Success of the seminar series in interacting with society and institutions

The activities of the fortnight-long Seminar Series, organised by the Ministry of Culture in partnership with Qatar University and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, concluded on Thursday. Dr Ghanem bin Mubarak al-Ali, advisor to HE the Minister of Culture, stressed, in a statement on the occasion, that the success of the seminar season is in interacting with society and institutions. "The concerted efforts of the Ministry of Culture and partners resulted in a season full of intellectual and literary activities, and achieved the targeted goals, by enhancing and enriching the cultural scene, building bridges of communication with all sectors and groups of society, including academics, researchers, students, writers and media professionals. It also brought to light debaters, presenters, creators and specialists."Dr al-Ali said that the Seminar Series, in its first session, brought together intellectuals and thinkers from different generations for an interchange on various literary and intellectual issues directly related to the concerns of the cultural elites in their relationship with the society. He revealed that the Seminar Series is to continue in order to keep up the momentum of cultural, social and media activities.In order to enhance the cultural movement inspired by the Seminar Series, the Ministry of Culture has organised the Ramadan Book Fair from April 8 to 16, as an extension of the Doha International Book Fair. The Ministry of Culture’s policy is to spread and encourage the culture of reading and promote and celebrate the Qatari heritage that enhances authentic cultural values. It also aims to support Qatari publishers by providing them with the opportunity to market their publications and expand the circle of readers. Dr al-Ali noted that the exhibition will include cultural and religious activities related to the Ramadan atmosphere famous among the Qatari community, in Souq Waqif, in order to bring the concept of reading closer to the readers and create a cultural movement in the historical place, which is a popular destination in the holy month.At the closing event of the Seminar Series yesterday, a seminar titled 'Thursday with a Social Networking Series' was held at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. It dealt with the impact of social media on society, and the pros and cons of the means of communication. The speakers were Qatari media and social media pioneers and poets - Dr Abdulrahman al-Harami, Jaber Nasser al-Marri, Mubarak al-Khayarin, Abdullah al-Anzi, Abdulrahman Saud al-Hajri, and Iman al-Kaabi. Hassan al-Saei was the moderator.Dr al-Harami said that in the era of globalisation, we cannot be isolated from the world as a result of the tremendous technological development that has entered every home. This calls for using these electronic devices in a positive way. He stressed that everyone has a religious, societal and moral responsibility in the use of these devices, which carry a wealth of information, but are also like ticking time bombs.Abdullah al-Anzi said that the biggest problem lies in keeping children away from the majlis. As a result, they may be vulnerable targets of others, intellectually. He called for the need for the family to pay more attention to their children so that they can be trusted by them. He also addressed the impact of social media on society and the importance of self-discipline and social responsibility and abiding by regulating laws. Journalist Jaber Nasser al-Marri addressed the role of social media pioneers and their social responsibility in spreading what benefits society and steering away from rumours. He stressed the need for social media pioneers to respect social ethics, maintain emotional stability, and to verify information directly with public relations officials in the relevant authorities. "They should keep away from personalisation, pointing out that traditional media follow certain procedures, while the social media messages have become open. There are no regulations for everyone who is active in this field, where we see users rushing to comment on events. He called on all mass media users to pause before answering in order to preserve harmony and balance in the society.Al-Marri said that social media currently looks like a "trend", which is equivalent to the headlines of newspapers or news bulletins in traditional media. He called on social media users not to rush behind trends unconsciously, so that the social media does not turn into a weapon that distances citizens from their connection to their homeland.Poet Abdul Rahman Saud al-Hajri talked about the exposure of some twitter users to bullying, and explained that ignoring it is the best way. He stressed that twitter users have to get news from official sources. He welcomed the diversity and difference in views, but warned against personal abuse, stressing the importance of accepting constructive criticism.Mubarak al-Khayarin thanked the Ministry of Culture for organising the Seminar Series. He described the Twitter platform as a large space for recycling information, although the discussions that take place in it are about ephemeral events, far from ideas, and could be problematic.Al-Khayarin said that as he entered into the space of Twitter, he set his goal to avoid controversy and useless discussions, which cause hostility, and whether through misunderstanding, or by stirring up confusion, as the user is accountable for his words. On how to protect children from social media, through her personal experience as a mother, media specialist Iman al-Kaabi, said that what she finds in the media makes her really afraid for her children. There is a need to know who they follow and what messages they receive through social media. She said that she deals with them as her friends more than as their mother and shares with them many messages and video clips about general issues in Qatar or abroad."As parents or mothers, we see what is going on around us and what the goals of the West are and their attempts to confuse the minds of our children and take them in a completely different stream from what they were raised on and what we are keen to instill in them. Therefore, our responsibility is great even in choosing whom to follow in light of the fact that some celebrities have become against our policies. There are events against our policies and beliefs , and here comes our role as parents to discuss with our children and follow them constantly."Al-Kaabi confirmed she is against banning because the ban may cause a bigger problem that may push the children to do what they want without the knowledge of the parents. She explained that the world of social media is a very wide sea, and either we swim in it and reach safety or we drown in it, and the consequences will be dire."If a study is done in each country, we find that it has a stronger platform than another. Recently, Twitter has become like a chatting platform and some people send details of their lives and daily activity via Twitter. Thus the role of Twitter has changed from a platform for elites who raise political and social issues, in addition to some issues related to ministries and government agencies in the country, but now the matter is different."Al-Kaabi added that, unfortunately, some of this empty content is tweeted, retweeted, shared and quoted, and therefore not everyone who tweets has basics, roots, conditions and standards. Even the one who digs into the Twitter platform knows that there are certain criteria for tweeting. So whoever tweets more than 20 tweets per day, will immediately find his views declining, as well as retweets. Therefore, it is necessary to raise the level of what we tweet and about what we tweet.The seminar season was a success and included nine seminars, in which more than 30 researchers and university professors participated, and a number of specialists and media professionals. The other seminars were on 'Human or local identities? Culture and the multiplicity of identities in the Gulf', 'Do local dialects complement standard Arabic?' 'Has the status of the Arabic language declined in our society?,' 'The mediation in Islam between idealism and reality,' 'We and the West: Arab centralism and the concept of universality, Western complex between truth and illusion', 'Poetry and Songs, how different and why levels have regressed', 'Qatari cultural elites, the hoped-for role in enriching the cultural scene,' then “on the issue of identity,” to conclude with today’s “Social Media” seminar.