Education ministry launches ‘My values draw my identity’ project

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) launched the “My values draw my identity” project, which will run for three years from 2024 to 2027.

The project, with its inauguration ceremony attended by Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Affairs Maha al-Ruwaili, aims to complete the plans and programmes that began in 2021 under the supervision of the Department of Schools and Kindergartens in the private education sector and in co-operation with the Education Center to promote and consolidate educational values among students through integrated school campaigns and activities. At this stage, the project provides specialised educational resources to support teachers and students and help them adopt and apply values in their daily lives. The project seeks to promote the inclusive education of our students and to strengthen the national identity and Qatari culture in private schools and kindergartens.

In his speech on the occasion, Assistant Undersecretary for Special Education Affairs Omar al-Naama said: “This project, which we are launching in partnership with several national bodies and institutions, comes at a time when we are witnessing significant challenges at the level of identity and loyalty, which makes instilling and emphasising local values necessary to achieve a balance between preserving our traditions and keeping pace with global developments.

Director of the Department of Private Schools and Kindergartens Dr Rania Mohammed confirmed that the department, in collaboration with the Center for Cultivating Tomorrow’s Leaders — one of the educational service centres in the ministry — has been keen to launch the project “My Values Shape My Identity” in its fourth edition with a fresh and different approach in content and implementation methodology. This unique methodology is based on Islamic and national references when preparing the project’s initiatives. It relies on scientific principles to identify educational challenges.

Dr Shawkat Talafha, executive director of the Tarbia Center, pointed out that the world is going through significant value challenges, many of which have exceeded the limit of imagination and expectation.

Some manifestations and phenomena have become incomprehensible, and the ability of educators to predict the next and new has declined. We have entered into a conflict with these challenges, trying to dismantle them to understand them and to reach the best way to deal with them. Initiatives differ in their content and objectives, including Aseel Initiative which aims to strengthen Islamic and national identity; Fitra Initiative which aims to promote common sense in the hearts of male and female students; Ikhaa Initiative which aims to raise awareness of how to deal with bullying; Nafsi Amana Initiative which aims to raise awareness about body destroyers and how to prevent them as well as Safe Sailing Initiative which addresses digitisation problems and aims to educate students about its safe use.

Director of the Community Police Department at the Ministry of Interior Brigadier Dr Ibrahim Mohammed al-Samih stressed that many initiatives aim to instil national loyalty.

Director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Ministry of Justice Dr Saleh Ali al-Fadala expressed his happiness with the project and stressed that they provide legal awareness to the community in general. Director of the Public Relations Department at the Ministry of Sports and Youth Hind Saqr confirmed that 43 ongoing projects are workshops and lectures on youth issues throughout the year.

Reem Malallah from the National Museum of Qatar said that the goal is the same: consolidate the national identity. Samah al-Siddiqi from the Communications Authority said the authority organises workshops and lectures to spread awareness of cybercrimes, consumer protection, digital safety, protecting children from the Internet, and reviewing any content provided to children.

Director and Founder of Qatar Initiatives Dr Mohammed Khalifa al-Kubaisi presented a distinctive initiative for students to become participants in the project and not just as listeners, by launching a competition to produce meaningful intellectual content that promotes values and ethics. Criteria and a jury will be set for the competition. After collecting the results, all programmes will be displayed on a YouTube channel.