Qatar National Library (QNL) announced a rich and diverse program of events and workshops for January 2025 designed to stimulate children, families, students and young professionals, and provide them with the information and knowledge they need.
Activities will start on Jan. 3 with puppet shows for children in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture's Theater Affairs Centre to present interesting stories full of imagination and fun.
QNL will launch its latest academic and career guidance and counselling program to help students navigate the challenges of applying to universities and obtaining scholarships, as well as planning their career paths. Participants will have the opportunity to network with a select group of leaders and brightest minds from Education City and its distinguished alumni network, as well as from other institutions in the country, through three mentoring sessions held on Jan. 11, 18 and 28.
On Jan. 11, photography enthusiasts will have a unique opportunity to hone their skills through a practical session covering key photography techniques, including camera settings, lens selection, lighting, and image composition, with the aim of helping participants acquire camera control skills to capture professional-quality images.
On the same day, QNL will resume its Data Literacy Essentials series with a session on managing citations using Zotero (in Arabic), while a second session will be held on Jan. 25 in English.
On Jan. 17, a session titled 'Fact-Finding 101' will cover how to distinguish between primary, secondary and tertiary sources of information and acquire skills to identify and use different types of sources efficiently, from direct testimonies and original documents to analysis and summaries.
On Jan. 18, QNL will hold a session on the use of AI tools in education, especially the ChatGPT platform, where students will learn how to customize AI applications to support them in studying and academic achievement by adjusting settings and creating a customized guide to be their personal assistant in studying.
The Science Book Forum will be hosted on Jan. 21 by Dr. Naif Al Mutawa, a Kuwaiti clinical psychologist, entrepreneur, and creator of The 99, a comic book series featuring superheroes inspired by Islamic culture and values. The session will include a comparison of the characters from a historical perspective, an artistic imagination and literary creativity perspective, and his experience in creating his comic books from science fiction characters.
On Jan. 22, a session will be held on how to search smartly and effortlessly through basic skills for searching for information on the Internet and evaluating it more efficiently, which helps to obtain the desired results faster and with less effort. On the same day, QNL will host a musical evening with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, which includes a distinguished performance of the most beautiful French melodies using the flute, harp and string trio, allowing the audience to enjoy a musical journey into the world of French culture and arts.
The library concludes its monthly program on Jan. 28 with a discussion session within the Audible Shelf: Book Club for the Blind about the audio book 'Letting Go', translated to Arabic from English, by Dr. David Hawkins, which is available for download from the librarys electronic resources. This book provides a simple and effective mechanism for eliminating negative feelings and reaching a state of inner peace.
