Qatar Foundation facts for kids
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| Formation | 1995 |
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| Type | Non-profit organization |
| Headquarters | Education City, Doha, Qatar |
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The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is a special type of organization from the country of Qatar. It is a non-profit organization, which means its main goal is to help people, not to make money for owners. It was started in 1995 by Qatar's leader at the time, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and his wife, Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned.
The foundation focuses on three main areas: education, science, and helping the community grow. It has invited many famous universities from around the world to open schools in Qatar. Some people have said the foundation's work is a way for Qatar to have more influence in the world.
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Education and Science Projects
The Qatar Foundation (QF) wants to provide great learning opportunities for everyone. It has opened several schools, including special academies for children who need extra help with learning.
Universities in Education City
A big part of QF's work is a special area called Education City, located just outside the capital city of Doha. Here, QF has built campuses for famous universities from other countries. This allows students in Qatar to get a world-class education close to home.
Here are the universities that have opened campuses in Education City:
- 1998 – Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, for students who want to study art and design.
- 2002 – Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, a school for future doctors.
- 2003 – Texas A&M University at Qatar, for engineering students. In 2024, the university announced it would close this campus by 2028.
- 2004 – Carnegie Mellon University Qatar, which teaches business and computer science.
- 2005 – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, for students interested in government and international relations.
- 2008 – Northwestern University in Qatar, a school for journalism and communications.
- 2011 – HEC Paris in Qatar, a business school for advanced degrees.
Qatar also has its own university in Education City, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), which opened in 2010.
Supporting Research and New Ideas
The Qatar Foundation believes science and research are very important for Qatar's future. It started the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) in 2006 to give money to scientists for their projects.
In 2009, it opened the Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP). This is a special place where technology companies can work on new inventions. QF has also created research centers that study computers, the environment, energy, and health. One of these is the Sidra Medical and Research Center, a hospital for women and children that also does important medical research.
To get young people excited about science, QF created a reality TV show called Stars of Science. The show helps young Arab inventors develop their ideas and turn them into real products.
Culture and Community
The Qatar Foundation also works to support Qatari culture and bring communities together. It has started many projects related to arts, music, and social development.
Arts, Libraries, and Museums
In 2012, QF announced the creation of the Qatar National Library. This huge library is not just full of books, but it also has a special collection of historical maps, tools, and manuscripts from Arab and Islamic history. The library also helped create the Qatar Digital Library, an online collection of historical records about the Persian Gulf region.
For music lovers, the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra was started in 2007. For art fans, the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art opened in 2010. This museum has one of the world's largest collections of paintings and sculptures by Arab artists.
Building a Modern Community
A company owned by QF, Msheireb Properties, started a huge project to rebuild the old center of Doha. The project, called Msheireb Downtown Doha, mixes modern buildings with traditional Qatari design.
QF has also created centers to help families, encourage debate and public speaking among students with QatarDebate, and help people in other Asian countries through a program called Reach Out To Asia (ROTA).
Working with Global Partners
To help Qatar grow, the foundation partners with companies from around the world. These partnerships are called joint ventures. The money earned from these projects helps pay for the foundation's education and science work.
For example, QF partnered with Vodafone to launch a new mobile phone network in Qatar. It also started a company called Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec), which works on making energy from the sun.
Sponsorships in Sports and Media
The Qatar Foundation is also known for its sponsorships.
On December 10, 2010, the famous soccer team FC Barcelona made a deal with Qatar Sports Investments. The deal put the Qatar Foundation's name on the front of the players' jerseys. This was a big change for the team, which had never had a paid sponsor on its shirts before. After two years, Qatar Airways took over as the main sponsor.
In 2011, the foundation also worked with the Wikimedia Foundation to help add more articles to the Arabic Wikipedia. The goal was to make more information available online in the Arabic language.
See also
In Spanish: Qatar Foundation para niños
