00:01If you listen closely, Qatar is more than traffic and construction.
00:06In the outskirts of the city, a quieter rhythm is in motion.
00:11These walls hold history that was learned and handed down.
00:15This is the Al-Qatar House at Qatar's Education City.
00:19It's the perfect example of how a modern country is preserving cultural heritage.
00:24Originally home to one of Qatar's founding families,
00:27it's now a space which hosts cultural activities, workshops and not to mention a living museum.
00:34I'm Laila Humaira and this is Qatar in Motion.
00:42Did you know that Qatar and its GCC neighbours have seven elements currently inscribed
00:48in UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage?
00:52Last year, the Bishd and Al-Sadu weaving were inaugurated,
00:56joining Arabic coffee, henna, dates, falconry and the majlis.
01:02This year, the region is looking to add Al-Ardah, the traditional sword dance,
01:08the musical instrument Oud and Al-Safiyad plant weaving into the list.
01:15The Al-Qatar Heritage House is the home of the HERFA programme,
01:20Qatar Foundation's year-long course aimed at reviving the art of traditional crafts
01:25deeply rooted in Qatari and Islamic culture.
01:29Launched in 2024, HERFA combines tradition and creativity
01:33to safeguard heritage arts and ancient craftsmanship.
01:37Long before the construction of state-of-the-art universities in Education City,
01:43the area, known as Al-Rayyan, was home to Qatar's earliest rulers and founding families.
01:49This location where we are now was one of the first inhabitants of all Al-Rayyan.
01:56So the Al-Khatar family, or the late Fahad Al-Khatar, relocated with his uncle,
02:03who was at the time ruler of Qatar, Sheikh Abdullah bin Jasim.
02:07And at the time there was nothing here, but the area was fertile and it had underground water.
02:11The ruler settled there with his nephew.
02:14And that is around the end of the 19th century, beginning of the 20th century,
02:21like the early 1900s.
02:22With the establishment of Qatar Foundation in 1995,
02:26Al-Rayyan became the cradle of knowledge and learning.
02:30Led by a vision to protect heritage,
02:33instead of being demolished,
02:35the old houses were incorporated into the construction of the area.
02:39Al-Khatar House is a very unique cultural hub.
02:43It's one of the buildings that QF Restore,
02:46to promote cultural heritage and to stay as a hub for gathering generations
02:53around identity, heritage, and culture, and to stay rooted as well.
02:58So the HRFA program is a unique program in the region, let's say,
03:02where it covers all the traditions, activities.
03:07At the Al-Khatar House, participants of HRFA immerse themselves in a year-long coursework,
03:14which covers geometric drawing,
03:17nabati motifs, textiles,
03:19gypsum and ceramics,
03:21and marquetry.
03:23Being in this environment,
03:25or in this learning ecosystem,
03:27it's provided me the opportunity to disconnect from real life
03:30and reconnect with my senses,
03:33whether that's through touch or smell or sight.
03:36My favourite part of the program so far
03:38has been extracting colours from nature,
03:42whether that's through berries or through minerals or through rocks.
03:46Each structure of the building is used as classrooms,
03:49workstations, and places to store materials,
03:53inventory, or equipment like kilns.
03:56The Flower and Herb Garden is also where participants
03:59get to experiment with different types of plants and natural dyes.
04:03At the end of the program,
04:05they get to showcase their masterpiece
04:07and hopefully pass along what they've learnt.
04:34It's quite fitting that a program aimed at preserving traditional craftsmanship
04:38is being hosted within the grounds of a heritage house,
04:42which itself has been refurbished
04:44to ensure that the legacy of Qatar's founding families lives on.
04:50The Qatar House has some unique features
04:54that you don't see in an urban Qatari house.
04:57This is a rural setup for a Qatari house connected to agriculture.
05:01The large courtyard is needed because of the need
05:04from an agricultural perspective,
05:06the availability of land,
05:07and also there was an area at the back
05:09that used to house animals.
05:13We have the majlis,
05:14which is the main hospitality space
05:17for Qatar in Qatari tradition.
05:20Among other features that were kept through to the original form
05:23are the mosque,
05:24the main gate,
05:26the stone walls and denshell roofs,
05:28as well as the road that leads to the royal family's home.
05:32For the HERFA participants,
05:33the opportunity to visit the Al Qatari house every day
05:37to learn about Islamic art and traditional craftsmanship
05:40gives them a profound appreciation
05:43and deep contemplation about beauty.
05:45I feel that if you are surrounded by beauty continuously,
05:50it changes you in terms of your reflection of beauty in thought,
05:56beauty in speech, beauty in behaviour, beauty in values.
06:00And to be surrounded by that remembrance continuously
06:05can only make us more humane and better human beings.
06:08And it's exactly these values that Qatar Foundation believes
06:12forms the foundations of a successful nation.
06:16When you are faithful to your roots,
06:18to your traditions,
06:19and you are faithful to your basics,
06:21you are able to develop into your own identity
06:26farther away if you don't disconnect.
06:29So we are trying to be connected and rooted
06:32to what Qatar is
06:34and what Qatar identity and heritage is.
06:36and not only hand them material,
06:38cultural and heritage aspect,
06:39but they think it's in all other educational research
06:42and everything else.
06:45Among many organisations helping to advance
06:47Qatar Foundation's mission is the Qatar National Library.
06:51It launched the Family Digital Papers Project last year,
06:54aimed at building a platform to access documents
06:57and artefacts from Qatar's founding families.
07:00The initiative provides a window to early life in Qatar,
07:04and Q&L is going a step further
07:06to ensure that these heritage items
07:08are safeguarded forever.
07:10The initiative is a part of the
07:13to preserve and balance the history of Qatar and Qatar.
07:18It helps to improve the social media
07:22between the national media and the local community.
07:25The idea of the initiative is
07:26the cooperation with the Qatar communities
07:28and the attention to their own personal heritage.
07:30أقدم وثيقة حصلنا عليها في هذا المشروع هي وثيقة أرض تعود لأحد العوائل القطرية تعود لعام 1794 في منطقة بوشهر
07:41وأيضاً هناك عديد من المراسلات التي تتناول فترة الأربعينيات والخمسينيات للعوائل القطرية
07:47هي تغطي التحولات الثقافية والاجتماعية التي عاصرت التحول الاقتصادي من حياة الغوص إلى حياة البترول
07:56وبداية النهضة الحديثة في قطر
07:59ثم نقوم إرسالها لمعمل الترميم الموجود في المكتبة ونقوم بعمليات ترميم بسيطة وهذا يساعد على حفظ هذه المواد على المدى
08:06الطويل للعوائل أيضاً
08:08ثم نقوم بإرسالها إلى معمل الرقمنة ونقوم برقمنة هذه المواد بأحدث وسائل الرقمنة الموجودة
08:17وهذه كلها مصادر مهمة وهي تعتبر إثراء وإضافة للتاريخ العام لقطر
08:24بالإضافة إلى ذلك هو يعتبر حفظ وتوثيق لتاريخ هذه العائلات والتاريخ الخاص للعوائل القطرية التي موجودة في قطر
08:34طبعاً التقاليد والعادات الاجتماعية هي مهمة جداً في المجتمعات الخليجية
08:40ومهم جداً حفظ هذه العادات والتقاليد
08:44من أهم أهداف مشروع الأوراق العائلية الرقمية هو تعزيز الهوية الوطنية
08:50بالإضافة إلى ذلك إيجاد نوع من التوازن بين الأرشفات الاستعمارية والأرشفات المحلية
08:57بما في ذلك أيضاً تحسين الفرص التعليمية ودمج المصادر المحلية في الأبحاث الأكاديمية
09:04التي تعتبر إضافة للتاريخ القطري العام
09:08وهذه الوثائق مهمة جداً لأنها تعتبر إضافة ولسد فجوات حقوبات تاريخية غير موجودة في التاريخ المكتوب
09:20المواد الموجودة في الموقع الإلكتروني هي متاحة بالمجان لكل من مهتم بتاريخ قطر والمنطقة
09:28وهو يساعد على تحسين الفرص البحثية وتوفير المصادر الأولية التي تثري الأبحاث التي تتناول تاريخ قطر والخليج
09:37وحالياً يحتوي الموقع على ما يقارب المائتين وثيقة من جوازات سفر وصور ومراسلات
09:43نتمنى أن تكون هناك مشاريع مماثلة تلهم حركة أوسع في مجال توثيق وحفظ الارشفات المحلية في مطاقة الخليج
09:54From the cradle of knowledge to the epicenter of culture
09:57It's here within the grounds of the National Museum of Qatar that the country's leadership flourished
10:02Today, the museum brings Qatar's story to the world as custodians and protectors of cultural heritage
10:10To keep it, to keep it alive, to preserve it, to expand its life so to speak
10:16That could take many shapes, many forms, it could be conservation, consolidation, restoration, renovation, adaptive reuse
10:25Culture is about multiple ownership, a network of ownership
10:29It's about people appreciating the value of what you see
10:33If people stop visiting the Mona Lisa, it will cease to be of value
10:39So as many people as you want to own the space, to feel like they're attached to the space
10:46To feel like they are related to the space somehow
10:48You can continue to preserve that space for the future generations
10:54The heritage fails when we preserve the fabric and lose the narrative
10:59So is this building only special because it's a palace, it's 110 years old
11:05Or is it special because it was a place where some leaders were born, future leaders were born
11:10Treaties were signed, meetings happened, early formation of government, early formation of financial systems, early formation of Shura Council
11:20There is so much narrative that has happened in this place
11:23And usually the mark, the building, the monument is only the symbol that remains
11:30You preserve an element so that the story can continue to resonate
11:37From heritage houses to traditional craftsmanship
11:40Qatar's dedication to preserving cultural heritage is as robust as the skyscrapers' building
11:46And the technological innovations that's driving the country forward
11:50That's all the time we have for now
11:52Thanks for watching Qatar in Motion
11:54And see you next time
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