A group of Arab scientists and intellectuals participated in the Najah Arab Forum, part of the ongoing third edition of the Najah Qatari Festival, which kicked off in Doha on Thursday.

The five-day festival comprises 13 forums, covering various fields, including defense, economy, culture, arts, sports, among others. 

The festival, which is sponsored by many government institutions, highlights the achievements of the country's various sectors and gives a platform to officials to share their personal experiences and success stories. 

The Najah Arab Forum in the highly prestigious event convened some Arab scientists and intellectuals who spoke about their accomplishments. This forum aimed to shed light on the creative minds in the Arab world.

Majid Al Mansouri was the moderator for the forum, which hosted Dr Essam Hajji, an Egyptian space scientist and member of the scientific team at Nasa, Dr Ali Al Maktoum, associate professor at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, Dr Khaled Al Ali, consultant and former CEO at Nasa and a member of the Jury of Stars of Science in Qatar, as well as Dr Oula Amrouni, researcher at the National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies in Tunisia.

In their speeches, the scientists and intellectuals praised the tremendous efforts Qatar attaches to science, scientists, and investment in its youth through the Qatar Foundation. 

The building of nations can only be achieved through overcoming ignorance and focusing on science and knowledge by giving the educational process the utmost importance, the scientists stressed.

Najah Qatari Festival in its third edition hosts a group of Arab scientists and intellectuals at the Najah Arab Forum to talk about their experiences of success and shed light on "mind industry" in the Arab world #QNA

— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) August 29, 2019

During the session, Dr Hajji said that science is an integral part of the Arab identity and called for more spending on science. 

He expressed his happiness at the setting up of the earth and space science project at Education City in Qatar, adding, “It is a nucleus of a distinctive space project, not to send someone to space or to discover Mars or fame, but to discover our dearest and most precious thing, which is water.” 

The project aims to design the first Arab scientific satellite that monitors all groundwater maps in the world and examines the special climatic changes in the desert and dry areas to understand the environment.

“This satellite will be launched in 2024,” he said, noting that it is the first Arab satellite to be launched in cooperation with international institutions and mainly with Arab countries that share the same problems to solve the water crisis.

Dr al-Ali stressed that there are still challenges for this generation to break into it, referring to the role of parents and family in influencing the youth personality. 

He also underlined the dialectic between (teaching and indoctrination), pointing out that indoctrination is not always successful.

He called on youth be diligent and do more research, sharing his early experience of when he was studying planets in a class, he was not limited to what was presented in classes but curiosity pushed him to buy a telescope, to observe space and planets, noting that this was a self-directed effort, encouraging young people to have high ambition.

Dr Al Maktoumi said that the Qatari youth are fortunate and that everything is conducive for their success.

Dr Al Amrouni pointed out that there are physical and subjective challenges to success, adding that technological conditions and finding suitable research space, as well as family obligations for women as a mother and housewife, sometimes stand as an obstacle to her success.

Dr Al Amrouni added that when she came to Qatar, she was fascinated by the conditions available to scientists and researchers. She also stressed the importance of educating women and promoting science and knowledge.

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Cover Image Credit: QNA (from one of the earlier sessions of the festival) 

Source: QNA