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The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development () is a state-led
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
in
Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
, founded in 1995 by then-
emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned. According to the Qatar Foundation, its philanthropic focus is on education, scientific research and community development. It has solicited a number of international universities to establish campuses in Qatar. It has also made commercial investments. The Qatar Foundation's activities have been characterized by critics as influence peddling or
lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...
.


Education and research

The Qatar Foundation has established five Qatar Academy branches, the Awsaj Academy for children with learning difficulties, and the Academic Bridge Program, a post-
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
program. From 2003 to 2013, the Qatar Foundation ran the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute in a partnership with the RAND Corporation. In
higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
, Qatar Foundation established branch campuses of eight international universities and one home-grown university at the main campus just outside Doha: * 1998 – Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar. * 2002 – Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar opened. * 2003 – Texas A&M University at Qatar opened. In 2018, Qatar Foundation lawyers filed a lawsuit to block Texas A&M from releasing records about the foundation's donations. In 2024, Texas A&M announced it will close it's campus in Qatar by 2028. * 2004 – Carnegie Mellon University Qatar opened. * 2005 – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar opened. * 2008 – Northwestern University in Qatar opened. *2010 – Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) opened. * 2011 – HEC Paris in Qatar launched the first EMBA in the country. * 2011 – 2020
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
Qatar was in operation until October 2020. The US Education department has investigated Georgetown University, Texas A&M, Cornell and Rutgers over their funding from Qatar. The foundation sponsors the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), which has been held in
Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...
since 2009. The majority of the universities on Qatar Foundation's campus run their own research programs, often collaborating with QF's own applied research bodies. QF has partnerships with the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
and the James Baker Institute for Public Policy at
Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...
. Stars of Science, a
reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...
show was launched in 2009 in order to discover "young Arab innovators". The Qatar Foundation has organized the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) since 2006, and the Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) since 2009. At an investment of more than $800 million by Qatar Foundation, QSTP became Qatar's first free-trade zone. QF launched the Qatar Computing Research Institute ( QCRI) in 2010, the Qatar Green Building Council in 2009, the Qatar Environmental & Energy Research Institute (QEERI), the Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI) and the Sidra Medical and Research Center (endowed with $7.9 billion). The Qatar Diabetes Association, founded in 1995, became a member of Qatar Foundation in 1999.


Culture and arts

Al Shaqab, and the Al Jazeera Children's Channel (JCC) are members of the Qatar Foundation. On November 19, 2012, Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation, announced plans for a new national library, Qatar National Library, in Education City.Lux, Claudia (2014).
Qatar National Library – Architecture as innovation in the Arab world
." ''International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Journal'', 40(3), 174-181; p. 176. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
The library hosts the Arab and Islamic Heritage section which contains a historic collection of books, periodicals, manuscripts, maps, and scientific instruments dating back to the 15th century. One of the largest online collections of historic records on the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
countries was digitized in October 2014 and made available on the website of the Qatar Digital Library (QDL). The website was the culmination of a partnership established between Qatar Foundation, Qatar National Library, and the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
in 2012. The Qatar Foundation has opened the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007, and the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in 2010. The museum holds one of the largest collections of sculptures and paintings by Arab artists in the world, and has published an online encyclopedia of Arab artists. Msheireb Properties (a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation) initiated a $5.5 billion commercial development project in Doha in January 2010. Originally called "Heart of Doha", the project was renamed " Msheireb Downtown Doha" in reference to the historical name of the area. The foundation established the Social Development Center in 1996, Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) in 2005, The Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) in 2006, the QatarDebate Center in 2007 and the Qatar National Convention Centre in 2011.


Joint ventures

Joint ventures in the fields of science and research, education and social development are deemed essential to Qatar's transition from an oil-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, as outlined in the Qatar National Vision 2030. Thus, the foundation has set up a number of commercial joint ventures with global partners. Profits generated are shared by both parties, with Qatar Foundation's portion being distributed into its core nonprofit activities.
Vodafone Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...
entered in a partnership with QF to launch Vodafone Qatar in 2009. It was granted a fixed telecommunications in September 2008, thereby becoming the second mobile network operator to be licensed in the country. QF launched MEEZA in 2008, and Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) in 2010. In 2008, it launched the Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP), which published books in
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and English. It became defunct in 2015 and all of its publications (which included more than 200 books) were incorporated in the newly established HBKU Press, a member of QF. Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals (BQFJ), founded in 2010, was also incorporated in HBKU Press. The website maintained more than fifteen specialized and multidisciplinary journals in 2014. In December 2011, QSTec announced that it would be constructing a polysilicon production plant in Ras Laffan Industrial City. In August 2017, SolarWorld founder Frank Asbeck and QSTec bought out SolarWorld in a joint venture deal and rebranded it as SolarWorld Industries.


Sponsorship

On 10 December 2010,
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
announced it had agreed a shirt sponsorship deal worth up to €170 million with Qatar Sports Investments to place Qatar Foundation's name on the front of the team's shirts, ending Barcelona's tradition of not accepting payment for sponsors displayed on its jersey. The deal included a clause allowing a switch in sponsor after the first two seasons, so Qatar Airways took over as the main sponsor in July 2013. In October 2011, the
Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (WMF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, and registered there as foundation (United States law), a charitable foundation. It is the host of Wikipedia, th ...
announced a plan to work with the Qatar Foundation to support the growth of the Arabic Wikipedia. Later, the media reported that the Wikipedia page for the Qatar Foundation was allegedly edited by a public relations associate of the foundation, for which there was "strong, if circumstantial evidence". It was claimed by Qatar Foundation in November 2015 that the partnership had culminated in the creation of over 6,000 articles on the Arabic Wikipedia.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Educational organisations based in Qatar Scientific organisations based in Qatar Educational foundations Organizations established in 1995 World Digital Library partners 1995 establishments in Qatar Media funded by Qatar