Brand Qatar
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building Qatar Today 49 brand qatar
Get creative
Write your own tagline for Brand Qatar, and post it on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/QatarToday.
* This is only a social media campaign and has no national mandate behind it.
there is surely nothing more exhilarating, in a Qatar brand-building sense, than looking up to catch a Qatar Airways aircraft cruising in to one of its 118 destinations, or watching Al Jazeera English on a television set anywhere in the world. Brands made in a country by its people take the story of that country to faraway shores. But is that how you measure the country’s brand value, through its products, or is it something more abstract? Does Qatar need a brand-building strategy? This is what Qatar Today asked regional and international branding experts. We gave them free rein to discuss Mission: Building Brand Qatar. The general consensus was the need for a strong narrative, a compelling story involving all stakeholders and some inspiring national heroes, but most of all the need for a truthful brand that delivers on its promise.
What’s your story, Qatar?
By Olivier Auroy Olivier Auroy is the Managing Director of Fitch Middle East, which has been a close partner of Qatar ever since it created and implemented the visual identity of the Asian Games in 2006. www.fitch.com
Looking at the success of two case studies, we can define the rules of a good destination branding.
What are other countries’ secrets, those that are not so rich? How did they make it?
T
he 2006 Asian Games were a good opportunity for Qatar to reiterate its positioning in the Gulf by promoting sports, culture and education. The recent success of the London 2012 Olympics, promoting the core principle of “inspiring a generation”, validated organisers’ efforts.
The Asian Games was just a beginning. Qatar will soon organise two world cups: the Handball World Cup in 2015, and, of course the Football World Cup in 2022. How important is this? Well, there is fierce competition among the states of the Gulf. Wealthy and ambitious cities such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Bahrain and Kuwait are also making plans to attract people and investment. Dubai has become the number one tourist destination in the Middle East. Capitalising on its existing infrastructure and attractive lifestyle, the most vibrant city of the UAE cannot be equalled. Bahrain, trying to be a financial hub, is still faltering in the aftermath of political turmoil. So is Kuwait, although once upon a time it was the most advanced economy in the region. Jeddah is a becoming a religious tourism platform for the Muslim world. And then comes Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, which has also invested in culture
and sports. The Formula One Grand Prix has become a major international event in the automotive racing world. The city of Abu Dhabi is the main sponsor of the World Rally Championship. The Ferrari entertainment park is open. Manchester City’s English Premier League title boasted the credentials of its oil-rich Emirati investors. As for the loudly publicised Louvre and Guggenheim museums, however, there are doubts about their final completion dates. Football sponsorship spells it out Football reflects pretty well the competition between the Gulf cities. Emirates Airline is sponsoring Arsenal FC. Qatar Holding just bought Paris Saint-Germain and was leading the mercato during this summer. It has to be said that Qatar also bought the French TV rights for football. French supporters will not forget the name of Al Jazeera. As we can see, Qatar’s future is promising. With a few stunning museums to open and the hosting of forthcoming world sports events, the peninsula can become the centre of sports and culture in the region. However, good destination branding (the technical term for branding a country or a city) is not only made of coups. How do other countries do it? New Zealand is a great case study. A small island state in the South Pacific with 4.4 million inhabitants has been ranked the
Rule number one:
Rule number two:
You need a good story to tell. Branding is about story-telling. We can mention the remarkable job done by India with the notorious campaign ‘Incredible India’. To tell a good story, you need a good scenario: credible, differentiated, relevant and exciting.
There must be something in that story that everybody will remember. It can be a powerful personality (what Nelson Mandela is for South Africa or Queen Elizabeth for the UK). It can be a landscape or a monument (the Eiffel Tower for Paris or the Taj Mahal for India). It can be its product (‘Made in Japan’). It can be its entertainment industry (Hollywood, Bollywood or currently the Turkish TV productions for the Middle East). You need to build a strong image in people’s minds. Let’s use the analogy of the cinema industry. When people are asked about the movie ET, they usually mention the flying bicycle with the moon in the background. A good story drives powerful images. And if you don’t write the story yourself, someone else will do it for you, but you won’t control it. The image of Kazakhstan has been driven, by default, by Sacha Baron Cohen and his movie Borat. Pakistan is a good example of a country unable to manage its own image.
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Qatar needs its young successful story-tellers, and the world will want to listen to them. Well, those brands understood the concept of branding: perception! Reputation and perception are not something that money can always buy. It is built over time. It is achieved through the commitment of motivated stakeholders. Looking at the success of these two countries, we can define the rules of good destination branding (see below).
number three country brand in the world. Croatia is not doing badly either. Emerging from a deadly civil war, the small Mediterranean country managed to build its name
through sports (football and handball especially) and tourism. What are their secrets, considering they are not so rich? How did they make it?
Looking at these rules, can Qatar make it? Qatar has the resources. Qatar has the ambition. In short, Qatar has the energy required to create a powerful and memorable image. Qatar has established itself as a big player on the sports field. It is fast becoming one of the most important cultural hubs in the Middle East region. Through the Qatar Foundation, it has been investing in education for the past decade like no other country. So yes, Qatar has a few good stories to tell. We talked about the recent success of London and how British celebrities contributed to building the image of the Games. But it was clear to everyone that the population of London, the volunteers and the cheering crowds, made it happen for real. This is why Qatar is right to support its new talents, its young athletes (Mutaz Essa Barshim) and its promising artists. They will be the story-tellers that the world will want to listen to. And this is why Qatar needs to make sure that the Qatari population will be properly engaged and motivated
Rule number three:
Rule number four:
Rule number five:
You need the right ambassadors to tell your story. Actually, all stakeholders play a very important role. From tourism officials to business leaders, from sportsmen to education heads, everyone must contribute. The recent London 2012 Olympics gave a brilliant example of how various celebrities and officials were able to speak the same language, for the benefit of the city of London.
You need to be consistent over time. The story must be delivered consistently year after year. Images can change. Spokesmen can differ. But the overall vision must remain the same.
The story must be appealing for the potential “consumers”. Poland might claim that its labour force is the best in Europe (the famous story of the Polish plumber), we are not so sure that such a statement would make tourists flock to Warsaw and Cracovia. There was a time when Egypt was advertising its wonderful sunny weather to people in the Gulf. That’s another point: you don’t talk the same way to different audiences. According to surveys, Oman means trekking to German tourists; for French tourists Oman means the Indian Ocean and suggestive souks; British citizens think of 4x4 adventures.
a new position for qatar M
By al ries Al Ries is the Chairman of Ries & Ries, a marketing consulting firm he runs with his daughter Laura Ries in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. www.ries.com.
Some recent examples of country positioning campaigns that have gone nowhere:
ore money is wasted trying to position a country than almost any other marketing endeavour. Almost every country is incredible, remarkable and sensational in some way. What makes India, Indonesia and Brazil different from every other country? Who knows? The problem with all of these positioning slogans is that they are too “big”. They try to encompass everything about a country in a few words. As a result, the word or words selected are too abstract. They’re not tangible or down-to-earth. Malaysia is “Truly Asia”, but so is every other country in Asia. So where in your mind do you put Malaysia? In a section of your mind called “truly Asian countries”? Even my home country, the country that invented marketing, has a dull slogan no one is going to remember: “The United States of awesome possibilities.” If you want to position a country in a way that will cause consumers to remember your idea, you have to do two things: (1) narrow your focus, and (2) find an idea the country is the clear-cut leader in. The two are related. Most leadership ideas are narrow in focus. They only cover one of the many good things about a country. As a result, a narrowly-focused slogan is not broad enough to gather support from the many different vested interests inside the country. So they never get approved.
So what is Qatar? What is Qatar the clear-cut leader in? Qatar is the most economically-successful country in the world. According to Forbes the per-capita gross domestic product of Qatar is $88,000 (QR320,000). Luxembourg is second ($81,000) and Singapore is third ($56,700). Qatar is the wealthiest country in the world and is considerably wealthier than any of its neighbours. So how does bragging about its economic success build a favourable perception for Qatar and its people? It doesn’t. But what it does do is to create interest in the business community and among the general public about Qatar and the reasons for its economic success. Nepal with its capital Kathmandu would be just another unknown country in Asia, except for one thing – Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. Everest made Nepal world-famous. “The most economically-successful country in the world” can do the same for Qatar. It’s a platform that allows it to tell its economic story to the rest of the world., especially its pioneering work in liquefied natural gas. Qatar also has a story to tell about its upcoming transportation facilities, its deepwater seaport, its modern airport and its railway network, plus all the improvements it is making in preparation for the 2022 World Cup. These are all verbal ideas, of course. But
Indonesia: “Remarkable.” Italy: “Much more.” Japan: “Cool.” Thailand: “Amazing.” Taiwan: “Touch your heart.” Korea: “Be inspired.” South Africa: “It’s possible.” India: “Incredible.”
Austria: “You’ve arrived.”
Malaysia: “Truly Asia.” Brazil: “Sensational.”
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building Qatar Today 53 brand qatar
“The most economically-successful country in the world” is a platform that allows Qatar to tell its economic story to the rest of the world.
visuals can speak louder than words. Laura Ries’s (my daughter’s) book Visual Hammer explores this subject in detail. What’s a “visual hammer”? It’s a visual
some visual hammers that most people would instantly identify with the countries/ cities involved:
that can communicate a verbal idea. For example, Coca-Cola’s “contour” bottle communicates the idea that Coca-Cola is the original, the authentic cola, the real thing.
Years ago, BMW was a small and relatively unsuccessful German automotive brand. Then it decided to focus on “driving”, using the slogan “the ultimate driving machine”. But what built the brand was not this verbal idea, but a series of television commercials showing happy owners driving their BMWs over winding roads. The TV commercials were BMW’s visual hammer. A visual hammer can be particularly effective when used by a city or country. For example, here are some visual hammers that most people would instantly identify with the countries involved: The Great Wall of China. The Taj Mahal in India. The Pyramids of Egypt. Some of the most famous cities in the world also have unique visual hammers that help to define and communicate what the cities stand for. Burj Al Arab in Dubai. The Eiffel Tower in Paris. The Acropolis in Athens. The Opera House in Sydney. The Coliseum in Rome. Red Square in Moscow. The Ginza in Tokyo. As Qatar prepares for the 2022 World Cup, an event that will be watched by many millions, the country should consider constructing a “visual hammer” that will forever identify Qatar in people’s minds. Look what the Bird’s Nest did for China in the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Building the Qatari brand, from the ground up I By Anthony Ryman
Anthony Ryman is Managing Director of grow, a multiaward-winning Doha-based strategic communications agency focused on brands. He’s been a judge at the IAA and Promax Awards and a public speaker on brands and future trends at the Gulf Marketing Forum and Bedaya Centre’s Youth to Entrepreneur Forum. He is also a writer for many design and communications magazines in the UK, Lebanon, the UAE and Qatar. www.growqatar.com
MEGABRANDS Countries synonymous with a number of valuable attributes:
n today’s increasingly global marketplace, where plethora of choice and successful mass production have resulted in thousands of advertising messages bombarding us every day, it is interesting to note the rise of the brand. As a measure of quality, consistency and trust in a company’s products and services, the brand has taken centre stage in every company striving to differentiate its services and position itself as the provider of choice. Brands have now become a cultural phenomenon – we wear them, drive them, eat them and dance to them – to the point where they have become a shorthand for expressing who we are and what we strive to be. We are a brand, expressing our individuality and our tastes with what we wear and how we behave, moving increasingly in tighter and tighter social circles of people who belong to our tribe, our brand. Enlightened companies realised long ago that in this marketplace emotional persuasion is key. The battle for customers in tomorrow’s marketplace will be fought not over price but over hearts and minds - in the territory of brands. So it is only natural that nations are looking at this cultural, social and commercial
FRANCE: ‘’chic and quality of living.’’
ITALY: “style and sexiness.’’
phenomenon as the holy grail for branding their countries. Finding a niche has become the basis for survival in a globally competitive marketplace, not just to attract tourism and inward investment, but also as a source of national pride for citizens and political leverage for governments to build bilateral relationships on an international level. In principle, it is a country’s citizens who stand to gain the most from a successful national branding campaign. Just as corporate branding campaigns can raise the morale, team spirit and sense of purpose of a company’s employees, national branding campaigns can provide a country with a common sense of purpose and national pride - not to mention a higher standard of living. On the face of it, building a country brand should be similar to building a Coca Cola or a Nike. But country branding is much more complex. A new product comes into existence as a tabula rasa ( ie a clean slate), to which a set of associations can later be mapped. Even after a product has been launched, companies are free to make modifications in response to consumer demand. Countries, however, may be more limited in chang-
GERMANY: “quality engineering.’’
SWITZERLAND: “purity, wealth, integrity.’’
JAPAN: “technology, entertainment, design.’’
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This image-building exercise cannot be undertaken overnight. It has to be a sustained projection over a prolonged period.
ing their place brands. Obviously a country can’t replace its beaches with mountains, or grow bananas if its climate favours snow. Although it may be possible for a nation to
attract more direct foreign investment or shift its economic base, there will always be some constraints over which it has little or no control.
Professor David Gertner of the Lubin School of Business at Pace University in New York City explains: “Products can be discontinued, modified, withdrawn from the market, relaunched and repositioned or replaced by improved products. Places do not have most of these choices. Their image problems may be founded in structural problems that take years to fix.” Brands are created when there is a balance in perceptions and reality about a product, resulting in a favourable, or at least a balanced, image. In the case of country branding, the product is the country which includes the people, ie civil society, the government (including its institutions) and the private sector. For country branding to be successful there is a need to engage these three major stakeholders and ensure that their efforts towards national imagebuilding are coordinated and send out the desired message. And this is where the challenge begins. Marketing a country as a tourist hideaway where the pace of life is slow and the life simple may not suit the interests of those who are trying to promote the country’s budding industrial infrastructure to international investors. Or perhaps a country promoting its beaches and resorts as a tourist haven might not suit that country’s more traditional culture and morals. Many government officials who become involved in country branding are drawn to product marketing approaches because their countries are in desperate need of
“The power of a country brand is directly proportionate to the power of its people, its leadership and its sense of purpose in the global community. In realising this strength, a country can create better lives for all of its citizens.”
FutureBrand
Qatar brand Qatar people
Q
atar is a country in a hurry. In a hurry to express its identity, its personality, and in a hurry to achieve great strides for its people, ensuring their longterm prosperity and a legacy that today’s Qatari children can be immensely proud of. What makes Qatar special, unique and individual? What is its spirit that has evoked such stories, from pearl fishermen and bedouin tribesmen to astute traders and business people? This spirit is the essence of the story that is Qatar. And it is a story that has been told by family elders to their children over many, many years. The physical manifestation of an identity in a logo only tells a part of the story. The re-telling of the story that is Qatar, not only from a historical perspective but also how this resonates with the youth of Qatar, is a story worth telling. The billions who are going to tune in to the World Cup 2022 and the tens of thousands who are going to visit want a taste of the real Qatar, not some pale imitation and it is this that has to be branded, packaged, communicated and experienced through all channels of communication. I had the good fortune to lead the brand image and look programme for the London design agency appointed to develop the 2006 Asian Games. Our first exercise, and
01. The Best Country Brands Index
perhaps the most difficult, was this journey of understanding Qatar’s story. This was the most important element. Everything else was just process. An integrated holistic campaign to launch the World Cup 2022 and, most importantly, communicate Qatar’s story is what’s important. It’s the opportunity to position Qatar on the world map. It will be about heroes – individuals and countries – fighting to win. Qatar’s role as hosts is to communicate their innate spirit of Ahlan (Welcome) to the world. And it’s this spirit that people will remember. It’s this kindness, generosity of spirit and deed that will touch the majority of people who come to Qatar. It’s their experience of normal people being themselves that will resonate. If there was one “take out” of the London 2012 Olympics it wasn’t the story of Jessica Ennis or Mo Farah, or the countless world record-beaters such as Usain Bolt; nor was it Team GB or Team USA. Instead, it was the professionalism of the Armed Forces and the kindness of the 70,000 volunteers who were there to help, advise and lift spirits. This is a good lesson for us. For the World Cup 2022 is about just that: the power of the human spirit to touch and be touched, to commune, to celebrate and to remember that we are all one on this planet.
According to FutureBrand’s Country Brand Index, by continually measuring the perceptions of a country brand’s audience, from business professionals to global travellers, we can begin to understand the impact that news events, cultural undertakings – and even a country’s own marketing efforts – have on an individual’s decision to choose that nation over another. It’s through this combined understanding of shifting audience perceptions and competitive positioning that country brands can best be managed, driving relevance and differentiation in the face of a rapidly changing world. This perception can control one’s decision to invest, visit, emigrate, work, study and consume that country’s goods or become interested in its culture. In short, a choice to let one country play a significant role in our lives and livelihood. Country brands are constantly compared to their competitors – namely, other countries – and need to be continually assessed in relative terms by their owners.
exports, tourism or direct foreign investment. In Qatar’s case, the first question to ask is: Does Qatar have a brand? The answer, while complex, is both yes and no. There is no doubt that the three carriers of Qatar’s flag across the globe are all doing a sterling job in their own right to promote Qatar across the planet: the government, through its embassies worldwide and its trade missions overseas; Qatar Tourism Authority, whose job it is to promote Qatar tourism worldwide; and Qatar Airways, which has marketed itself more than any other institution, placing an emphasis on luxury, prestige and modernity combined with tradition. But there is no doubt that there is no one single, consistent message or coordinated “look and feel”, which is the first element of a successful brand. I asked several people in Qatar, whose job titles would indicate their understanding and awareness of branding and marketing, whether they thought that Qatar had a brand, and their answers were unanimous: “There are sub-brands that are gaining international currency, but they do not form a cohesive whole. More importantly, there is no single strategy for promoting and defending the Qatar brand.” “No – internationally, people know very little about Qatar. Those who do know see it merely as a wealthy emirate as a result of its gas reserves.” The next question to ask is: does Qatar need a country brand? To answer, I reverted to two sources of information. The first was my interviews, and the answers here were again quite forthright: “Even though Qatar does have a clear vision of where it wants to be, it is quite shy about some of the details. Qatar has a positive and dynamic story to tell, and it could be telling it more coherently and diligently.” “Yes, look at the successful branding of Dubai. Qatar could create a successful country brand but it needs greater internal communication.”
a. AWARENESS: Do key audiences know that the country exists? How top-of-mind is it?
b. FAMILIARITY: How well do people know the country and its offerings?
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The organisation created to build the country’s image should be given the resources and time to conceive, execute, coordinate and monitor this gigantic undertaking.” My other source of information to answer this question was to research other countries that have undergone or are undertaking country branding and analyse the benefits of undertaking such an exercise. According to Simon Anholt, author of Brand America: The Mother of All Brands, a select group of countries have national images “so powerful and so positive’’ that they amount to “megabrands”. Other countries have successfully turned around, or repositioned, their national brand in recent years. Still others are actively working to polish their brand identity. Turnaround Brands SPAIN: Once thought of as a European backwater, Spain capitalised on the 1992 Barcelona Olympics to successfully rebrand itself as a hip Mediterranean playground (think of the Joan Miro sun symbol). IRELAND and SOUTH AFRICA rebranded themselves as countries on the move, based on their economic and political turnarounds respectively. Brands to watch BRITAIN, having already positioned London in all its heritage and glory, is now basking in the after-glow of the London 2012 Olympics and hoping to build a platform for investment and tourism on the back of the Games. SLOVENIA’s brand strategy has focused on transforming its image from that of a post-communist state to the new cross-
roads of Europe, building highways, lowering trade barriers, promoting foreign investment and selling itself as an alternative tourist destination for those tired of Italy and France. According to Wally Olins, one of the foremost branding gurus of my generation, some nations develop a national brand in a kind of controlled or formalised way, but with others it happens almost spontaneously. “If you look at what is happening in India today, and the perceptions around India, none of these are controlled. India has emerged in the past five years in terms of perception in a quite different way from how it was perceived ten or fifteen years ago. Back then it was spirituality and poverty, and now it’s software and its highly educated people. And in some countries, Indian clothing, textiles and fabrics are fashionable. None of this is managed. It’s all spontaneous.” In other cases, promoting a country has involved identifying spokespeople, product brands and events that can favourably influence public opinion in other countries. But because countries usually produce many products, not just one, a variety of marketing strategies may be needed. Tourism and exports often employ mass marketing techniques, for example, but personal selling may be better adapted to investment marketing. To achieve the aim of creating a positive Qatari brand there is a need, obviously, for a brand champion at the highest
c.
d.
e.
ASSOCIATIONS: What qualities come to mind when people think of the country? Here, we look at five association dimensions: Value System, Quality of Life, Good for Business, Heritage, and Culture and Tourism.
PREFERENCE: How highly do audiences esteem the country? Does it resonate?
CONSIDERATION: Is the country considered for a visit? What about for investment, or to acquire or consume its products?
level of government to take up the mantle of responsibility and cajole, coordinate, persuade and order all the relevant stakeholders to work together. It is imperative that the public at large also be represented in this dialogue in order to achieve buy-in and enrolment in the vision and delivery of the brand message, a brand for Qatar that besides helping achieve the government’s diplomatic objectives also provides the country with the necessary advantage in terms of increasing trade and investment and promoting tourism. These areas have tremendous potential for job creation. It should coordinate the national image-building efforts of the government and the private sector. One of its main tasks will be to build national support for the brand within Qatar itself. Its mandate should be extensive and cover an all-encompassing approach to the marketing of Brand Qatar. It should aim to deliver one image of Qatar through a clear and coordinated effort. It should also have a strategy to respond to the negative, and approach the press proactively rather than reactively. And it requires a concerted and co-ordinated approach by the key national organisations, particularly those with international dimensions. This image-building exercise cannot be undertaken overnight. It has to be a sustained projection over a prolonged period. The organisation created to carry it out should be given the resources and the time to conceive, execute, coordinate and monitor this gigantic undertaking
f.
DECISION / VISITATION: To what extent do people follow through and visit the country or establish a commercial relationship?
g. ADVOCACY: Do visitors recommend the country to family, friends and colleagues?
Building an emotional connection with the brand By Chris Evans Head of Creative at Creative Action Design Combining creativity with strategic insight, Evans helps brands maximise their impact in the commercial marketplace. Spending much of his time developing “brand experiences”, Chris helps companies express themselves visually wherever they come into contact with the consumer. He has written on the subject, and has spoken at a number of events about the importance of inspiring and engaging people through creativity. www.creativeaction.qa
02. The Best Country Brands Index
B
randing is a key factor in the development and success of any product or organisation, but over the past few years countries have been taking it a step further and embracing branding as a tool to promote their entire country as an entity. Branding countries isn’t anything new, however; some countries have always done it well and used it to alter perceptions and to sell their exports. Indeed, throughout history many of the world’s great civilisations have had strong and recognisable “nation brands” that even to this day conjure up the values and characteristics of that time, and the strong brands that were built represented the substance of those countries and the people who rallied behind them. Take for example the ancient Greeks, with their lasting message of philosophy and democracy, or the Roman Empire which will always be associated with its ground breaking infrastructure and development, ages ahead of its time. Today, modern countries use the same philosophies as the ancient Greeks and the Romans to ensure that their nation’s core values, their national identities are com-
the 2011-12 top ten
01 CANADA 0
municated widely to the global audience. To be effective, nation-branding must embrace all elements of the country and must communicate a message that is simple, clear and differentiated from other countries around the world. Country-branding can be a very complex exercise as, unlike many organisations, a country may have numerous strands that it wishes to tie together and promote simultaneously – perhaps a number of key cities, strong sporting teams, definitive political structures or key “brand champions” from that country who could enter the hearts and souls of people from countries around the world. Country brands often reinforce beliefs and stereotypes to make them recognisable to a global audience. For example, the United Kingdom has capitalised on its tea drinking, politeness, black cabs, red buses and postboxes, and these are best seen in tourism promotions. However, they also successfully tie their business and education experience into their country brand, and a great example of this can be seen in how the UK portrayed itself to the rest of the world during London 2012.
02
03
SWITZERLAND 3
NEW ZEALAND 0
04 JAPAN 2
FutureBrand collected quantitative data from 3,500 frequent business and leisure travelers and opinion-formers in 14 countries around the world. With an international outlook and sense of global fluency, they represent 11 knowledge bank sought out by investors and tourists alike. EXPERT OPINIONS: Additionally, between August 19 and September 7, 2011. FutureBrand connected with experts in tourism, export, investment and public policy in 16 different cities around the world. These experts participated in “deep dive” moderated workshops with
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building Qatar Today 59 brand qatar
The core value should be an element that is embedded in the whole spectrum of the nation. Think of Qatar as a person – what would they be like? more important, and creating or shaping a country brand is an exercise that countries of all sizes are pursuing. Countries need to have clear and well thought-through identities that will establish their unique place on the international stage, help their citizens to understand their own values and nurture and foster national pride.
Power of country brands So what is the power of a country brand? A country or nation brand that is defined locally, regionally and globally has incredible
05 AUSTRALIA 3
06 USA 2
power to evoke pride, to inspire an entire people and to create unbreakable loyalty. In today’s era of globalisation, a strong and succinct country brand has never been
07 SWEDEN 3
the aim of consolidating their views and perceptions across key attributes and dimensions. CO-CREATIVE INSIGHTS: FutureBrand’s third source leveraged crowd-sourcing and an online, co-creative community, giving it the chance to capture real-time discussions amongst experts and interested third parties around the world. This collaborative exercise took place between August 30 and September 16, 2011.
08 FINLAND 0
Internal and external factors in country-branding Country brands provide two key functions – an internal function and an external function. Internally, country brands help to define and establish the heritage, character and national identity of the population at large. A country brand can express all the inbuilt values that people imagine when they think about their nationality, and creates for them a focal point on which they can base their pride and passion. The second key function of a nation brand is the external role it plays in portraying the country to the rest of the world. From tourism through to government and trade, a country brand that effectively expresses the positive and outward-looking approach of a country is hugely beneficial and, if done well, it should ensure that all of the country’s attributes are expressed consistently and clearly. In addition, differentiating a country from its neighbours can be highly effective in giving it a competitive edge in terms of tourism and exports - the power of a strong brand in driving up interest and sales should not be underestimated.
09 FRANCE 2
10 ITALY 2
Brand Qatar These elements are being brought into sharp focus for Qatar as the spotlight turns to it ahead of its role in hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup – but how easy is it to actually develop a country brand? As Qatar looks to build “Brand Qatar” what are the important elements that the country needs to consider as it strives to enhance and shape its own image? I believe there are two key considerations that are vital to developing a successful country brand: The first is shaping a complete and clear character of the nation. Finding the core values of the country and its people is crucial, as the character needs to be accurate and believable. The core value should be an element that is embedded in the whole spectrum of the nation. Think of Qatar as a person - what would they be like? You need to think about what this person looks like,
what hair colour they would have, what clothes they would wear, what hobbies they might have, and perhaps most importantly, what does this person say and how do they say it? It is essential to really understand what Qatar is to ensure that its message is communicated effectively. The second consideration is narrative. All great brands throughout the world tell a story, and this is just as important with a country brand. For Qatar’s nation brand, the country needs to take the defined character of Qatar, and tell its tale. The story should reflect the history and the heritage of the country; it should tell people where the country is going, and why and how it is going to get there. It needs to decide whether this story is rooted in the success of the past or if it is inspired by the opportunities and challenges ahead. People have always loved a good story, and this is a prime chance to tell it well to everyone who
wants to listen. Today we live in a shrinking world where boundaries are being blurred and the clutter of noise from overly marketed products and services is deafening. We define our identity by surrounding ourselves with the brands we are able to associate with, or desire to be associated with, so how a country brands itself is crucial to how people will embrace and interact with it. The brand strategy therefore needs careful thought and consideration before commencing. As Qatar begins to write its story and tell the tale of the country and its people it needs to ensure that people around the world will begin to form an emotional link with its brand. This emotional brand link will create a depth of connection that is difficult to break: a link that will stand the test of time and that will allow Qatar to develop its message around the world and reap the benefits from it
“I think Qatar could also look at positioning itself in the area of progress for a new better world, as there are many things that Qatar will be doing and has done to demonstrate its commitment to this.”
Hermann Behrens CEO Middle East, the Brand Union
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building Qatar Today 61 brand qatar
Delivering a successful brand
Lessons from London 2012
S
o London 2012 is over. Seven years of anticipation and 16 days of sporting excellence are behind us. “Team GB” delivered for their nation, but now the British Government is left clutching a bill for the world’s most extravagant party (estimated at $18 billion). The critical question as to whether London 2012 delivered sufficient return on investment cannot be answered just yet; indeed it might take a decade, until, say, 2022, before a full appraisal can really be provided. Let’s look at what London 2012 did right from a branding perspective and highlight areas worth referencing as Qatar’s countdown to the 2022 FIFA World Cup continues. The points highlighted here are not only relevant to sporting events but are directly applicable to any corporation striving to join the global elite. Develop a focused strategy London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympics was largely successful due to a simple but ambitious central idea that drove its strategy: the desire to “inspire a generation”. The strategy recognised sport’s potential to be a catalyst for positive societal change and focused on establishing a legacy based around increased youth participation in sport. London had a clear sense right from the start that winning the Olympics was about
more than 16 days of jumping and running around in the sun (and rain). The strategy focused on ensuring that an Olympic legacy was created, something much bigger than the event itself. This “legacy strategy” has social inclusion, community, urban development, tourism-related and, of course, economic objectives attached to it, and the long-term evaluation of the Games’ success will consider all these aspects. Engage all stakeholders before, during and after the event London 2012’s delivery of the legacy strategy will depend on all the major stakeholders being aligned. The most brilliant strategy in the world will fall flat on its face if the project’s key stakeholders are not consulted and committed. Getting stakeholders (government departments and sporting bodies, sponsors, media and the general public) to support and invest in the strategy in the years ahead will be critical. London’s work in delivering a “legacy strategy” starts now, and it will need to focus on strengthening links between the organisations involved in the funding, administration and delivery of sport, including schools and grassroots community clubs.
By IAIN WEBSTER Iain Webster is Executive Director Qatar at the Brand Union Middle East. iain.webster@ thebrandunion.com
Ensure your brand evolves directly from your strategy London 2012’s logo and design language
London 2012’s logo and design language were bright, bold, confident and identifiable. It was as far away from classic Olympic imagery of elitist laurel wreaths as was possible.
A brand is, of course, so much more than a logo or a badge. The best brands contain stories that inform, inspire and reward its devotees. athletes’ vests. Like most great creative works, the London 2012 brand was not universally liked and it received much criticism on its unveiling: this was a logo that challenged the conventions of what an Olympic city’s logo should look like, and would have been killed off by a less confident and focused client. London 2012’s brand reminds us that the best brands are created on the back of a focused strategy and are designed to be compelling, to be bold, to be different, and to stand out. Rio 2016’s brand will do well to convey as much spirit as London 2012 has done so effectively (as will Qatar 2022’s brand).
were bright, bold, confident and identifiable. It was as far away from classic Olympic imagery of elitist laurel wreaths as was possible. The logo was designed to appeal to
the young and was supported by a vibrant design language which was flexible enough to be applied to every brand touchpoint from signage to digital applications to the
Engaging world-class creatives A brand is, of course, so much more than a logo or a badge. The best brands contain stories that inform, inspire and reward their devotees. With the London Olympics it was vital to identify and highlight the elements that made the city and the country different from others. The Olympics provided London (and Britain) the opportunity to redefine and reposition itself both to its own people and to prospective global consumers. As well as having a focused strategy and a bold brand, London 2012 recognised the role that small details can add to the consumer experience. The playing of David Bowie’s “Heroes” whenever Team GB won a gold medal, for example, will live in the memory of many who attended the Games.
Director Danny Boyle’s eclectic, witty, yet populist interpretation of the brief to “create a 90-minute event that promotes London and Britain” was an inspiration to any creative talent to “aspire to greatness” rather than just meet the brief.
cover story demonstrating that attention to detail can help deliver engaging and memorable brand experiences. This brings me to my favourite part of the London Games – the Opening Ceremony. Firstly, how did a country in the midst of one of the worst-ever economic recessions justify spending tens of millions on an Opening Ceremony? Quite simply, “Brand London/Britain” recognised that it had a unique opportunity to engage with the world, a once-in-a-lifetime platform that most other brands could only dream of. In line with its brand personality and strategy, London 2012 eschewed the ordinary, the inflated and the artistically pretentious with an Opening Ceremony that was a 90-minute advert to the world, crammed full of the diverse components that make up Brand London/Britain and demonstrating what it stands for. The result was a brand spectacle entitled “Isles of Wonder” that repositioned a small, wet, North Atlantic island nation whose best days were considered by many to be behind it as a diverse, vibrant country full of imagination and bursting with culture worth celebrating. Director Danny Boyle’s eclectic, witty, yet populist interpretation of the brief to “create a 90-minute event that promotes London and Britain” was an inspiration to any creative talent to “aspire to greatness” rather than just meet the brief. Boyle’s Opening Ceremony was compulsive viewing, demanding the global audience’s full attention for the 90 minutes. It was entertainment for the attention-deficit generation and was crammed full of content, effortlessly fusing classic and contemporary components of Brand London/Britain into an imaginative narrative. Full of splendour, emotion and vigour, we saw the suffragettes, The Beatles, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Harry Potter, James Bond, the Queen, the National Health Service, East London’s “grime scene” and other constituents celebrated. The Closing Ceremony brought more spectacle and referenced some of Brand London and Britain’s key attributes, but
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suffered in comparison to the Opening Ceremony by virtue of the first event’s surprise factor, stronger narrative and wit. Be prepared and be open Whenever a client goes beyond the conventional, they take on risks that could harm a brand. Live events are the more difficult aspect of the marketing mix to control, and, while London 2012 suffered a few organisational hitches, it effectively managed issues through its extensive preparation and, when that failed, with openness and honesty as any organisation should. Ultimately the London 2012 brand was strong enough to ensure that the security concerns, traffic concerns, weather concerns, ticket allocation issues, overly zealous brand police and a clumsy oversight concerning the flags of the Korean Peninsula were all hurdles that the brand was able to overcome without much reputational damage. Set clear performance criteria Both 2012 and 2022 can only ultimately be deemed successful if they inspire a generation to embrace sport in their lives. Perhaps it will only be by 2022 that we are able to assess properly whether London 2012 fulfilled its strategy to “inspire a generation”, as the event’s success will not simply be measured by Team GB’s placing on the medals table after 16 days of sport. The years ahead will determine whether London 2012 has benefited tourism in the way that perhaps only Barcelona 1992 has managed, capitalising on the Games to effectively reposition itself from an investmentdeprived port city to one of the world’s most inspiring cities. The physical infrastructure development meanwhile will benefit the local economy, as the build-up to the Games witnessed development on a scale not seen in East London since Margaret Thatcher’s government (controversially) facilitated the development of Canary Wharf in the 1980s. The initial success of the Games (and the huge investment in infrastructure) is excellent news for investors in London including
building Qatar Today 63 brand qatar Qatari Diar, who will soon begin the task of transforming the athletes’ Olympic Village into East Village. The Games will certainly further enhance London’s profile as an international investment opportunity. It goes without saying that both brands and events like 2012 and 2022 have to deliver a tangible return on investment to be considered a success in the long term. So what does this mean for Qatar 2022? Qatar’s challenge is to ensure that Qatar (and the broader Arab world) is a winner before, during and after World Cup 2022. Qatar 2022’s legacy, like London 2012, needs to be about so much more than eyecatching stadia. Indeed, after the success of London 2012, Qatar’s decision to focus on building mainly temporary stadia now looks like a shrewd, sustainable alternative to the old-school thinking that blighted cities with concrete white elephants. As with London 2012, Qatar has an opportunity to tell the world what it is that “Brand Qatar” stands for. The world’s perception of both the tiny Gulf state and perhaps even the other 21 countries of the Arab world should be positively changed for ever. Qatar 2022 will be a party, a celebration that will bring the people of the world together. While some will understandingly harbour concerns about their society being opened up to the global community with the arrival of the global masses, 2022 provides a unique opportunity to celebrate Qatari and Arab culture with the world, and should act as a catalyst to promote and strengthen (rather than threaten) local traditions. The development of Qatar’s sporting infrastructure should support the emergence of a new generation of heroes to build on the talent and hard work of Mutaz Essa Barshim and Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah at London 2012. Qatar’s National Sports Day initiative also demonstrates Qatar’s intention to strengthen the role that sport plays in society, and is recognition of the role that sport can play in improving a nation’s health and happiness. And that, more than anything else, surely justifies the investment in events like 2012 and 2022
Qatar has an opportunity to tell the world what it is that “Brand Qatar” stands for. The world’s perception of both the tiny Gulf State and perhaps even the other 21 countries of the Arab World should be positively changed for ever.
b o t t o m li n e
Managing Older Employees
Maintaining a steep career climb is often a challenge for newly appointed young managers, and their success boils down to their ability to not only manage but successfully lead team members while ensuring that everyone is working towards the same strategic goals.
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b o t t o m li n e
The fact that young managers may become responsible for older employees can lead to distress and unrest, but the truth is that there is no need to stress. Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 Job Site, recommends these six pieces of advice:
Value the older team members’ experience in life and benefit from them as mentors Older employees have seen more of the business and may have successfully overcome bottlenecks, thus their wisdom and life experience should not be casually discounted. Young managers will do well to win the respect, trust and confidence of their older subordinates by showing reciprocal trust, respect and confidence in their subordinates’ abilities. Many young managers can set this idea in motion by approaching experienced subordinates as mentors and positively tapping into their knowledge and experience.
Be confident in your own abilities This includes the fact that you have earned your stripes and deserve to be the boss. On the OTHER hand, don’t be dismissive when managing older subordinates, especially when it comes to training them In new skills. Just because they are not that adept with new technologies doesn’t mean they are incapable of USING THEM. Empowerment is a virtue respected in a new manager, so it’s important to take some time TO help develop your team’s new skills.
Create common goals
Show flexibility
Regardless of the age difference between any leader and their team members, common goals need to be put in place in order to build a culture of trust and transparent communication. In other words, don’t aim to be a sole visionary, but make sure all your team members share your vision and are willing to work with you towards achieving a common goal.
Older employees might require a bit more flexibility than other employees, so you may need to handle them delicately at times. You do require their expertise and knowhow, so pay close attention to their needs (which could be anything from more flexible work arrangements, due to family commitments, to extra benefits such as special medical coverage for them and their families). Make sure your company is taking their needs into consideration.
Be calm in times of challenge Older employees often perceive young managers as innovative and entrepreneurial, but when it comes to wise counsel and good judgment they may sometimes be sCeptical of their abilities. When making a decision, show your subordinates that their opinion counts and seek their perspective on it. If you decide differently, try and explain why the final decision works best. This could be a great brainstorming exercise too. PractiSe your poise and remain calm and confident – keep your voice steady and aim to maintain a relaxed body language even in difficult situations. Employees, young and old, want to be assured that their leader has good judgment and has things under control.
Communicate openly and frequently It’s good practice in general to communicate with your team on a regular basis. Because businesses evolve with time, make sure your team is constantly briefed on changing expectations. Be direct and specific in your communication. Don’t assume that they will know what you want because they’ve been around a while.
bookmark www.issuu.com/oryxmags
About Bayt.com: Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East, with more than 40,000 employers and over 8,395,000 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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Qatar Today 65
GREEN SCENE
GPS
completes a year Since launching on World Environment Day last year, the Green Programme for Schools (GPS) has seen major reductions in the electricity and water consumptions among participating schools.
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he GPS is the environmental initiative of Msheireb Properties in association with Qatar Today and supported by the Supreme Education Council (SEC). Since its launch on June 5, 2011, GPS has seen the participation of around 25,000 students from more than 28 schools. GPS is the first schools-based environmental awareness campaign in Qatar that aims to reach, inspire and reward students and schools by meaningfully engaging the youth and inculcating in their minds the importance of building green equity. The first phase of the programme had schools receive the GPS branding as Mission 20 coordinators visited each participating school, strategically placing creative stickers carrying the message of water and energy conservation as well as pledge boards all over the school campus. With the completion of the brand activation phase, the GPS moved into the next phase – the GPS monitoring stage. Based on
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pre-determined criteria, the participating schools were monitored and evaluated for a year on water & electricity conservation, paper recycle and reuse initiatives by GPS involving officials from Msheireb Properties, Qatar Today, Qatar Green Building Council and other technical members. The best performing schools in these categories will be awarded the ‘Eco School of the Year’. According to Mission 20 coordinators, the schools have reported major reductions in their electricity and water consumptions and have also implemented several ecofriendly initiatives to engage their students in green practices. “It seemed a little difficult in the beginning to draw the attention of more than 28
participating schools towards the goal of GPS, but eventually we have succeeded in achieving our target. The schools showed great interest as it was a unique programme in Qatar which had a large number of schools participating in it. The schools were enthusiastic during the implementation of the programme,” says Amanat Solanki, Founder and Chairman, Mission 20-Kainat Foundation. “The schools’ campuses looked colourful with the posters and pledge boards that carried the campaign’s message and was a great way to attract the attention of students. Our volunteers worked hard in coordinating with the schools throughout the campaign. Mission20 is proud to be the activation partners for GPS,” he added
To know more about the programme,
To know more about GPS,
visit the GPS page at http://www. facebook.com/GPSQatar.
contact 44550983
t a g t hi s
Are Smart Phones eating up on Digital Camera Sales?
By Kapil B h ati a
This year I was sorting through pictures for creating a collage. Interestingly, I noticed that a large portion of the pictures were clicked using my iPhone. By now you may have heard rumours or realised that smart phone cameras are preferred over point-and-shoot cameras.
s
A Camera Exhibition held in Munich last month shows its development over the years.
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martphones are becoming the mainstream cameras of choice, lead by iPhone as the most popular device for uploading photos to Flickr. Lately all the smart phones have camera specs listed as one of its core features. A phone with a decent pixel size camera is much more convenient to carry in the pocket when compared to a bulky camera. Most of the camera developers would be worried about their product landing in the junk drawers with their old mates as the
smart phones catch up with new features. After Polaroid, digital cameras were the next big invention in the world of photography. The digital photography revolution streamlined things for everyman. Now any one could buy a Digital SLR and become a photographer. It allowed him to shoot as many landscapes and beautiful women as he wanted without having to worry about film. Anyone with a laptop could edit like a pro. Personally I feel buying a Canon doesn’t
t a g t hi s
make you a photographer but a camera owner. It takes a bit more effort to learn professional photography and click good photographs. Smart phones literally hijacked the vision of digital cameras. The phones are also able to click as many pictures as wanted and upload it to social networks. You can edit, share, and order prints just a click away on a phone. While some cameras do offer to upload photos and videos online, but they are probably just not as quick, hip and cool as a smart phone. Another factor that cameras need to worry about is the rate at which people switch phones. People don’t buy new cameras every second year. The rate at which people use smart phones to share pictures online is much more than the digital cameras. One of the most popular smart phone apps, Instagram has 5 million photos uploaded on a daily basis, and has a user base of approximately 30 million as per an article published in AllthingsD. If you say that the cameras will beat smart phones in the megapixel race, you may be follow
www.twitter.com: @kapilkb blog: HTTP://TFOUR.ME amateur photographer @earsplease. blogspot.com
wrong. With the release of iPhone 4s this barrier has also been broken. Unless you are geared up for a poster size photograph, you don’t need more than 8-10 megapixel cameras. Timeline Nokia introduced its first camera phone in 2001, the 7650, which included a 0.3 megapixel sensor. This year it has rolled out Nokia 808 Pure view a smart phone that has a massive 41 megapixel sensor and costs approximately QR2200. On the bright side for cameras, DSLR will always remain the first choice for professional photographers. New innovations in the world of cameras will keep them ahead of the smart phones. For example, a new camera called Lytro lets you choose a focal point after you have taken a picture. This innovative feature may not be easily replicated by smart phones. The smart phone cameras have not only affected digital camera sales but also the journalism industry. Previously, large media organisations would hire photo-journalists to cover major events. Nowadays ev-
eryone is armed with a smart phone ready to take pictures of an event and send them to a media organisation. Last year, CNN fired 12 of its full time photo journalists due to rise in submission at iReport, a platform where people could share report of an event using a smart phone. Smart phones obviously don’t function as a pro camera would. They don’t take close up or wide angle shots; however an external device can change that. They don’t have optical zoom; they have digital zoom that loses pixels as it zooms in and results in a blurred image. The holiday makers still prefer taking out the DSLR to capture the moments. This has encouraged many camera developers to introduce new piece of hardware in the market. Panasonic has recently announced the launch of Lumix DMC-FT4 in the Middle East region. The camera is customised to be used outdoors and is waterproof, freeze proof, shockproof and to suit the Middle East region, dustproof. Now can the smart phones beat that? The use of smart phone cameras has to do with convenience as it is easy to share photos with family and friends over social networks, blogs or email. Smart phone apps like Instagram, Hipstamatic make it fun to add effects on the image. Also, smart phones are always in your pocket to snap a light moment. Smart phones may have managed to cannibalise the Digital Camera sales; however they are yet to overtake them. Technological innovations will decide who will lead the race We are conducting a survey to know your preferred device to capture precious moments. Log on to http:// tfour.me or Qatar Today Facebook page www.facebook.com/qatartoday and vote today and the results will be featured in our October issue.
By Kapil Bhatia Kapil Bhatia is an E-Business Manager, working in the Financial Services Industry for the past 10 years. His work ranges across Digital Marketing, e-Channels and development of marketing strategies, with a sound Information Technology base. TFour.me is an upcoming technology blog in the Middle East which will feature talk about Tech Entertainment, Social Networks AND Digital Trends and list jobs. The blog wILL offer insightful analysis about Big Data and THE Internet industry and wILL feature Startups in the Middle East region.
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TECHTALK Travellers addicted to devises
a
ccording to a survey commissioned by Four Points by Sheraton Hotels, a Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc brand a majority (55%) of survey respondents bring three or four devices with them on the road. This is true across all nationalities. Brazilian respondents were more likely than others to juggle five or more devices while traveling (27%), while Germans were the least device-dependent, with 33% reporting they travel with only one or two. This survey polled a total of 6,000 business travellers globally – 1,000 each from the United Kingdom, Germany, United States, China, India and Brazil. Other finding of the report was that Smartphones were the travellers’ #1 device. Business travellers are glued to their smartphones. After landing, the majority (54%) turn on their smartphone while the plane is still taxiing on the tarmac, while 12% – ahem – never turn it off in the first place. The remaining respondents wait until they’re in the terminal or settle into their taxi/car (17% each). Checking their smartphone is also the first thing respondents do when they wake up in their hotel (36%). Only 19% turn on the TV first and 18% take a shower. Checking Facebook (12%) ranks fourth, while calling home has a distant fifth (7%). Tablets beat laptops. Nearly seven in 10 respondents (68%) use their tablet more often than their laptop, and accordingly a similar number (69%), if told they could take only one of the two on the road, would choose to travel with their tablet. In Europe, UK (67%) and German (70%) respondents prefer their tablets to a computer.
devices travellers likely to carry with them on the road?
Smartphones
Tablets
(74%)
(65%) Music Players
(43%)
Laptops
(32%)
A Leap in technology “We really wanted to build a device that would actually be leaps and bounds better at doing a lot of things that most people want to do with their computers,”
After more than five years of development, a proprietary technology has emerged that synthesises the shape and movement of the human hand to produce movement onto a computer. It’s called The Leap – and for an astonishingly low price of QR255 ($70), you can begin to control a computer with nothing more than your hands, as early as next February.
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Michael Buckwald, CEO, Leap Motion to Mashable. “And in order to do that, you need to be able to track fingers, and you need to be able to do that at a deep, centimetre level.”
Apple win against Samsung
Living Social exits from MENA
l
Mobile Phone market set for change
t
he federal court jury’s decision just before we went to print in a smartphone patent lawsuit between Apple and Samsung is expected to alter the dynamics of the highly competitive mobile phone industry. For Samsung, which lost on almost every count in the closely watched trial in San Jose, and was ordered to pay more than $1 billion in damages, the implications are more obvious. It will have to be cautious in how it designs products to avoid being accused of imitating Apple. Other makers may become more cautious, too. Google, which makes the Android software that runs at the core of Samsung phones, will clearly feel an impact through its hardware-making partner. Microsoft, however, which is attempting to enter the market with new software, will feel less of an effect, industry experts said. Apple has been the smartphone market leader. It defined the category in the way phones look and how users interact with them. Most popular smartphones today are a slab of glass and metal controlled through a touch-screen full of icons arrayed on the screen. Because consumers are familiar with that format, phones from various makers tended to look and behave similarly. Those similarities might be the first things to change.
Google Chrome for iOS
g
oogle has announced its first update to Google Chrome for iOS, adding the ability to share pages from the browser directly on your favorite social network, including Facebook and Twitter. Google Chrome for iOS was announced and launched at the company’s annual developer’s conference in June. The mobile browser offers a number of features already available in its desktop version, including synched tabs; if you’re checking out a website on your iPhone, you can open it on your desktop computer, and vice versa. Users can also share saved passwords between devices, bookmarks and search history. The updated version of Chrome for iOS is now available in the App Store.
ivingSocial has confirmed its rumored exit from the Middle East and North Africa. In a statement, the global daily deals company revealed its rationale. “At the beginning of 2012, LivingSocial laid out its strategic plan. We continue to aggressively execute against that plan by focusing on areas with the greatest opportunity for growth and profitability. As a result, LivingSocial will suspend its Middle East operations and direct company resources to other regions. All LivingSocial ME merchants will receive their payments, and we are working with them to ensure all outstanding vouchers will be honoured. Should any LivingSocial ME members or merchants have questions, we encourage them to contact us at me.help@livingsocial. com,” said Brendan Lewis, Director of Corporate Communications for LivingSocial. Incompatibility between teams or fallout from company restructuring or rebranding appear not to have been an issue; Lewis confirmed that the culture at GoNabit was a great match for LivingSocial. Yet as the daily deals giant moves towards profitability, reportedly narrowing net losses from $198 million in the second quarter of 2011 to $93 million during the same period in 2012, perhaps the time has come to batten down the hatches and exit a market that is generally acknowledged to be difficult for e-commerce.
UAE innovation UAE based companies Arabi on TV and SkyGrid have collaborated to develop Touch TV – the first free application to watch TV shows on Facebook, according to a report in a UAE daily. The app, which works on all major operating systems, is designed to tap into the way people in the region access social networking sites for entertainment. Marwa Abdel Wahed, Head of Strategy at Arabi On TV states: “The app allows users to watch more than 20 television channels free of charge via Facebook.”
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Qatar Today 75
Si n g a p o r e
By Sow m ya S u n da r
Partners in development Qatar – Singapore bilateral relation
“Climate change is one of the key areas that both countries are looking to co-operate on the global platform” Syed Noureddin Syed Hassim Charge’ d’affaires, Singapore Embassy in Doha.
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l
ush greenery, beautiful water bodies, well-planned public transport system, infrastructure that includes walking and cycling tracks along mainstream roads and one of the best water management systems are some of the key aspects that make Singapore a very livable city despite the population concentration and urbanisation. The city looks every bit like ‘A City in a Garden’, its new catch line, as high-rise buildings sport vertical greenery and rooftop gardens. Pedestrian bridges are lined with beautiful, colourful, flowering creepers. Singapore’s experience of transforming a small island with very little resources to a beautiful, thriving, vibrant, well-planned, clean and green city state forms the core of the increasing number of
country report exchanges and knowledge sharing exercises between Qatar and Singapore. Singapore offers many lessons for a country like Qatar that is on the cusp of development. Qatar has the unique advantage of ample resources and the luxury to adopt the latest technology and practices by learning from the mistakes of other countries. Singapore can share many success stories on how to make the best use of scarce resources. Qatar’s vision for development also imbibes the core philosophies of Education, Environment and Sustainability opening up scope for a thriving partnership. As Lui Tuck Yew, Transport Minister and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Singapore, sums it, the Middle-Eastern countries are trying to “distil what is it that makes Singapore work”. Some areas of interest are “urban planning and development, transportation, integrated planning, master planning, governance and Information Technology, capacity development, training and educating people, human resource policies, performance management and competitive pay”. Singapore’s relationship with Qatar took off after it set up an embassy in Doha in 2006. The ties have strengthened since then. Qatar is 16 times larger than Singapore and has much less population. “Both Governments are visionary. Every situation is unique and you adapt it to make it work for your country. The Qataris are doing that,” says Syed Noureddin Syed Hassim, Charge’ d’affaires, Singapore Embassy in Doha. High Level Political Interactions Qatar and Singapore have engaged politically through several visits from State heads and high level exchanges by government officials of both the countries. The Singapore-Qatar High Level Joint Committee (HLJC) was proposed by His Highness the Emir Sheikh Hamad Khalifa Al-Thani. The Joint Committee that meets annually is the main mechanism for overseeing bilateral co-operation. Several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) outlaying the broad areas of co-operation are signed during these meetings. The fifth HLJC was held in March 2012 at Doha under the co-chairmanship of His Highness Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and His Excellency Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs of the Republic of Singapore. Three MoUs in Information and Communication, Culture and Environment were signed during the visit. Singapore mooted the idea of establishing an Asia-Middle East Dialogue (AMED) in 2004 as part of its efforts to foster political, economic and cultural engagement between Asia and the Middle East. AMED has produced a number of initiatives including the Regional Training Centres for Public Administration (RTCPAs) in Jordan and Qatar. AMED consists of members from 50 participant countries in Asia and the Middle East. The ministerial
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The next step will come when we are able to ratify the Free Trade Agreement that we have signed with the GCC in 2008. It will be a step jump.” Lui Tuck Yew Transport Minister and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Singapore.
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Overview of Singapore economy 2011 GDP - S$326 billion ($ 260 billion)* *Source: Ministry of Trade & Industry Exchange rate - USD1=S$1.249
Manufacturing Construction
20%
4%
Transport and communications
11%
Finance and Insurance
11% 13%
Other Service Industries
13%
Chemicals
30%
16%
2011 GDP growth: 4.9% 2012 GDP growth forecast: 1% to 3% meeting is held biennially. Knowledge Sharing During the Singapore-Qatar Urban Planning forum, held in Singapore in 2010, the Qatari delegation shared Qatar’s future plans. In addition to high-level visits, senior officials from both countries also meet regularly and exchange ideas and latest developments in various fields. The Qatari delegation shared future plans providing an insight to their upcoming projects and developments. Qatar’s Central Ministerial council was invited by Singapore’s Ministry of National Development to see the country’s park management and waste management practices. Pillars of Co-operation Singapore is involved in a lot of capacity building and training exercises with Qatar. Singapore has trained Qatari personnel in various spheres such as civil defence and sports security. Singapore officials were invited to train the Qatari search and rescue group under the UN umbrella and get the certification. They are also trained to handle emergencies, fire etc. “Qatar was very supportive to build the new Interpol centre in Singapore,” said Syed. Qatar has pledged QR7.2 million ($2 million) for a new anti-crime centre Interpol Global Complex in Singapore which will be complete by 2014. “With the 2022 World Cup approaching, Singapore has also been playing an advisory role in sports security,” he said.
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8% Biomedical Engineeing
Precision Engineering
9% Electronics
36%
20%
Source: Department of Statistics, Singapore
billion (S$9.6 billion).
General Manufaturing
8%
12%
Manufacturing
QR27.84
2010 Total Output in Manufacturing Sector S$273 billion (US$200 billion)
9%
Wholesale and retail trade
Qatar was Singapore’s 3rd largest trading partner in the GCC (after Saudi Arabia and the UAE) with trade amounting to
Population 50767000 Land area 712 sqkm Population Growth rate 1.80%
Transport Engineering
Business Services
Others
General indicators
Source: The Census of Manufacturing Activities 2010
US$1=S$1.3007 (2011) US$1=S$1.3635(2010)
“Climate change is an important issue too. We are small countries with fairly large per capita emissions. Per capita emission is a false assumption and as we share similar concerns, we would like to take up this issue together,” added Syed. Tax treaties to provide a push In 2008, Singapore signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the GCC. It was an important milestone as Singapore is the first country to conclude an FTA with the GCC. This GSFTA will grant tariff-free access for about 99% of Singapore’s domestic exports to the region, while all GCC goods entering into Singapore will be granted tariff-free access. The GSFTA will also encourage a greater recognition of Singapore MUIS Halal standards in the six GCC countries. The GSFTA will come into force after it is ratified by all the GCC countries. Saudi Arabia has not yet ratified it. “Hopefully, when the Saudi ratifies the agreement, it will be a step jump in trade volumes. If we compare some of the previous free trade agreements that we signed- for example, the FTA with the US in 2004has brought a substantial increase in trade, ”says Lui Tuck Yew. In 2008, an agreement between Qatar and Singapore on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion turned effective. Under the agreement, the withholding tax rate on dividends will be zero percent. In addition, for dividends received by a Singapore resident company from a Qatar resident company, Singapore will allow a tax credit for the
country report Qatar tax paid on the portion of profit out of which the dividends are paid. Soaring Business Interests The extensive political engagements have widened the business interests for both the parties. The key business interests are in information technology, waste and water management technologies, marine support businesses, facility management and urban planning. In 2011, Qatar was Singapore’s 3rd largest trading partner in the GCC (after Saudi Arabia and the UAE). Bilateral trade between the two countries grew 23% to QR27.84 billion (S$9.6 billion) compared to QR22.7 billion (S$ 7.8 billion) in the previous year. Inbound business interests A number of Singaporean companies have entered the Qatari market. The prominent among them are Keppel, CPG, DP Architects, Jurong International, Port Authority of Singapore International, Surbana Corporation, Aqua Terra, Sembcorp, CrimsonLogic, Ascot International, Fraser Suites and Hyflux. “The list is not comprehensive but gives you a sense of our capabilities in some niche segments,” said Syed. To facilitate trade and business exchanges between the two countries IE Singapore and Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore have opened offices in Doha.
Out bound business interests In 2010, Singapore’s stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) from Qatar was QR1052.7 million (S$363 million). Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) purchased a 40% majority stake in Singapore’s iconic Raffles Hotel (worth QR1001 million ($275 million)) in April 2010. Several top companies such as QP, QTel, QAPCO and Qatar International Petroleum Marketing Company have made strategic investments in Singapore and have opened offices there to serve the ever growing East Asian Markets. Qtel brought Singapore company ST Telemedia’s stake in Indosat, Indonesia’s second largest mobile operator. Singapore is home to over 300 companies from the Middle East. Joint investments Singapore and Qatar are also working on investing together in other countries. “There are possibilities for us to make joint investments in third countries and we would like to see that happen too. For example, we have a number of projects in China and Vietnam, where there are opportunities for joint investments. In China, we are doing eco cities, up in Tianjin in the north. Our private sector is partnering Guangzhou to do a Knowledge City in the south. We believe that they are going to be good investments because Singapore entities are spearheading the developments in these places and calling for investments from countries as well as from top companies,” said Lui Tuck Yew
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Keppel Integrated Engineering
Creating sustainable living solutions
k
eppel Integrated Engineering (KIE) provides solutions and technologies for sustainable living by converting waste into reusable and valuable resources through its environmental engineering arm, Keppel Sehgers. KIE also offers an integrated range of expertise from facilities management and operations, district heating and cooling, to construction, fabrication and maintenance services for industrial structures and equipment. KIE is one of the few companies in the industry that provides a complete range of water and thermal technologies for municipal and industrial clients through Design-Build-Own-Operate (DBOO), BuildOperate-Transfer (BOT), Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) and Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) business models. KIE has operational offices in 12 countries, employing more than 3,000 staff worldwide. Keppel Sehgers’ scope of activity includes consultancy, design, engineering, technology development, construction, operations and maintenance of plants and facilities, as well as investments in large environmental projects. It is a specialist in the thermal treatment of residual waste through Waste-to-Energy
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(WTE) technology that generates green energy from waste and diverts waste from landfill by as much as 90% by reducing the volume of waste disposal. Having built over 350 plants worldwide, it is a leading player in the municipal, industrial and purification water markets. Keppel in Qatar Keppel’s presence in Qatar and the Middle East has strengthened ever since the company entered the region two decades ago. Known for its environmental engineering solutions, Keppel Sehgers has bagged two landmark projects in Qatar - The Domestic Solid Waste Management Centre (DSWMC) and Doha North Sewage Treatment Works (DNSTW). Keppel FMO, its facilities management arm, provides operations and maintenance services for the backbone infrastructure of Katara Cultural Village such as all electrical and mechanical systems, air-conditioning, water and irrigation systems, and maintenance of buildings, security, landscaping, pest control, cleanliness, logistics and event management. Keppel FMO has also provided facilities management services for Doha International Airport from 2006 to 2009. The DSWMC is a world-class project which integrates separation and recycling, composting and waste to energy processes. The plant is able to convert
country report
Keppel in Qatar Company
Client
Project
Order value
year awarded
Keppel Sehgers
Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning
Domestic Solid Waste Management Centre EPC and O&M contract for 20 years
QR3.9 billion
2006
Keppel Sehgers
Ashgal, Public Works Authority in Qatar
Doha North Sewage Treatment Works
QR3.6 billion
2007
Keppel FMO
Katara Cultural Village
Facilities Management for 5 years
QR150 million
2010
Keppel FMO
Doha International Airport
Facilities management
(not given)
2006-2009
Keppel FELS
Gulf Drilling International
To build 2 high specification jack up rigs
$393 million
2011 (Source: Company)
95% of the total incoming waste to recyclable products such as steel, aluminium and plastics, and compost and energy. Some 50 megawatt (MW) of energy is recovered by the plant from the waste-to-energy and composting processes. The plant is energy selfsufficient and is also able to export some 35 MW of excess power to the national grid as green power. The centre is designed, constructed and will also be operated and maintained for 20 years by Keppel Sehgers. Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) was Keppel’s strategic partner in the bid for the project. The DSWMC is currently operating at full capacity of around 2300 tonnes per day of mixed municipal waste, below the total amount of domestic municipal waste currently generated in Qatar which is about 2900 tonnes per day. “The projected waste volumes that were made prior to the commencement of the DSWMC project have been greatly exceeded due to the rapid population growth and an increase in the amount of waste generated per capita as a result of the rising standards of living in Qatar. Discussions are underway to expand the existing DSWMC to cater to the current and future waste arising over the next 10 years,” says Geoffrey Piggott, Regional Manager, MENA, Keppel Sehgers. Keppel Sehgers is also designing and constructing the large Doha North Sewage Treatment Plant for Ashgal and when completed, will operate and maintain it for 10 years. It is the largest greenfield waste water treatment project in the Middle East spanning 4km by 4km. At Doha North Sewage Treatment Plant, the plant will use high quality treated sewage effluent to offset desalinated water usage for landscaping, agriculture and industrial use thus promoting the sustained management of groundwater resources. The DNSTP will serve a population of over 900,000 with a peak design capacity to treat waste water upto 439,000 cubic metres per day. The facility will feature advanced biological treatment processes as well as membrane
and utra-violet technologies to produce high-quality reclaimed water for reuse. The facility will also be equipped with thermal drying processes to treat waste water sludge to international standards for safe disposal. Singapore’s water agency, PUB, well known for its excellent water management policies in Singapore, was Keppel’s strategic partner during the bid and is engaged as Keppel Seghers’ technological partner and consultant for Training and Testing & Commissioning. Water and energy sustainability The sustainable use of water and energy is a key issue for all countries but particularly those in the drier parts of the world including Qatar and its GCC neighbours. Because of the absence of surface water, depleting groundwater sources and higher saline content in groundwater sources, the desalination of seawater and ground water in these countries is the prime source of portable domestic, industrial and agricultural water. Desalination is an expensive process and hence there is a need to substitute desalinated water with more sustainable and energy efficient sources of water. “The challenges now and in the future relate mainly to improving energy efficiency and recovery rate of desalinated water by improvements in technologies and operations. In this respect, Keppel Sehger’s R&D teams are constantly driven to innovate and improve on viable solutions to adapt to market needs as well as help our customers meet their commercial goals,” says Geoffery. Qatar already has initiatives underway in many areas of sustainable environmental management. The use of recycled construction materials in the construction industry, domestic waste minimization and source separation of recyclables, energy efficient district cooling systems, green building design, technologies and operations, solar power and gas-to-liquids are some solutions that Qatar is working on
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Si n g a p o r e
Nakilat Keppel (N-KOM)
Qatar’s premier Shipyard
i
n a landmark agreement, the the world’s leading transporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Qatar Gas Transport Company (NAKILAT) and the global leader in ship repair, ship conversion and construction of offshore drilling rigs, Keppel Offshore & Marine, through its subsidiary, came together in 2007 to form a worldclass shipyard, Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM), in Qatar. Since it commenced commercial operations in 2010, the 43-hectare shipyard facility, strategically located in the Port of Ras Laffan, has leveraged on the strengths of its partners and brought an extensive range of offshore and marine services closer home. In addition to the captive business of servicing Nakilat’s LNG carriers, N -KOM has acquired a number of international repeat customers as well. Span of Business N-KOM provides ship repair, maintenance and dry docking facilities to a spectrum of vessels such as LNGs, LPGs, tankers, containers, VLCCs, jack-up rigs and offshore supply vessels (OSVs). The shipyard has completed over a hundred projects for various local and international clients to date. Local clients include Qatar Petroleum(QP) , QatarGas, Rasgas, Gulf Drilling International (GDI), Nak-
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ilat Svitzerwijsmuller (N-SVQ) ,Qatar Shipping and Occidental Petroleum. Customers such as STASCo (Shell), Maran Gas Maritime, MOL LNG Transport, NYK LNG Shipmanagement, “K”-Line Shipmanagement, Nissho Odyssey and OSG Shipmanagement are some of N-KOMs clients who have awarded multiple drydocking repair projects. In addition to servicing Nakilat’s fleet of LNG carriers, the shipyard facility has garnered a multitude of service agreements with various major fleet owners, including a three-year ship repair arrangement with Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCo). N-KOM has also entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gulf Drilling International (GDI) and letters of intent with Idemitsu Tanker, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, NYK Line, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Iino Lines and Marine Contracting Association, to provide shipyard and drydocking services for their vessels. Work is currently being done to complete expansion of the remaining phases of the Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard. For repairs of small ships under Phase 5, N-KOM will be undertaking the construction of a Handymax-sized floating dock. A second floating dock (Q-max sized) would be administered by QP as part of the Phase 2A development plan. The first has a
country report
lifting capacity of 6,500 tonnes, while the second has a lifting capacity of 80,000 tonnes. “These assets will help to enhance N-KOM’s flexibility and efficiency, to better accommodate the repair schedules of our customers,” says Abu Bakar Mohd Nor, CEO of N-KOM. Advanced capabilities In its quest to become a one-stop-shop for marine services, N-KOM is expanding its portfolio to include advanced capabilities. In January 2012, the yard secured coolant supply for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) vessels undergoing repairs at the yard. This facilitates the preparation of LPG vessels prior to cargo loading at the terminal. This arrangement not only enhances N-KOM’s position as a repair centre for LPG carriers but also bolsters the Port of Ras Laffan competitiveness as a one-stop cargo hub. N-KOMs capabilities now include global acoustic testing for membrane tanks and membrane servicing, for LNG carriers. To achieve this, it signed an agreement in March 2012 to collaborate with French engineering company Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT), a leader in LNG containment technology. “N-KOM will be enhancing its range of services in the near future to include fabrication and maintenance for land rigs, new buildings in the offshore industry (eg. for offshore platforms) as well as vessel conversion, leveraging on our parent company KOM’s renowned expertise and experience,” added Abu Bakar. In addition to marine business, N-KOM has also included industrial engineering and infrastructural support services for the local petrochemical and oil and gas industry within the Port of Ras Laffan and in Qatar. Strengths N-KOM’s key strengths are the complementary assets and capabilities of the parent companies – Nakilat’s comprehensive network and Keppel Offshore & Marine’s experience in a wide array of offshore and marine solutions. In addition, a strong supply chain with ready access to materials, equipment and skilled labour; strong relationships with the growing cluster
of marine and offshore vendors and agencies in Qatar, its extensive networks beyond the region and its well trained and experienced workforce are also advantages. There is a sustained effort to transfer knowhow and technologies from Keppel’s global network of yards to N-KOM. A large proportion of N-KOMs workforce has trained or worked at other Keppel yards. It is also expanding its competencies in the fabrication and construction of onshore structures. Various special equipment vendors have already set up base near N-KOM to support its LNG carrier repair activities. “They are all enthusiastic about being a part of the exciting, up-and-coming LNG supply chain in Qatar,” says Abu Bakar. Achievements N-KOM’s first project, the construction and commissioning of two dock gates, was done under challenging circumstances as the maritime industry was at a nascent stage. The project was completed safely and on time despite the hiccups. Simaisma, the first vessel to drydock at N-KOM and the first LNG carrier to dock in Qatar, was delivered ahead of schedule on 19 April 2011. For its strong performance, N-KOM was awarded an early delivery bonus from Maran Gas Maritime. Elaborating on NKOM’s achievements Abu Bakar says, “The shipyard had been nominated for the ‘Shipyard of the Year’ award at both prestigious awards ceremonies held by Lloyd’s List and SeaTrade, making it the only shipyard to be honoured within a year of its inauguration. These factors, along with the yard’s keen focus on safety and quality, make N-KOM a shipyard to be reckoned with in the region.” As Qatar emerges as the global leader in supply of LNG, the number of vessels stopping at this port is expected to increase to 4,000 per year by 2020. “N-KOM is well-positioned to provide crucial services to the rigs that form part of the supply chain in the Middle East. More than 50% of the world’s LNG carriers are already servicing in the Arabian Gulf. Many of these vessels are due for drydocking and general repairs in 2012-13,” says Abu Baker
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Si n g a p o r e
Raising Qatar’s IT profile Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
t
“The relationship is at a multiple level – first at the political level between high level government officials, second at the agency level – between IDA and ictQatar and the third is at the business level.” Umar Sheik Centre Director Middle East ida
he Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore has been a consistent partner in developing Qatar’s IT capabilities since 2006. ictQatar’s partnership with IDA has enabled knowledge sharing and implementation of a number of projects that has helped Qatar raise its IT profile. Qatar rose to number 27 in UN e-government Surveyin 2012 as against 90 in 2010. The survey placed Qatar at number nine in the e-Participation index for 2012. IDA and ictQatar signed their first MoU in 2006 and since then IDA has collaborated with Qatar on a number of prestigious projects such as the e-Schoolbag pilot project, The Qatar Customs Clearance Single Window (QCCSW), Business Setup Services, Hukoomi eGovernment Portal and Qatar Services Platform. These eGovernment projects have reduced procedural hassles and made getting government clearances considerably faster and efficient. Commenting on the scope for collaboration between the two countries, IDA Middle East Centre Director, Umar Sheik says, “The relationship is at a multiple level – first at the political level between high level government officials, second at the agency level-between IDA and ictQatar and the third is at the business level.” Recently in March 2012, IDA and ictQatar signed their fourth MoU to strengthen collaboration between the two countries in ICT with focus on eGovernment, cyber security, ICT development and ICT manpower development. According to Umar the collaboration has a three-pronged approach – “Government, business and people”. Government Being the master planner behind Singapore’s ICT landscape, IDA has helped Qatar shape its ICT plan. “We share our National Plan for various sectors and share ideas on projects that we have executed in Singapore and other countries. In Singapore, our first
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master plan was e-government, which is putting services online. Our second master plan is integrated development, making sure we integrate five services into one service. Now we are moving towards collaborative government. We work with the citizens to create services. For example, the government has a lot of raw data like population statistics etc. We make this available to the public so that they can create services out of it,” says Sheik.In February 2011, the two agencies entered into a strategic collaboration to provide ICT and eGovernment consultancy services. “IDA also shares openly the problems associated with connectivity, such as managing undesirable sites. In Singapore we realised that we cannot control every click, so we created awareness and education in schools and for parents,” he says. “In the infrastructure space, Singapore is sharing its experience in areas such as inteliigent transport management systems (ITMS) and port management systems. We are talking of integrating the entire transport system like traffic lights, enforcement, control centres etc,” says Sheik. Business From a business perspective, one area of interest is, “how to leverage cloud technology”. “For example, cost is a challenge for SME’s. To overcome this challenge, all services and systems such as HR system, financial control, point of sales etc. can be put up on cloud. A business enterprise can pay a monthly subscription and use the services just like one would pay for and use utilities. You don’t have to invest in people or systems. We deal with the industry to make sure the service is available to businesses,” says Sheik. People Manpower development is another key area of collaboration. In March 2011, IDA International and ictQatar facilitated a Senior Leadership Workshop in Singapore to understand how Singapore Government has planned and implemented ICT initiatives in Government
country report
ncs
Wiring the nation
n
CS is a Singapore-based leading vendor-independent IT and communications engineering solutions provider with over 8,000 staff in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. Established in the early 1980s as the principal IT solutions provider to the Singapore government in the computerisation of the country’s public administration, NCS has helped implement over 2,000 large-scale, mission-critical, and multi-platform projects. Today, NCS is the largest IT service provider in Singapore by market share, with an annual turnover exceeding S$1 billion and presence, together with SingTel, in 22 countries located throughout Asia Pacific, Australia, China, Europe and USA. Commenting on the business potential in Qatar, NCS (Middle East), Regional Director, C. S. Vallikanth says, “We believe we may be able to draw from our experience in the domain and be in a position to add significant value to the various ICT initiatives and transformation exercises that Qatar is engaged in and working towards.” NCS in the Middle East NCS established its Middle East operations in 2006 and since then have been engaged in projects in most of the GCC countries. In Qatar, the company has been involved in e-Government projects and Intelligent Building projects for private real-estate developers. NCS has helped implement over 2,000 large-scale, mission-critical, and multi-platform projects for clients from a cross-section of industry verticals, both from the public and private sector. In Qatar, the company has a business development presence and has project specific resources based in Qatar. NCS’ large array of services include consulting, applications development, IT infrastructure and outsourcing services such as business recovery, call centre services, data centre management and hosting, internet services, infrastructure services, communications and network integration, communications engineering and IT security services More recently, NCS is focusing on incorporating mobility, social media, portal management and business intelligence in project implementations as well.
Notable Projects Some notable projects executed in the Middle East include the Hukoomi Portal for ICT Qatar, Ubar Portal for ITA Oman, Smart Building Consultancy for Ministry of Higher Education, Saudi Arabia, Intelligent Building Consultancy and Implementation projects for a leading private developer in the UAE. “Currently, we are in various stages of implementation of both real-estate technology and Business Application System (BAS) projects across the GCC. Among them are the Intelligent Building project at Al Jassimya Towers, Doha, Qatar, Gate Control and Access Control System for a major oil & gas engineering MNC at Qatar, Portal Application for a Government Ministry in Oman,” says Vallikanth. NCS carried out ICT implementation for the Bahrain World Trade Centre, the Kingdom’s first hightech commercial complex. At Al Jassimya Towers, NCS crafted a comprehensive seamlessly integrated solution that will help Al Jassimya administer, monitor, automate, manage and control all the systems and applications when completed. The systems integrated include data and network Infrastructure, integrated security system, car park management system, intelligent building management system, multimedia systems for conference and meeting rooms. The system implemented uses state-of-the-art technologies and context-sensitive business processes that are triggered on a real time basis. Growth Prospects Talking about NCS’s growth prospects in the Middle East, Vallikanth says, “In general, we believe the GCC to be a high potential market. ICT spend in the GCC countries are expected to reach $180 billion by 2015, growing at a rate of 8-10% per annum. This is largely driven by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which account for 50% and 25% respectively of total spending. Qatar is a very important market for us where ‘infrastructure-related’ spend is estimated at $600 billion ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup – $44 billion in transport and $12 billion in accommodation related spend. Given this business landscape in the region, we will be focusing predominantly on communication engineering solutions like real estate technology solutions, airport solutions and business application solutions in the eGovernment space.”
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“NCS has helped implement over 2,000 large-scale, missioncritical, and multiplatform projects for clients from a crosssection of industry verticals, both from the public and private sector. C. S. Vallikanth Regional Director NCS (Middle East)
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United Falcon Qatar
A fitting partnership
u
nited Falcon is an interior fit-out company that makes customised and contract furniture for hospitality and retail projects in Qatar. Qatar is an important business partner for this Singapore based company as one of its two manufacturing bases are in Qatar, indicating the significant growth potential in the region. Over the last five years, the company has recorded high double digit growth rates year-on-year. United Falcon LLC is a joint venture between Abu Issa Holding, Qatar and the Falcon Group, Singapore. The Falcon Group holds 49% stake in the company and the rest is held by Abu Issa Holding, the local partner. Set-up in 2009, the operation comprises a 2,500 sq mt factory with about 100 employees. International venture Established in 2002, Falcon Incorporation Pte Ltd (Falcon) specialises in turnkey interior construction and furnishing projects that encompasses the whole spectrum of interior decoration services The company has successfully executed projects and contracts across Singapore, Brunei, Spain, Vietnam, Qatar, Ukraine, Hawaii, and Russia. Its distinct craftsmanship, turnkey project management expertise and uncompromising standard of quality have earned it the respect and trust of its clients. Besides contract furniture, Falcon also produces and exports a full range of home furniture to over 10 countries in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, USA and Asia Pacific. Headquartered in Singapore, it has over 46,000 sq mt of production facilities in Hanoi, Vietnam and 2,500 sq m in Doha. Falcon’s factories are equipped with the latest advanced wood working machinery from Germany, Italy and Japan and employs state of the art production processes. The company complies with the USA Lacey Act by sourcing raw materials and timber from suppliers who are green sustainable or FSC certified. All other raw materials including glue, lacquer and medium density fibre board and plywood meet the European Formaldehyde Regulation Class E1 standards. The company is embarking on more environmental initiatives and has completed an R&D for produc-
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ing thermoplastic material from wood wastes to substitute timber and plywood. Some of its clients in the hospitality segment include Hyatt Hotel, Marriott Hotel, InterContinental Hanoi, Westlake, Orchard Hotel Singapore and Pacific Place Serviced Apartments. Business Prospects Falcon is present in the high end luxury segment. It caters mainly to luxury hotels – four-star and above and chic boutique hotels, serviced apartments and retail boutiques for luxury brands. The hospitality segment is one of the fastest growing segments for the company in the Middle East besides oil and gas. Currently, the company derives a small part of its revenues from hospitality projects but is gradually moving towards the growing hospitality sector as its strengths are in this segment. Internationally, the Falcon group is present in both business segments – products and projects. At present the focus in Qatar is on projects but the company plans to bring in products to the market eventually. The factory in Qatar serves as the company’s only base in the Middle East. It mainly caters to customised wood works and furniture assembly for projects in Qatar and the Middle East. The local needs are met by a combination of imported finished furniture and production and assembly of semi-finished furniture and carpentry works for projects. Commenting on the company’s growth prospects, Falcon Group, Executive Chairman, Low Heng Huat said, “In spite of economic volatility and regional unrest in the Middle East, we are committed to our investment in Qatar. We still see good business potential in Qatar and the region. And, having a good local partner is certainly an important factor. We are now expanding and have recently completed our second production facility in Qatar to ready ourselves for a bigger share of the market.” Abu Issa Holding, JV partner, United Falcon Qatar, Deputy Chairman, Nabil Abu Issa said, “We have a happy and successful partnership with Falcon in Qatar. Our JV business is growing steadily over the last three years and we are positive about tis further growth and development in Qatar and our neighbouring region.”
country report
DP Architects
Designing Sustainable Landscapes
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P Architects is a Singaporebased architectural and design firm that provides a range of services from architecture, urban planning, and interior design to project management. Catering across segments from mass-market to ultra-high end, DP Architects specialises in the design and delivery of large-scale mixed use developments with retail, commercial and residential components. Their track record in tertiary institutions such as hospitality developments and urban infrastructure, like metro stations, is also very strong. The company has entered Qatar with two landmark projects – the Doha Festival City and Seef Lusail. The company has been instrumental in master planning and designing some of the aesthetic urban spaces in Singapore such as the Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay, Resorts World Sentosa, Suntec City, Orchard Road – a shopping paradise and Singapore Sports Hub. In the Middle East, the firm has been operating since 2005. Their key projects in the region include The Dubai Mall, The Address at Dubai Marina, Doha Festival City, Dilmunia Health City in Bahrain and The Eighth Gate in Damascus. Expertise Founded in Singapore in 1967, DP Architects has over 1200 staff and 12 offices worldwide. It has evolved into an industry-leading, multi-disciplinary design practice that operates as DP Architects group of companies: DP Consultants, DP Design, DP Engineers, DP Green and DP Infrastructure complement DP Architects to provide a comprehensive range of consultancy services. While the consultancy groups are based at the company’s headquarters in Singapore, each performs as an internal resource for designers in twelve offices in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates. Projects in Qatar In 2010, the company entered Qatar with two prestigious projects – Doha Festival City and Seef Lusail. Doha Festival City, scheduled for completion in 2014, is a QR6 billion mega retail complex initiated by Bawabat Al Shamal Real Estate Company WLC (BASREC). The interior design is done by DP Architects and Arab Engineering Bureau (AEB) is the appointed project architect.
The design is inspired by nature and the elements of wind, water, wood and earth. The design concept brings the various ambiences and atmospheres of Mother Nature into a mall environment and re-interprets the elements in novel forms. Doha Festival City, an upcoming new retail and entertainment hub in Qatar with a site area of 433,847 sq m. Within the retail loops there will be four distinct interior zones – water concourse, garden promenade, rainforest broadwalk and fashion galleria. The four zones offer different experiences for shoppers. Seef Lusail is a 600,000 sqmt mixed-used development located at the waterfront of Lusail City, that celebrates the cultural and geographical heritage of Qatar and the region. Set along a 2.3 km waterfront promenade, Seef Lusail brings together retail malls, hotels and residences, recreational and cultural attractions. The design will also take into consideration the climate in Qatar, in order to have a lively and active waterfront all year long. Sustainability efforts Green concepts are an integral part of the company’s design process. DPA’s Environmentally Sustainable Design department comprises architects, Green Mark professionals, environmental engineers and building scientists who work closely with design architects and engineers to provide innovative green solutions. The design process of Seef Lusail takes into account numerous environmentally sustainable features that enhance the sustainability of its buildings, such as district cooling, pneumatic waste collection and park-and-ride systems. Its deep integration with public transportation is taken a step further by the proposal of a climate-controlled pedestrian network that connects the buildings to the Light Rail Transit (LRT) stations and the waterfront promenade. Rigorous environmental analysis will be carried out to ensure that the all-season thermal comfort in the pedestrian network can be achieved with minimal energy consumption. The proposed solutions borrow from climate-mitigation features in the local architectural heritage. The design team is also working closely with local partners and planners to ensure that the master plan is compliant with QSAS (Qatar’s standard for sustainability) guidelines. The Doha Festival City Project which is a large mixed use project comprising retail, entertainment and hospitality is also working towards compliance with QSAS guidelines
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Seef Lusail is a 600,000 sqmt mixed-used development located at the waterfront of Lusail City, that celebrates the cultural and geographical heritage of Qatar and the region.
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Qatar Today 89
Education today
The road to education With the government investing heavily on a world-class education system, Qatar is becoming a leading player in the field of knowledge and innovation.
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he Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV) was charted out to provide the country a framework within which national strategies and implementation plans could be carried out to build an advanced society capable of sustaining its development. Knowing that an economy’s development relies heavily on its human capital, the QNV enshrined ‘human development’ as one of the core pillars with an aim to prepare today’s youth as the leaders and innovators of tomorrow. For this, the country has spearheaded the creation of a world-class educational system that provides citizens with equal opportunities to train themselves with the necessary tools to be part of an increasingly challenging labour market. The need to impart good quality education was also echoed by HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser during the 2011 edition of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) that was held in the Qatar National Convention Centre. Launched in 2009, the annual summit aims to transform education by highlighting its role in global development, and by fostering innovative
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thinking and practices. “I am a strong believer in the power of education and the ability of education to transform the lives of individuals and societies. Education also involves multi-dimensional issues. Imagine how much goodquality education can achieve in teaching the tools of critical thinking and problem solving to our youth. It instills in them the confidence that they need to reach out to others and, at the same time, to be confident and secure within. Also it helps them to be proud of their identities, their heritage and their culture. Quality education can enable our individuals and our youth to be empowered economically,” HH Sheikha Moza was quoted during an interview held as part of the plenary session ‘Changing Societies, Changing Education’ at the WISE 2011. According to Her Highness, education is not getting the respect or the attention that it deserves for which the WISE Prize and the WISE Awards were created in order to give visibility to education needs and to those working to meet those needs. “WISE is a 21st-century platform where innovative ideas and best practices can come
Education today
together and be explored. WISE is also a multisectoral platform where NGOs and governmental entities, experts, businesses, parents and individuals can come together, exchange ideas and learn from each other. I think WISE can offer a lot as we utilise it and gear it towards our needs,” she added. Education reforms The Qatar National Development Strategy for 2011-2016 highlights the need of incorporating a comprehensive and integrated education and training system that spans early childhood education, higher level education and additional training while also stressing establishing stronger links between education and Qatar’s labour market. In fact, prior to the QNDS, Qatar had already taken major steps to reach the goals of its education sector. First it was the Education for a New Era reforms which began after the Supreme Education Council was established in 2002 where school autonomy, variety in curriculum, parental choice and accountability measures were incorporated in the K-12 education system. In 2003, Qatar University had also implemented a successful reform programme that included raising standards and grades, increasing student engagement and improving teaching quality and staff morale to meet the needs of a new generation of Qataris in support of Qatar’s economic and social development.
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Knowledge hub Another major milestone in the education system reforms of Qatar was the founding of Qatar Foundation (QF) in 1995 by the decree of HH Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa AlThani, Emir of Qatar, to support centres of excellence which develop people’s abilities through investments in human capital and innovative technology, and partnerships with gloabl organisations. QF’s flagship project – the Education City – has continued to expand over the past decade, with the establishment of several top-class international universities that are strengthening Qatar’s efforts in providing innovative education and research. This international conglomerate of elite universities now comes under the umbrella of an integrated centre of academic excellence – the Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). HBKU currently consists of nine academic centres offering a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes: Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar; Texas A&M University at Qatar; Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar; Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar; Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar; Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies; Northwestern University in Qatar; HEC Paris in Qatar; University College London in Qatar. QF is also in talks with Harvard Law School’s (HLS) Institute for Global
Law and Policy (IGLP) as part of an initiative of HBKU to establish a graduate law school in Qatar. Heavy investments According to the QNDS 2011-16, the share of government spending on education has grown significantly over the years and now exceeds the average for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries and for all Gulf Cooperation Council countries except Saudi Arabia. As per Qatar’s general budget for the fiscal 2012-13, an amount of QR22 billion has been allocated for the education sector which indicates a 14 % increase compared to last year. Qatar has also encouraged a research culture within its education system to develop homegrown solutions for Qatar and the region. In 2006, HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani announced that Qatar would invest 2.8% of its GDP (QR13 billion annually) on government-funded research – the highest in the world. As the government continues to invest heavily in the field of education and research, Qatar is fast emerging as a hub for world-class education. Moreover, it aims to fulfill the QNV of creating a knowledgebased economy-one that will be sustainable even after the gradual depletion of the oil and gas resources that the country is blessed with at present
Education today
University of Calgary - Qatar Creating leaders in nursing The University of Calgary – Qatar (UC-Q) provides students with an innovative blend of world-class Canadian nursing education combined with respect for local traditions, customs and religion.
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he UC-Q opened and accepted its first students in September 2007. In June 2010, it celebrated its inaugural convocation, graduating 24 professional nurses equipped with excellent education and practical skills that they are now using in the healthcare system in Qatar. Classes are taught by Canadian-educated professors who are accomplished nurse leaders. Nursing students who attend the UC-Q meet the same rigorous Canadian and international standards. UC-Q’s vision has been to enrich health and wellness in Qatar and the Gulf region through world-class education of nursing leaders and practitioners. The mission is to excel in the education of nurses who will become renowned for excellence in practice; the preparation of nurse leaders who will contribute to the development of the emerging healthcare system; and research and educational initiatives that will contribute to health and wellness. The University offers cutting-edge research and educational initiatives that advance health science and community well-
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ness. The programmes are designed to help students succeed as they earn their Bachelor of Nursing Degree and become tomorrow’s healthcare professionals. Students have the opportunity to participate in fully-funded research projects. They have access to state-of-the-art technology in the University’s advanced simulation and clinical laboratories which offers them opportunities for hands-on learning. Students apply their theoretical knowledge and practical skills in practicum at Qatar’s leading hospitals and clinics. UC-Q offers the following programmes: Bachelor of Nursing Regular Track and Diploma in Nursing. Both of these programmes are for high school graduates or students who have studied in another subject area at another post-secondary institution. Bachelor of Nursing Post-Diploma for working nurses who already hold a recognised Diploma in Nursing. Foundation Programme for students to upgrade their english, math and science backgrounds to enter the Diploma or Bachelor of Nursing programmes
Education today
CMU-Q
Preparing a generation of thinkers With more than a century of academic excellence and distinguished research, Carnegie Mellon University is a leader in education with real-world applications.
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n 2004, Qatar Foundation invited Carnegie Mellon to join Education City, a groundbreaking centre for scholarship and research that is the ideal complement to the University’s mission and vision. Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) – like all Carnegie Mellon campuses globally – is founded on the firm belief that through the encouragement of scientific inquiry and the promotion of practical preparedness, Carnegie Mellon can provide a generation of thinkers, business leaders, researchers and scientists that will change the world. Core values of innovation, creativity, collaboration and problem solving provide the foundation for everything the University does. In 2004, Qatar Foundation invited Carnegie Mellon to join Education City, a groundbreaking centre for scholarship and research that is the ideal complement to the university’s mission and vision. Aligned with Qatar Foundation’s mission to develop the country’s youth to become leaders and innovators, Carnegie Mellon implements its curriculum by maintaining the academic standards, values and principles of the home campus, delivering metacurricular programmes that suitable suitably reflect the ethos of Education City. Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) offers five undergraduate degree programmes: biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science and information systems. The university’s graduates are highly sought-after by regional and international organisations, and many. Carnegie Mellon Qatar graduates are working at companies like Google, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, GE and other Fortune 500 companies. The University is also now offering key programmes in executive and professional education. Designed for professionals who
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want to improve skills that are critical to good management, these programmes equip organisations organisations and their leadership with the tools needed for success. Some of the topics covered in the three-day courses include organisational leadership, business strategy and tactics, and the art and science of negotiation. Carnegie Mellon is proud to be a part of such a significant movement to transform Qatar into a leading knowledge-based economy, and to be a part of Qatar Foundation’s drive to equip the country’s population with the skills to get there. The programmes that we offered at our the Education City campus frame our CMUQ’s commitment to the Qatar 2030 National Vision, and are aligned with the country’s fundamental pillars of developing people, society, the economy
and the environment. Much of our the research work embodies the principles of the national vision. The university has a rich research programme – for its students as well as its faculty. Researchers at CMU-Q are actively engaged in developing the technology of tomorrow, by expanding in the fields of research and training. Researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar are actively engaged in developing the technology of tomorrow, by expanding in the fields of research and training. Some of the research projects include CMU-Q’s Qri8 lab, in collaboration with the National Robotics Engineering Centre, which explores the use of robotics technology to improve safety and production in the oil and gas industry. Another significant research project is Human Language Technologies research on natural language processing, including using statistical machine translation to expand Arabic language content available on the Internet. The Carnegie Mellon Air Quality Monitoring Station will be the first air quality monitoring station in Qatar, which will measure and make data available to public and academia. Carnegie Mellon is also working hard on research relating to cloud computing, education, robotics, business process design and engineering, innovation-driven entrepreneurship, next-generation wireless networks, and information security. Consistently top ranked, Carnegie Mellon has more than 11,000 students, 90,000 alumni and 5,000 faculty and staff globally. In Qatar, students from 39 different countries enroll at the world-class facilities in Education City, affording them a truly diverse and unique multi-cultural experience. Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar is committed to delivering a first quality education, to foster research creativity and discovery and aims to serve society
Education today
CNA-Q
A Leader in Technical Education Opened in 2002, College of the North Atlantic-Qatar is a world-class comprehensive technical college offering internationally recognised programmes of study.
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ollege of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) is a studentcentered technical institution that was launched as a partnership between the Qatar and College of the North Atlantic, Canada, to help provide the educational base for the future of the State of Qatar. Incorporating the very best of Canadian technical education, CNA-Q’s programmes are built on meeting the demand for a competent workforce. Providing training in a range of technical areas including Business Studies, Health Sciences, Engineering Technology and Information Technology, CNA-Q is committed to excellence in teaching and the provision of leading edge facilities. CNA-Q’s campus consists of 21 buildings, all linked by courtyards and walkways. It features state-of-the-art computer systems, industrial workshops and laboratories. Each programme area has dedicated buildings to accommodate their own specialty shops, labs and equipment. With 248 graduates in 2012, CNA-Q currently has 3,000 alumni.
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CNA-Q students put their training to test each year during the CNA-Q Skills Competition where they are given real-life scenarios, from designing a website, to working on an inter-disciplinary health-care team. In 2012, the competition welcomed health sciences competitors from local schools including the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar and Qatar University. In 2013, it will be expanded further as students from the Qatar Independent Technical School participate in the Technician Preparatory Programme competitions. CNA-Q enables learning in an environment of culturally appropriate values and is dedicated to preparing students to meet the challenges of tomorrow. The programmes offered are modeled for employability success, and with valuable inputs from industry and business advisory committees, design and delivery of appropriate training is ensured. With approximately 80% of the students sponsored by government agencies and private companies, students learn trades that are needed in today’s workforce
Education today
SFS-Q
Strengthening international affairs The Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Q) has made major strides towards its goal of becoming a reference point for international affairs in the region since opening in Qatar.
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he new era of fluid international affairs requires a deep understanding of the complex confluence of multi-lateral agendas and forces that form the centre of the international order. But an even bigger requirement of this redefined world is a new generation of leaders who are not just equipped with thorough knowledge of local communities but who combine it with a global outlook, seamlessly. With an unparalleled history, as well as resources in Washington, D.C., and Doha, the School of Foreign Service (SFS) at Georgetown University remains one of the world’s foremost institutions for the study of international affairs. This devotion to producing leaders of global repute has been a hallmark of SFS since 1919. The establishment of the Qatar campus (SFS-Q) in 2005 continues a long history of engagement in the Middle East. More than three decades ago, Georgetown University became the first in the United States to establish a research centre dedicated to the Arab world. Last year, a dedicated 40,000 square meter premises with state-of-theart auditorium, immersive classroom instruction facilities and an impressive library were opened to not only serve as a permanent home for one of Qatar’s most significant educational institutes, but as a promising focal point for adding vibrancy to the culture across the country.
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Exciting opportunities At SFS-Q, students have the opportunity to major in International Economics, International Politics or Culture & Politics, and follow the footsteps of such stalwart students as former US president Bill Clinton or the former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright. Students of Culture and Politics explore the construction of cultural and political identity, and how that construction shapes and informs people’s outlooks, perceptions and beliefs, while International Politics majors have the opportunity to look at the principal building blocks of international relations by learning how state and non-state actors cooperate and compete on political, security, and strategic issues. SFS-Q’s latest major, the International Economics features courses on international trade, international finance, economic development, and globalization, as well as macro-economics and micro-economics, acquire the skills required to understand globalised and interconnected markets. Students can also receive certificates in American Studies, or Arab and Regional Studies. These programmes allow students to gain a deeper understanding on a particular region of the world. There are a variety of clubs and organisations in which students can get involved. The International Relations Club runs an annual Model United Nations conference that brings more than 300 high-school students from around the world to Doha. Stu-
dent volunteers manage and staff the Hoya English Language Program (HELP)-teaching English as a second language to workers in Doha. Students also participate in sports including men’s and women’s soccer, basketball and cricket. From the undergraduate academic experience and research-work to community engagement through programmes such as the Georgetown Pre-college Summer (GPS), the activities in the areas of educational excellence traverse a broad range. SFS-Q’s contribution to the evolving international affairs and foreign policy practices was recognised earlier in 2012 when Georgetown University was ranked as number one and among the top 10 for its master’s and fifth for its undergraduate programmes in international relations by the Institute for the Theory and Practice of International Relations at The College of William and Mary. In the TRIP survey, Georgetown University ranked fifth, trailing only Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and Columbia, for the best university in the US for an undergraduate student to study international relations. As notion of powerful and powerless change in the region ever-more swiftly, SFS-Q will continue to empower more students in the Middle East to effectively confront this rapidly changing world, but also contribute to the emerging needs of teaching and researching in international affairs that these historic and recent changes have necessitated
Education today
NU-Q
Creating media professionals Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) trains students to become journalists and communications professionals and specialises in combining the traditions of the media profession with digital competence.
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ince its establishment in 2008, NU-Q has helped lay the foundation for a vibrant media scene in the country through its Journalism and Communication programmes. The Journalism programme which focuses on print, broadcast and multimedia journalism, leads to a Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree awarded by Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. Meanwhile, the Communication programme delves into the areas of communication theory, cinematography, media industries, technologies and practices, and leads to a Bachelor of Science in Communication degree awarded by Northwestern’s School of Communication. “Through our courses, we want our students to have a hands-on capacity to work as professionals but we also want them to understand the larger context of media and how media is changing,” says Dr Everette E Dennis, Dean and CEO, NUQ. “Assuming that nothing that exists today is forever, 10 years from now the media landscape will be totally different, so our students need to
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be versatile and flexible in order to grapple with the changes and be effective as professionals and leaders.” Arab focus In addition to the regular journalism and communications curriculum, NUQ is also offering a lot of specialised work in Middle East studies so that students get well grounded in the region. “We have been especially influenced by the Arab spring,” said Dennis. “We want to be self-consciously aware of what’s happening in this region of the world and how our students can learn about it and participate. They have already covered parts of the Arab spring through documentaries and plays. There is a lot of ferment here where our students want to take advantage of a unique moment in history.” NUQ had launched the Arab language initiative last year to encourage students to learn Arabic. “Most of the students have some capacity in Arabic or any other language, but they are not necessarily proficient. We think to be effective in this region
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and elsewhere it is important to be bilingual. “We’ve hired new faculty who are fluent Arab speakers and writers as students do many projects in both languages, including an award-winning film this year. We are concerned with strengthening the Arabic capacity of our students,” said Dennis. Nurturing future leaders NUQ is known for its highly competitive overall acceptance rate of 25% with only the very best of students making the cut. “We are looking for students who have a passion for learning, writing and being communicators. They need to be hardworking as this is a complex and demanding field. They need to have a sense of adventure about being a part of this career,” said Dennis. This year marked a milestone for NUQ as the first batch of journalism students graduated in an inaugural commencement ceremony at the Qatar National Convention Centre on May 9. “The students of the first batch are pioneers,” said Dennis. “When they had signed up for NUQ, NUQ was only an idea not a reality. They took a chance even when NUQ didn’t have a faculty, a staff, a building or classrooms. But by the time they began their first academic year in the autumn of 2008, this had changed. They
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have been a part of the growth of NUQ. These students were very articulate and smart. They are passionate about change and being part of bringing change in the world. We are very fortunate to have them as our founding class.” For the 2012-2013 academic year, NUQ witnessed a 36% rise in applications overall and an 18% rise in Qatari applicants which indicates a great deal of interest among local students to pursue a career in media, and NUQ is taking all measures to keep the figures rising. “We have a summer institute for high school students to get acquainted to the field of media. Our admissions department visits school locally in Qatar as well as in the region. We have co-sponsored annual film festival that brings in high school students from all over the world. We have a career fair where local media is invited to come and talk to students.” Future plans NUQ plans to introduce new courses in specialised areas such as science journalism and political science. “We also plan to introduce an integrated Masters Degree programme and are exploring the possibility of a post doctoral programme that would attract people who finished their doctorate and want to spend a year in teaching or re-
search at NUQ,” added Dennis. NUQ is also keen on expanding its faculty – Dr Khaled Hroub of the University of Cambridge will be joining the faculty of NUQ later this year. “Students will get a chance to work with people who are well connected in the world of research and practical media. Lot of them write books, teach, do research, they write columns in newspapers, they contribute in magazines; they are exemplars for what we want our students to be: multifaceted and to be able to think more deeply and broadly.” NUQ aims for its students to contribute to the growing and robust media industry in Qatar in the future. “At NUQ, we aim to achieve a talent pool to help create a knowledge based economy. We also hope to train people for managerial or leadership roles. We are engaged in a lot of research about the role of media in the Middle East which we hope will help in the Qatar National Vision 2030 plans to produce talent for the cluster economies in Qatar such as the media sector, cultural sector, healthcare, sports, and finance. “We want to understand how our programmes can, in some way, support these economies. We want to see media organisations develop even more and perhaps have a creation of a Media City in Doha.”
Education today
Qatar University
Committed to higher education Since its inception in 1977, Qatar University (QU) has provided world-class undergraduate and graduate programmes that prepare competent graduates primed to shape the future of Qatar.
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atar University (QU) is the primary national institution of higher education in the state of Qatar. The university community has a diverse and committed faculty who teach and conduct research which addresses relevant local and regional challenges, advances knowledge, and contributes actively to the needs and aspirations of society. With nearly 8,000 students and a 13:1 student teacher ratio, the university serves as a beacon for higher education and academic excellence. Underpinning this commitment is the goal to align its colleges, programmes and courses with established international standards and best practices. As such, departments across the university have embarked on or are undertaking the endorsement of numerous leading international accrediting bodies. Most recent successes include the College of Arts and Science’s BSc and MSc Environmental Science programmes. In the College of Engineering, seven Bachelor degree pro-
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grammes have gained accreditation by the Engineering and Computing Commissions of ABET Inc. In June 2012, QU’s College of Pharmacy became the first institution outside of Canada to receive recognition from the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada. International accreditation for its undergraduate courses is now in its final stage. The College of Education contributes to shaping the future of education in the state of Qatar through committed development of initiatives designed to meet the country’s goals towards education reform. Its position was further strengthened by gaining the prestigious International Recognition in Teacher Education (IRTE) in 2011, making it one of only two higher education institutions in the GCC and MENA region to be so recognised. Meanwhile, QU is continuing its journey towards institutional accreditation through its Itimad project. Unique programmes With over 60 specialisations, QU offers the widest range of academic programmes in
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the state of Qatar and tailors them to meet the ever-changing needs of Qatari society. This portfolio of courses is continually expanding. New programmes launched include a Masters in Gulf Studies - the first of its kind in the region and only the second in the world; a Masters in Accounting, Masters in Philosophy and Environmental Sciences and PhDs in Engineering and Pharmacy. New for this semester will be two Masters Programmes launched by the College of Sharia and Islamic studies – Quaranic Sciences and Exegesis and Fiql and Usul al Fiql. Also beginning this autumn, the College of Engineering will offer Masters’ programmes in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. One programme which has proved very popular since its start last year is the BSc in Sport Science. The first of its kind in Qatar
and in the Gulf, this is a triad collaboration comprising QU, Aspire Academy and the Qatar Olympic Committee and is geared towards meeting the needs of the Qatari society and the state’s burgeoning position as the “sporting capital of the world”. Throughout their time at the university, students’ active participation in shaping their own education is encouraged. A successful example of this is the College of Law’s Domestic Violence project. This was established last year as a result of a female student’s committed interest in family violence in Qatar which sparked enthusiasm in her colleagues to learn about the legal, social, and relational aspects of family violence. Male and female students have been involved in drafting a law and action plan on the issue to submit to national policymakers. QU continues to build and sustain an
academic environment where students and faculty are encouraged to incorporate research as an integral part of the teaching and learning process. For the academic year 2011/2012, the total amount of external research funds reached QR728 million ($200 million), while in the fifth round of the National Priorities Research Program (NRRP), QU was awarded QR197 million ($54million) in grants. Arguably one of QU’s strongest features is its close inter-relationship with its surrounding society and adapting its methods to the changes in the social framework. The university is proud of its growing network of partnerships of mutual benefit with business, industry, academia and civil society which ensure that students at QU receive a world-class education and that they are appropriately trained to help lead Qatar into the future
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Education today
UCL Qatar
Discovering Cultural heritage Dr Karen Exell, Lecturer in Museum Studies at UCL Qatar, discusses the opening of University College London in Doha, it’s portfolio of cultural heritage-related Master’s degree programmes, and why a career in the museums sector should be considered.
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itizens and residents alike cannot help but notice the phenomenal Museum of Islamic Art, occupying its prime position along Doha’s Corniche. One may also be quick to discover that it doesn’t end there. Qatar is in the midst of a boom in its cultural heritage sector, with many more museums planned to open in the coming years. At a time when so much emphasis is on future development, this acknowledgement and recognition of Qatar’s own cultural heritage is essential for its preservation. Now, with Qatar laying genuine claims to being the cultural centre of the region, lies an opportunity to further demonstrate the importance of cultural heritage as a discipline, and help train and educate a new generation to deliver these grand ambitions. UCL Qatar, part of the Hamad Bin Khalifa University, will deliver Masters programmes in archaeology, conservation and museum studies from September 2012. UCL Qatar is a branch campus of UCL (University College London), UK, one of the world’s leading multi-disciplinary universities. With a main campus located in central London, UCL was established in 1826 with the aim of offer-
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ing education to students of any race, class or religion, an opportunity unavailable elsewhere in the UK at the time. In Doha, UCL Qatar’s remit is to deliver postgraduate teaching and research in cultural heritage, an area in which UCL excels through the work of the Institute of Archaeology, established in 1937 and integrated with UCL in 1986. The Institute is the largest archaeology department in the UK and is at the forefront of research and training in heritage studies. Qatar’s recent increase in investment in the area of cultural heritage can be traced back to appointment of the current Emir to the throne in 1995, and the subsequent development of an outward-looking cultural policy aimed at placing Qatar on the international map, and rapid internal social and cultural development. Part of this cultural policy includes the development of a museum sector in Qatar. To this end, Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) was established in 2005, in 2008 the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) opened to the public and in December 2010 Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art opened. There are numerous other museums in the planning stages, including the redeveloped National Museum of Qatar.
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QMA is also responsible for archaeological and heritage sites in Qatar, such as the 18th century pearling town of Zubara on the north coast. Cultural heritage developments are not limited to those currently overseen by QMA. In 1998 Sheikh Faisal, the milk-brother of the Emir, opened the Sheikh Faisal Museum in a purpose built building on the outskirts of Doha, displaying his personal and eclectic collection. Msheireb Properties, a real estate company and subsidiary of Qatar Foundation, is developing four museums in historic houses in the centre of Doha as part of its downtown development, due to open in 2013, as well as developing the Msheireb Arts Centre. All of these institutions require trained staff, and UCL Qatar’s suite of Masters programmes, whilst offering internationally recognised qualifications, have also been designed with this need in mind. Specifically, the MA in Museum and Gallery Practice will produce
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museum professionals capable of delivering Qatar’s vision for the further development of its museums. The MA in Museum and Gallery Practice is practice-based and theoretically driven, regionally embedded and politically aware. Students will be trained in core curatorial and collections management skills, and be introduced to a range of theoretical and philosophical concepts that will enable them to negotiate local and regional heritage concepts within a national and international heritage discourse. The teaching is delivered by a combination of UCL Qatar academic staff based in Doha, local and regional heritage experts, and visiting lecturers from the UK and elsewhere, in order to expose students to a broad range of approaches, expertise and practice. Local and regional heritage practitioners will deliver a series of seminars to ensure that students are familiar with the
heritage developments in Qatar and the Gulf. The programme consists of six core modules (Technical Skills for Cultural Heritage, Principles in Museum and Gallery Practice, Collections Care and Management, Heritage Interpretation, Managing Museums and Cultural Heritage, the Placement), a Dissertation and two out of three optional courses (Education, Outreach and Community Engagement; Digital Heritage; ObjectBased Learning). A number of the courses will be shared across the three MA programmes allowing students to work alongside their colleagues in cognate disciplines, sharing ideas and approaches. The MA in Museum and Gallery Practice will be informed by the extensive cultural heritage expertise of UCL but shaped by the needs of Qatar and the region; UCL Qatar graduates will inform the future development of cultural heritage in Qatar and the region
Education today
VCU-Q
Celebrating 15 years of excellence As the first university established in Education City through a partnership with Qatar Foundation, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCU-Q) has developed a rich legacy of creative endeavour and leadership in art and design education and research.
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CU-Q envisions a Qatari society that innovates through art and design. This year, the University celebrates its 15th anniversary of innovative undergraduate and graduate programmes that continue to grow and adapt to meet the needs of Qatar’s cultural and professional infrastructures. The only full branch campus of the prestigious Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia, VCU-Q offers students a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fashion design, graphic design, interior design and painting and printmaking, a Bachelor of Arts degree in art history and a Master of Fine Arts degree in design studies. VCU-Q opened its doors in 1998 as the Shaqab College of Design Arts with 33 bright young women and six pioneering faculty members. This fall semester, VCU-Q welcomes the first group of students into the new BA Art History programme. This is the first non-studio degree offered by the branch campus and is intended to support the development of the cultural infrastructure in Qatar. All VCU-Q programmes recognise the regional development need in the
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visual arts and innovative industries and align with the vision of Qatar Foundation and the Qatar National Vision 2030. In 2010, VCU-Q more than doubled its facilities through a major expansion project. The expansion has allowed for the integration of the university’s undergraduate and graduate programmes under one roof, the connection of the research and entrepreneurship offices with curricular programmes, and the expansion of our technical spaces to support all forms of visualisation and research with a media lab, digital fabrication lab, printmaking studios, photography studio, an expanded library and the first materials library in the region. Creative Projects The university works closely with local organisations through collaborative projects, internships, and events. VCU-Q students have worked with Cai Guo-Qiang, the famous Chinese artist Mathaf brought to Qatar for a major exhibition; fashion students worked on the gowns for the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and graphic students have developed the visual identity for many conferences and organisations. VCU-Q students have also interned with major brand names
Education today
such as fashion labels Ruben and Isabel Toledo, Akademics, Alabama Chanin, Easton Pearson, Maria Bonita, architect Jean Nouvel, Arab Engineering Bureau, Al Jazeera, Grey Worldwide, Saatchi and Saatchi to name a few. Some examples of successful work produced by VCU-Q students and alumni include the Qatar Vision 2030 identity development for the General Secretariat for Development Planning; the identity design for the Qatar Olympic 2016 bid; the branding for the Karwa transportation system; the uniforms of the Qatar Philharmonic orchestra; the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Qatar Arabian World Cup trophies for the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC); the interior design for the Shell Research Centre and suites at the Ramada Plaza, an international hotel chain, among others. VCU-Q hosts the biennial international design conference Tasmeem Doha and the biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Islamic Art Symposium attracting globally recognised designers, academics and thinkers while fostering sustainable, university-community
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partnerships that enhance the educational, economic and cultural vitality of Qatar and the broader region. The university engages widely with the community hosting community classes, exhibitions, public lectures, and an annual fashion show. Alumni Support The VCU-Q Centre for Research, Design and Entrepreneurship supports VCU-Q alumni to apply their design skills on contemporary design problems. The Centre addresses the needs of the nation’s economy and collaborates with major companies to develop better products, services and systems. The Centre recently launched an eco-system for design entrepreneurship that will offer young design entrepreneurs, through VCUQ’s network of partner organizations, training and development programs; business planning advice; early stage funding; soft loans, personal development workshops and access to exhibition and retail space. The alumni are spreading their creative vision through their work as entrepreneurs, and as designers in public and pri-
vate organisations such as Qatar Museums Authority, Mathaf, Museum of Islamic Art, Al Jazeera, Fitch, Qatari Diar, Ras Gas, Qatar Foundation Capital Projects, and various ministries, to name just a few. Some have opened their own businesses. Their expressions will have a lasting impact on a sustainable future both in Qatar and internationally. As VCU-Q celebrates its 15th anniversary, the university looks forward to preparing the first art historians from within the country to step into significant positions in the new galleries and museums in Qatar and the region. The university anticipates its new graduates from the painting and printmaking programme to share their vision of art from within Qatar outward to the world. It also will see outcomes from its first Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) National Priorities Research Programme (NPRP) funded research projects and the expanding impact of their emphasis on collaborative and creative research from our faculty, alumni and students
Education today
WCMC-Q
Campaigning for Qatar’s health Established in 2001 as a partnership between Cornell University and Qatar Foundation, the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) shares its mission of dedication to excellence in education, patient care and research.
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s the first medical school in Qatar and a pioneer of coeducation at university level, WCMC-Q offers an integrated programme of pre-medical and medical studies leading to the Cornell University M.D. degree. The faculty include the Cornell and Weill Cornell faculty, including physicians at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) who hold Weill Cornell appointments. While collaborative biomedical research projects are underway between Weill Cornell in the US and Qatar, and HMC, WCMC-Q students also have opportunities to take part in biomedical investigations. The Summer Research Programme enables selected students to travel to the US and work under the mentorship of leading investigators at Cornell and Weill Cornell. Meanwhile, a growing number are participating in projects in Qatar, guided by WCMC-Q faculty and funded by the Undergraduate Research Experience Programme of Qatar National Research Fund. In the clinical field, WCMC-Q is already making a contribution to the community in Qatar. Medical faculty members licensed to practice see patients as part of their teaching assignments in HMC facilities. There are exchanges of expertise with faculty-physicians from New York - Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Centre, particularly in the planning phase of Qatar Foundation’s Sidra Medical and Research Centre. WCMC-Q has also launched an ambi-
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tious, long-term campaign to help improve the health of the nation, in association with the Supreme Council of Health. Titled SahtakAwalan; Your Health First, the five-year campaign aims to educate both the Qatari and expatriate communities about healthy lifestyles. Your Health First is a five-year multistage awareness campaign which focuses on awareness and core public health concepts, especially healthy lifestyles, nutrition and health education. Initial and subsequent stages will make use of all possible media, including social networks, to reach the largest possible audience and achieve the campaign’s goals.” WCMC-Q, Dean, Dr Javaid Sheikh said, “At WCMC-Q, we pledge to do our utmost to implement the different stages of Your Health First. Our academic and research staff, as well as our labs, will work towards achieving the goals of this nationwide program. Usually, people’s behaviour reflects the traditional wisdom that ‘health is a crown over the head of a healthy person, only sick people see it’. We have launched a health educational programme that will promote healthy behaviour.” During the first phase of the campaign, which runs until December 31, 2012, a range of related awareness events will be held targeting different age groups, with a focus on children and teens. Each of the other stages of WCMC-Q’s Your Health First campaign will last for a year with a focus on two major health issues as well as public health
b r a ki n g n e w s
Customers inspiring Rolls-Royce The new Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II was unveiled at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Doha last month. The new release is conceptually the same, but it introduces fresh cutting-edge technologies and enhancements to keep pace with modern requirements.
By R o r y C o e n
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b r a ki n g n e w s
Geoff Briscoe Regional Director, Middle East, Africa and Latin America at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars the new front end with restyled bumpers and rectangular light apertures.
the Phantom’s new front end with restyled bumpers and rectangular light apertures also includes full LED headlamps as standard. It features new driver assistance technologies and a modern user interface with a redesigned multimedia controller, an 8.8-inch control centre display and a front-, rear- and top-view camera system that further augment ease of manoeuvring. The word “waftability” has long been part of the Rolls-Royce lexicon, with models past and present being renowned for their magnificent ride experience. The Phantom Series II reinforces the company’s reputation for both. The new 8-speed automatic gearbox and rear differential enhance the already exemplary driving dynamics, perfectly complementing the V12 direct injection engine. Fuel consumption improves
by 10% on the combined cycle, and CO2 emissions fall from 388 to 347 g/km as a consequence. Geoff Briscoe, Regional Director, Middle East, Africa and Latin America at RollsRoyce Motor Cars, said: “A release of a new car is a huge event for us. The nature of our business means it’s a commodity that needs to stay in a rarefied atmosphere. These events really give us a chance to meet and greet our discerning customers. “The changes that we made are from listening to our customers. Being a luxury brand, we don’t have a huge number of customers, so our dealers can practically meet them on a one-to-one basis. We feel there’s usually a unified opinion regarding changes they would like to see. They know more about the cars than we do because they’re more intimately involved. They touch, feel and drive the car every day.” Bespoke Rolls-Royce has become the leader in individualising a car to meet the specific needs
of its customers. Its bespoke programme is proving to have very popular appeal in the Middle East where about 95% of the vehicles are bespoke models – in effect made-toorder by each customer, from the exterior paint and interior leather colours to headrest embroideries and threadplates, and marquetry inlays in the veneer. It’s whatever the customer wants. “It’s 100% demand-driven,” explained Briscoe. “More so in the Middle East than anywhere else. Our customers here want to have a highly individualised car. They don’t just want a Rolls-Royce because it is a luxury brand, but they want a unique RollsRoyce which in some way relates to their personality. Some of the combinations and content in the cars is amazing. We don’t build them and then sell them. Customers order them and then we build them.” Rolls-Royce sells more cars in this region than anywhere else in the world, approximately 25% of its sales come from the Middle East – and it also expects to see its sales figures rise by a quarter in 2012
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Qatar Today 11 9
auto news
BRINGING THE CLEANTECH BOOM TO QATAR
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New Range Rover delivering agility
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he all-new Range Rover is the most capable and luxurious Land Rover yet. Its revolutionary lightweight allaluminium monocoque body structure is 39% lighter than the steel body in the outgoing model enabling total vehicle weight savings of up to 420kg, which delivers significant enhancements in performance and agility with a transformation in fuel economy and CO2 emissions. The front and rear chassis architecture has been developed with completely re-engineered fourcorner air suspension. The new suspension architecture delivers flatter, more confident cornering, with natural and intuitive steering feel. John Edwards, Land Rover Global Brand Director, said: “The new Range Rover preserves the essential, unique character of
the vehicle - that special blend of luxury, performance and unmatched all-terrain capability. However, its clean sheet design and revolutionary lightweight construction have enabled us to transform the experience
Iconic Mini brand turns 53
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for luxury vehicle customers, with a step change in comfort, refinement and handling.” Amongst the industryleading innovations is a ground-breaking nextgeneration version of Land Rover’s Terrain Response system, which analyses the current driving conditions and automatically selects the most suitable vehicle settings for the terrain. To ensure exceptional durability and reliability, the new model has been subjected to Land Rover’s punishing on- and off-road test and development regime, with a fleet of development vehicles covering millions of miles over 18 months of arduous tests in more than 20 countries with extremes of climate and road surfaces.
ini celebrated its 53rd birthday last month and is as trendy today as it was when it was first rolled out in 1959. So how did Mini mania begin? Sir Alec Issigonis, one of the most original car designers of the modern era, was set a task by the then British Motor Corporation (BMC) to build a car that was spacious with minimum dimensions outside, seats for four passengers, impeccable driving characteristics and competitive fuel economy - all at a very affordable price. The Morris Mini Minor was born on the 26th August, 1959, measuring just 3.05 metres in length. The 1961 Mini Cooper was quite simply euphoric. With its uniqueness, performance, mass market appeal and celebrity pull factor, it soon became the perfect fashion accessory. Today, Mini continues to lead as the fastest growing premium brand in the world as well as in the Middle East. During the first half of 2012, it grew 48% across nine different Middle Eastern markets. Over 2.6 million Mini vehicles have been sold worldwide since the “New Mini” was launched by the BMW Group in 2001. Today’s line-up includes six models: the Hatch, Cabrio, Clubman, Countryman, Coupe and most recently the Roadster, the first open top two-seater Mini. All are available in various engine variants.
auto news
Nissan reports first quarter profit
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issan Motor Co Ltd announced an operating profit of QR5.5 billion ($1.5 billion) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, ending March 31, 2013. Nissan sold a total of 1,210,000 vehicles globally in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, up 14.6% compared with the same period in 2011. Global market share increased by 0.4% to 5.9%. “Nissan has delivered a respectable performance in the first quarter despite challenging macro-economic conditions,” said Nissan President and CEO, Carlos Ghosn. “Our innovative models remain in high demand, with further exciting vehicles due for launch. Against that background, we remain on track to achieve our full-year forecasts.” In the April-to-June period, Nissan continued to execute on its Power 88 mid-term business plan, designed to enhance its product portfolio and strengthen the group’s brand and sales presence around the world. As part of that plan, two new models were launched during the quarter including the Nissan Altima in the US and the Nissan NV350 Caravan in Japan.
“Think Blue”
World Championship
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olkswagen Middle East has launched the “Think Blue. World Championship” fuel saving game on Facebook. Users can qualify for the regional finals to be held in Dubai, and the international finals taking place in California. More conscious driving can cut fuel consumption by up to 25% and protect the environment. As part of Volkswagen’s holistic approach to sustainability, “Think Blue.” is a fun and exciting game that heightens awareness of more efficient driving, and shows that all drivers can make their own personal contribution to environmental protection without sacrificing driving pleasure. Commenting on the launch of the “Think Blue. World Championship.” app, Karsten Jankowski, Marketing Director, Volkswagen Middle East said: “We’re please to launch the Volkswagen fuel saving app here in the Middle East, as part of Volkswagen’s international initiative to drive environmental change. The principle of “Think Blue.” is perfectly reflected by the game and inspires everyone to join us in making our everyday driving behavior more responsible in an exciting and entertaining way.”
Strong July sales for Audi
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udi Middle East posted its strongest July sales figures ever with a total of 661 units sold, as sales increased by 34% over the same period in 2011. Overall sales across the region rose by 17% in the first seven months of the year with 4,935 units sold. The figures were boosted by a surge in sales for the Audi A6 sedan, which witnessed a 76% increase, closely followed by the Audi A8 L and the Audi Q7 SUV. The strongest market for Audi in the Middle East remains the UAE with a total of 2,024 vehicles delivered to customers in the first seven months of the year, which represents a 41% share of total Middle East sales. “We are starting off the second half with another record month of sales reinforcing Audi’s position in the Middle East market. We are determined to keep up the momentum for the latter part of the year while maintaining a strong focus on dealer network development as well sales and after sales service”, said Audi Middle East Managing Director Jeff Mannering.
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MAR K ET W ATC H
Back 2 Business
gets back to business
Back 2 Business will hold its annual networking event on October 3 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel and Spa.
Front row from left: Pamela McDowell, Back2Business General Secretary; Katherine McAdam, ANZBIQ representative of Organising Committee; Jane Ashford QBBF representative of Organising Committee,
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ack 2 Business was launched by the German Business Council Qatar (GBCQ) in 2004 and lead to other Business Councils – British, Australian-New Zealand, Dutch, Italian, German, Spanish and Scandinavian – joining and assisting in its organisation. Since then the number of participants has increased to almost 800 people in 2011. As the long, hot summer winds up here, business people are getting ready to do what they do best and this year’s event promises to be even more helpful than in previous
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Back row from left: Jarmo Kihlstrom and Erlend Ingebrigtsen, both Scandinavian BC; Paulina Vahamaa, German BC; Elsbeth Blekkenhorst, Dutch BC, Ignacio Galaqena, Spanish BC and Carlos Maldonado Dutch BC.
years. The main objectives of the event is to create opportunities for business people to meet and network, to exchange news of happenings in the business sector in Qatar as well as provide opportunities for foreign companies to access the Qatari market.
visual system; A promotional slide show will run during the evening on a maxi screen.
Back2Business has introduced some new features this year:
Tickets can be purchased for QR200 online at www.back2businessqatar.com, but will also be available for QR250 on the night. Email pamela@back2businessqatar. com for more information.
B2B magazine: Offering more information on the business councils and their wide range of activities and giving the B2B’s sponsors the opportunity to communicate directly with Qatari business people; A dedicated LinkedIn and Facebook page; Official event photographer shooting stills and video with a modern audio and
The B2B Charity: This year Back2Business is looking to donate additional funds raised through the event to Qatar Red Crescent to further assist them with their operations here. Qatar Red Crescent is a humanitarian organisation operating since 1978. Their ambulances can be spotted around Qatar and they provide much needed assistance in times of crisis.
MARKET WATCH
INNOVATE OR LOSE RELEVANCE
Sony Introduces Slimmest Voice Recorder
Panerai: Vintage inspiration
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ony launched their ICDTX50, the slimmest ever voice recorder that is just 6.4mm thin and weighs a mere 50g. Designed to impress in the boardroom or on the move, its high-gloss looks are accented by an easy-toread OLED display. Interviews and voice memos can be recorded as CD-quality Linear PCM or MP3 files on its high quality stereo microphone. There is also a choice of five modes – including ‘Shirt Pocket’, ‘Meeting’ and ‘Interview’ – for optimum clarity. For extra security, an integrated clip secures the recorder when slipped into a shirt pocket. A 4GB built-in storage allows plenty of memory to capture the longest conference, meeting or brainstorming session. Fully charged, the built-in lithium ion is good for
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an uninterrupted 24-hour record/playback time – with MP3 files. The recorder comes bundled with Sound Organiser software (PC only) that simplifies the transferring, editing and management of files. The Digital Pitch Control enables recordings to be played at a faster or slower rate without changing the pitch, while the Trackmark feature helps identify important points during recording or playback with a simple press of a button. The recorder is additionally equipped with Sony’s unique and innovative technology, Intelligent Noise Cut, which significantly reduces ambient noise during recording for clearer playback. The ICD-TX50 is available at all Fifty One East’s outlets located in Al Maha centre, City Centre Doha, Landmark mall and Lagoona Mall.
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anerai has introduced two special edition watches to the Radiomir 1940 family – the most famous watch designed for underwater military operations. The new Radiomir 1940 watches are offered in a special case in the classic size of 47mm in diameter, and they incorporate other elements inspired by the historic Radiomirs made in the 1940s: the Plexiglas crystal protecting the dial, the round, cambered bezel, the cylindrical crown and the screw back. The two versions are distinguished by the different materials of the case, each combined with a different dial colour: the Radiomir 1940 is made of stainless steel with a polished finish and has a black dial, while the Radiomir 1940 Oro Rosso with the brown dial is in red gold. One of the striking features is the OPXVII hand-wound mechanical movement on a Minerva base that is visible through the sapphire crystal in the centre of the case back. It is a movement of the highest quality, superbly refinished, with a diameter of 163/4 lignes, 18 jewels, variable inertia balance with swan neck micrometric regulator, Kif Parechoc anti-shock device and a power reserve of 55 hours.
MAR K ET W ATC H
Themed School collection from Babyshop Landmark Group’s Blood Donation Campaign
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et your kids welcome the new school year with the exciting ‘Back to School’ collection from
Babyshop. Featuring some of the latest from the world of action-heroes and animation, the vibrant collection is designed for style, safety and functionality. School bags, water bottles, stationary pouches and lunch boxes – all sport popular comic characters. While for the young super-hero buffs, there’s a complete collection of school-related products branded with popular characters such as Spiderman, Batman, Ben 10 and Avengers, sports enthusiasts can enjoy a collection marked with soccer favourites FC Barcelona and Manchester United. The
collection for girls is colourful and trendy featuring products with the latest animation blockbuster Brave, as well as the popular Barbie, Hello Kitty, Lulu Caty, Princess and Minnie Mouse. The Back to School range also offers a wide selection of functional and safe bottles that have pop-up and screw-on lids, as well as enhanced rubber-grip options for easy handling. To further enhance the school-going experience, Babyshop has in store educational toys for pre-schoolers to the primary level such as alphabet and number grid mats, analytical learning centres, toy laptops and white boards.
Splash expands portfolio
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andmark Group held a blood donation drive across Qatar to collect blood for the blood bank of Hamad Medical Corporation. The initiative also raised awareness on the importance of organ donation, attracting the interest of a large section of the community. Managed by a team of specialised doctors from the HMC, the activity took place at Centrepoint, Barwa Plaza Mall on July 26, 2012. Landmark Group - Qatar, General Manager, Suresh Sharma said, “In line with Landmark Group’s philosophy to give back to the communities we operate in, we are committed to conducting the annual campaign for the long-term benefits that it cascades to the society. “It is very fulfilling, as an organisation based out of the region, to help ensure that the blood bank at HMC has sufficient blood to save lives as and when needed. We thank the Group’s employees and loyal customers who participated in the blood donation and made this campaign a huge success.”
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igh-street fashion retailer Splash has added a fourth store to its growing portfolio in Doha. The new store at the newly opened Al Khor Mall carries the uni-brand format, complete with a cosmopolitan look and feel that will cater to various age groups of chic and stylish audiences. Spread over 5,100 sq ft, the Splash store offers the latest AW12 collection. Splash & ICONIC, CEO, Raza Beig said, “Splash believes in being omnipresent and always strive to be within the reach of their consumer’s past, present and future. The decision to open our store at Al Khor mall is because it is a newly launched mall in the region that caters to 80% of the nationals present and we are excited to see the response we receive as we are tapping into a new market.”
MAR K ET W ATC H
City Lifestyle opens new store in Qatar
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ity Lifestyle opened its fifth store in the Al Khor Mall – the third standalone store of City Lifestyle in Doha to house their latest fixture system. The store has a retail area of 5,370 sq ft and offers a complete range of international brands for home dicor, home fragrance, fashion bags and accessories, teen accessories and cosmetics to suit every lifestyle. With a knowledgeable and friendly sales force, this store promises a whole new shopping experience.
Doha Sooq’s new subscription deal
3rd from Left Dr. R. Seetharaman (Group CEO – Doha Bank), 5th from Left Suresh Bajpai (Head of Retail Banking – Doha Bank) with other oryx and doha bank employees at the signing ceremony
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oha Sooq, the award winning e-commerce portal by Doha Bank, in partnership with Oryx Advertising Company (OAC), the leading publishing house in Qatar, have signed an agreement to offer you an online gateway to OAC’s leading titles. You can now subscribe from home or office to news and business magazine, Qatar Today or fashion and lifestyle magazine, GLAM, on www.dohasooq.com and get a whopping 30% off on the price of the annual subscription costs. Announcing the agreement, Doha Bank Group, CEO, Dr R Seetharaman said, “The success of Doha Sooq is surely a result of the irresistible 24 hours shopping experience delivered to all customers whether in
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Qatar or cross borders, the quality of services, and the great prices for the online savvy consumers. “Our collaboration with OAC is a result of our undivided commitment in transforming Doha Sooq into a sophisticated catalogue of products and services that are selected by Doha Sooq’s customers. We believe that Qatar Today and GLAM magazines have great editorial vision, readership and are loved by almost everyone, if not all.” OAC, Vice President, Ravi Raman said, “Being present on Doha Sooq, the online shopping destination is certainly important to us. Not only will it offer readers a faster, more convenient way to subscribe to our magazines, but it also opens up the huge arena of different products for readers to shop online.”
Hilton Doha hosts iftar for Dhreima Orphanage
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elebrating the spirit of generosity of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Hilton Doha hosted 120 children from Dhreima Orphanage for an Iftar, organised by the Blue Energy Committee, at the hotel’s Nashira Ballroom. “Doha has graciously welcomed us into their fold and as part of the local community we felt the time was right to extend our thanks by giving back,” said Andreas Searty, General Manager, Hilton Doha. “We were humbled by the charity and generosity of spirit with which these youngsters have faced personal hardships and the enthusiasm with which they look to the future.” Commenting on the partnership with Dhreima Orphanage, Searty added: “We are proud to join forces with such a prestigious institution, and share their noble aim to provide support for the care, education and rehabilitation of these remarkable individuals. We hope that this will be the first of many initiatives between our two entities, and look forward to further similar events in the future.”
MAR K ET W ATC H
Zenith’s Ultimate Challenge
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anufacture Zenith is once again set to prove the brand’s reliability under extreme conditions when Zenith Ambassador, Austrian skydiver and base jumper, Felix Baumgartner, will jump out of a capsule suspended from a balloon in the stratosphere at an altitude of over 120,000 feet / 36.5 kilometres, nearly four times higher than passenger planes typically fly, in an attempt to make a new record for the highest free fall wearing the all-new El Primero Stratos Flyback Striking 10th chronograph. The Stratos is equipped with the world’s most accurate automatic chronograph movement – the legendary El Primero – as well as the Striking 10th function, which serves to read off 1/10ths of a second and is combined with the flyback mode that is particularly useful in the field of aviation since it enables instant resetting of the chronograph functions in one smooth, easy move. Thanks to its robust construction, the El Primero Stratos can withstand abrupt variations in pressure, intense vibrations and
violent accelerations, making it a suitable partner for Felix’s dangerous mission.
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Qatar Today 13 1
s p o r t f il e
Qatar’s shining stars
at the London 2012 Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mutaz Essa Barsham stroke bronze for Qatar at the London Olympics last month. Al-Attiyah showed incredible nerve to hold off his rivals in the final of the Skeet while Barsham’s first successful attempt at 2.29 metres was enough for joint-third in the Men’s High Jump. Their medals were the third and fourth ever for Qatar.
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fter American Vincent Hancock broke the Olympic record to win gold with a final tally of 148 out of 150 and Denmark’s Anders Golding took silver with 146, Al-Attiyah and Valeriy Shimon of Russia (144) needed a sudden-death play-off to decide the bronze medal. Both men were seasoned Olympic campaigners and it was difficult to predict a winner. Such was the level of consistency shown by all the shooters in the final, it was a case of whoever could hold their game together the longest. This was Al-Attiyah’s fourth Olympic Games – having previously made the finals of the event in 2004 and 2008, so this experience should have given him an edge. Shimon failed to qualify for the final in both of his previous attempts. In what could have been a marathon exchange, it was the Qatari who emerged victorious. He went first and the pressure he exerted each time eventually told, as Shimon’s sixth shot missed its target. In the Men’s High Jump, eight men went clear of 2.29 metres, but only Russia’s Ivan Ukhov and Erik Kynard were able to better that. Ukhov went on to win gold in convincing fashion with a final clearance of 2.38. Barsham had three efforts at 2.33, but like many of his rivals, he found the height too much on the night. Derek Drouin of Canada and Robert Grabarz of Great Britain shared the bronze medal with Barsham as they had identical records.
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How Qatar’s athletes fared at London 2012. Ahmed Ghithe G Atari (18) finished 5th in his 400-metre Individual Medley swimming heat, which wasn’t enough to qualify for the final. Aia Mohamed (18) Was beaten 4-0 by Zhang Mo in the preliminary round of the Women’s table-tennis. Qatar’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony, Bahya Mansour Al-Hamad (20) finished 17th out of 56 women in the 10metre Air Rifle qualification. She didn’t do quite as well in the 50-metre Rifle 3 Positions event. Hamza Driouch (17) qualified 2nd in his heat and qualified for the semi-final However, he finished a disappointing 11th in his semi-final and missed out on final qualification. Mohamed Al-Garni (20) came 5th in his opening 1,500 metre heat, qualifying him for the semi-final. He finished 7th in the semi-final and just missed out on being one of the fastest losers. Mohammed Abduh Bakhet (24) finished in 68th position in the Men’s Marathon, in a time of 2 hours and 25 minutes. Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich won Gold in 2.08. Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla (23) failed to qualify for the final of the Men’s 800 metres. Mutaz Essa Barshim (21) won a bronze medal in the Men’s High Jump. Nada Mohammed W S Arakji (17) finished fourth in her 50-metre swimming sprint in a time of 30.89. Ranomi Kromowidjojo took the Gold medal in 24.05, an Olympic record. Nasser Al-Attiyah (41) won the bronze medal in the Skeet or the “clay-pigeon shoot” event, eventually beating Valeriy Shimon of Russia in a play-off. Noor Hussain Al-Malki (17) injured herself from the blocks in her 100 metre sprint preliminary heat and failed to finish. Rashid Al-Athba (31) just missed out on qualification for the Double Trap and the Trap shooting final, finishing in 7th place in both events. Kuwait’s Fehaid Aldeehani picked up bronze in the Trap shooting final.
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doha diary ARE HRW FIGUREs EXAGERATED? 40
doha diary
Crowne Plaza Hotel opens in Qatar
Exhibition of pearls
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rowne Plaza Doha – The Business Park was inaugurated by hotel owner HE Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Abdullah Al-Thani in an opening ceremony attended by the hotel’s employees and representatives of Trans Orient Establishment, the owning company and construction sub-contractor. The hotel is located in the heart of Doha’s banking district and features 378 rooms, including 288 hotel rooms and suites, and ninety 1-2 bedroom resident suites. With eight meeting rooms, an executive boardroom all equipped with the latest in technologies and a variety of well-equipped facilities and ergonomicallydesigned beds, the hotel is designed to meet both business and leisure travellers’ every need. Additional features include six food and beverage outlets, a rooftop swimming pool, a fitness centre and spa, two state-of-the-art ballrooms and The Event Centre – the hotel’s iconic glass-domed meeting venue situated in the middle of the park complex.
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atar Museums Authority (QMA) opened its exhibition ‘Pearls: Jewels from the Sea’ at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, in Kobe, as part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Qatar and Japan. Sponsored by Qatar Gas, Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Airways – the official airline partner – the exhibition is a unique scientific, historical and cultural journey into the realm of pearls. The exhibition will stay on view until October 14. The exhibition covers different aspects such as pearl formation, the importance of pearl diving in the history of the Arabian Gulf region and the influence of pearls on jewellery and design throughout history. QMA CEO Mansoor Al-Khater said: “The idea behind organising the exhibition is to pay tribute to our ancestors who made many sacrifices and depended on the pearl trade to sustain their economy. Through this exhibition, QMA aims to enhance awareness among our Japanese friends about the significance of pearls in Qatari history and culture. This exciting exhibition highlights a common historical aspect of both Qatari and Japanese people.”
ROTA holds community Iftars an auction and Iftar sponsored by Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd. (Oxy Qatar) helped raise over QR172,000 for ROTA’s new Non-Formal Education Project in Bangladesh.
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doha diary
St. Regis Doha honours Qatari champions
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he St. Regis Doha honoured Qatar’s sparkling Olympic performance by inviting bronze medalists Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mutaz Essa Barshim to a celebration shortly after they returned home, though only AlAttiyah could attend since Barshim had previous travel arrangements. “We congratulate the Qatar’s superb Olympic athletes and are proud to have feted Al Attiyah with a regal welcome at the finest address in town,” said Tareq Derbas, General Manager at The St. Regis Doha. Derbas presented Al-Attiyah with bountiful bouquets of flowers as well as some hotel gift vouchers to spoil himself at a later date.
QRNSP hosts annual event
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atar Airways’ National Scholarship Programme (QRNSP) hosted the Qatar Airway’s annual event last month, which is for Qatari scholarship students who are about to embark on higher academic pursuits in Qatar, the UK and the US. Guests included the British Ambassador to Qatar, HE Michael O’Neill and the US Ambassador to Qatar, HE Susan Ziadeh. Students and their families were provided with a comprehensive orientation on various opportunities and streams available in the field of international aviation. While congratulating the young academics on their educational pursuits, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker said: “These students will be given an opportunity to work with a world-class airline and we hope they enjoy being a part of this interesting and fast-growing aviation environment. Qatar Airways supports Qatar’s National Vision 2030 and we believe that nurturing local Qatari talent is imperative for the airline’s long-term success.”
Eid El-Fitr celebrations at Katara
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Doha diary
Shell’s Qatari staff complete English training programme
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ifteen Qataris successfully graduated from Qatar Shell’s English language training programme last month. The six-week course trained them to comprehensively improve their proficiency in the English language through focusing on four main aspects: speaking, writing, reading and listening. This course comes as part of Shell’s commitment to Qa-
tarisation and the development of Qatari talent. Qatar Shell’s Executive Vice President, Wael Sawan said: “Qatarisation is of utmost importance to us at Shell, and we always strive to provide the very best in training and coaching to develop the young Qatari talents. We hope that through our support we can help contribute to the realisation of the Qatarisation plan.”
IBQ organises staff suhoor IBQ organised a staff Suhoor at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha with the presence of Jabra Ghandour, Managing Director of the bank and other senior executives. At the Suhoor, 14 members of IBQ team were awarded for excellence in service and commitment to the highest standards of quality.
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Qatar Today 139
Global Innovation spreading 1
Switzerland (1)
2 denmark (6)
ireland (13)
7
3
Singapore (3)
8
9
finland (5)
10
Sweden (2)
hong kong (4)
4
usa (7)
5
united kingdom (10)
netherlands (9)
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qatar (26)
6 * 2011 in brackets.
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or the second year running, Switzerland, Sweden and Singapore lead in overall global innovation performance. A study shows that the dynamics of innovation continue to be affected by the emergence of new successful innovators in emerging countries such as Latvia, Malaysia, China, Montenegro, Serbia, Moldova, Jordan, Ukraine, India, Mongolia, Armenia, Georgia, Namibia, Vietnam, Swaziland, Paraguay, Ghana and Senegal, and low-income countries Kenya and Zimbabwe. These middle- and low-income economies demonstrate rising levels of innova-
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tion achievement as a result of improvements in institutional frameworks, a skilled labour force, better innovation infrastructures, a deeper integration with global financial and other markets, and a sophisticated business community – even if progress in these dimensions is not uniform across all segments of the country. The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2012: Stronger Innovation Linkages for Global Growth is published by INSEAD, an international business school, and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a specialised agency of the United Nations. The report ranks 141 countries/economies on the basis of their innovation capabilities
and results. It benefits from the experience of knowledge partners Alcatel-Lucent, Booz & Company and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), as well as an advisory board of eleven international experts “The GII is a timely reminder that policies to promote innovation are critical to the debate on spurring sustainable economic growth,” WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry said. “The downward pressure on investment in innovation exerted by the current crisis must be resisted. Otherwise we risk durable damage to countries’ productive capacities. This is the time for forward-looking policies to lay the foundations for future prosperity.”