Group launches rotation curation Twitter account
A group of Qatar residents have launched the country’s first rotation curation Twitter account, @WeAreQatar.
The first such country account was launched in December 2011 by Sweden (http://twitter.com/sweden), taking country branding to a whole different level.
Since then, not just countries and cities, but organisations have launched their own rotation curation accounts as well.
Each country or entity establishes guidelines and criteria, and volunteers nominate themselves as curators.
Every week, a new curator tweets from the account, and view the place or corporation from their perspective.
For @WeAreQatar, Paula Crook (@KiwiPaula) is the inaugural curator. A civil engineer, she has been in Qatar for about seven years, and will be leaving the country later this month. The seed of this idea is Paula’s.
Khalifa al-Haroon, founder of popular online community iLoveQatar.net (ILQ) and Vani Saraswathi, managing editor of JustHere.Qa are the other founding members of this
voluntary initiative.
Khalifa is an entrepreneur who has effectively used social media to build bridges between the scattered communities in Qatar through ILQ. He says it is a big step forward for Qatar to join the league of countries with rotation
curation accounts.
“This has great potential for residents to be ambassadors of the country, and for both tourists and new-comers to get the essence of our community. It’s an opportunity for all the different nationalities in Qatar to represent the wider community. We Are Qatar.”
More information on rotation curation could be had from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotation_Curation, http://rotationcuration.com. The curators’ list of @WeAreQatar could be checked on WeAreQatar.wordpress.com
Philips LED energy-saving lamps hit market
Techno Q, systems integrator and official distributor of Philips lighting products in Qatar, has launched a range of Philips LED energy saving lamps in all major hypermarket chains across the country. The new range includes standard-sized bulbs, candles, lustres, spot lights, and reflectors, all of which offer a high-quality, green alternative to incandescent lamps.
Light emitting diode or LED is a light source that fits easily into an electronic circuit. Because they are illuminated by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material, LEDs do not burn out, get hot or use any
hazardous substances.
With this range Philips is further expanding its LED portfolio with a selection of new products and range extensions, including both luminaires and lamps designed for the general consumer market and residential use.
A representative from Philips said that in the past 10 years, LED technology has progressed significantly. “The brightness of LEDs has improved enormously, and will continue to improve further in the future, enabling LED technology to be integrated into more applications than a simple power indicator on an
appliance,” he said.
“Lighting now accounts for more than 19% of the world’s total electricity consumption, according to the IEA (International Energy Agency); and this innovation promises to drive massive energy and cost savings across the globe.”
Silatech in deal to help Somali youth
QNA/Doha
Silatech has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dahabshiil, the largest international payments firm in Africa, and the American Refugee Committee (ARC), an international NGO fighting poverty and unemployment, to promote Somali youth enterprise development and provide employment solutions in the Somali territories.
In keeping with its mission to create jobs and expand economic opportunities for young people throughout the Arab world, Silatech will collaborate with Dahabshiil and ARC to explore initiatives to promote youth entrepreneurship and self-employment opportunities as a means of alleviating poverty, Silatech said in a press statement yesterday.
As a Somali-founded business, Dahabshiil remains a primary remittance service for the global Somali diaspora, with thousands of outlets in more than 150 countries.
Dahabshiil’s portfolio includes Dahabshil Bank International and a leading telecommunication services provider, Somtel.
As such, the initiative between Silatech, Dahabshiil and ARC is the first of its kind in the Somali territories and will leverage Dahabshiil Group’s suite of services as part of an exclusive joint venture.
According to a 2012 UN report, youth unemployment in the Somali territories is approximately 67 %, one of the highest in the world.
However, given the increasingly positive outlook for the Somali territories and the relative stability in many areas, development organisations and socially-conscious private sector companies are increasingly shifting their focus away from humanitarian assistance towards sustainable economic rehabilitation.
As this transition continues, providing the right conditions for stimulating economic activities, particularly for the youth, is becoming critical.
Minister highlights Egypt’s impact on Arab world
QNA/Doha
HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari attended a seminar on enriching cultural dialogue and the impact of Arab Spring countries. The event was organised by the cultural department of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage.
Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Dr Mohammed al-Beltagy and Egyptian political researcher Dr Amar Ali Hassan delivered lectures at the seminar moderated by Qatar Tribune Editor-In-Chief Dr Hassan al-Ansari. Egyptian Ambassador Mohamed Mursy and a number of Qataris and residents attended the seminar.
Al-Kuwari reviewed the cultural and literary impact Egypt had on the Arab world, through prominent writers such as Taha Hussein, al-Aqad, Tawfeq al-Hakeem and Naguib Mahfouz among others. The minister also welcomed the two guests, and hoped the seminar would yield positive results on the cultural and political life in Egypt.
Hassan reviewed Egypt’s history with political dialogue. He stressed there was still a chance for it to work as long as all the forces commit themselves to tolerance. He said tolerance did not necessarily mean compromise.
Al-Beltagy spoke of the challenges that Egypt faces. He said the challenges were all related to the behaviour of the political forces in Egypt. He stressed it was important for Egyptians to steer away from stereotypes if they were to set a common goal for all Egyptians.
Training course in project management
The Secretariat General of the Development Planning in co-operation with the Institute of Administrative Development (IAD) will organise today a training course on the development of the capabilities of the state employees in project management. The event falls within the framework of efforts to build human resources needed to implement the National Development Strategy 2011-2016. Dr Saleh al-Nabit, the secretary-general of the General Secretariat for Development Planning, will open the course to be attended by managers and staff from the General Secretariat for Development Planning and other participants from a number of ministries and government agencies in charge of implementing the strategy. The five day-course seeks to strengthen and develop the capabilities of the state employees in project management.
Praise for Doha Declaration
QNA/Khartoun
Doha Declaration is the basis of the peace process in Darfur and it has achieved significant gains on the ground for the region’s people, Sudanese Minister Ahmed Saad Omar has said.
He said that notable achievements included the restoration of security and stability, progress made in the construction and the reconstruction processes, the return of displaced residents and the uniting of the Darfur people to face challenges and push forward the peace process. Saad Omar urged South Sudan to convince militant movements in Darfur to join the Doha Declaration instead of providing them with arms to undermine security and stability and the peace process.
Call for health checkup of house workers before letting them work
The country’s residents have demanded that recruitment offices should get domestic workers examined in the Medical Commission before letting them work in a household, local daily Al-Arab has reported.
This, say the residents, will help prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, if any, from the worker to the people living in the house where they are employed.
Some of the residents interviewed by the daily said recruitment agencies were responsible for the health problems of many families. They argued that these problems could have been avoided had the agencies got the housemaids/workers medically checked before handing them over to their employers.
According to the report, the residents have suggested that the recruiting offices set aside a small sum of money to conduct the health examination from the huge amounts they receive from clients. Such a move, they add, will protect the community from diseases.
Responding to the demand, an official of a recruitment agency said they gave sponsors the option of getting the domestic workers medically examined before they started work. However, most sponsors would refuse this and also want to receive the housemaids at the airport itself; they are not willing to give the agencies a few days to get the health checks done, said the report.
Besides, the official claimed, many sponsors often insisted that they would get the medical examination done on their own.
Holistic plan to deal with rise in power use in summer
The Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has prepared a holistic plan to deal with the expected rise in electricity consumption during the summer, local daily Al-Sharq has reported.
The strategy comprises three aspects - regular maintenance of the system, replacement of equipment in the distribution network and execution of projects to increase the efficiency of the system and enhance its reliability across the State, according to the report.
The rationale behind the plan is the expected increase in electric load by 10% this summer as compared to the same period last year. Kahramaa has completed the tasks necessary to support small and heavy industries by supplying adequate electricity to then during the summer, the report says, adding that the corporation has also declared its readiness to provide the GCC countries with power in case of emergency or when such a provision is requested for.
Kahramaa has said its readiness depends a lot on the control centre, which studies the condition of the distribution network by looking for disorders in the equipment. Faults, if any, are repaired or fixed with the help of protective devices.