DOHA, Qatar, May 5 (UPI) -- Aware that oil and gas wealth would not last for ever, the Gulf state of Qatar is striving to secure sustainable prosperity and to position itself as a key player in the region.
Its first successful attempt was al-Jazeera television, a network which broke many taboos in the Arab world and drew much international attention. Today, Qatar's goal is to become the Middle East's center for world-class education and healthcare -- a role that has long been played by Lebanon.
In contrast with neighboring Dubai, which imposed itself as a commercial hub and media center, Qatar opted to invest in education and medical care.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the emir of Qatar who assumed power after overthrowing his father in 1995, has since initiated major changes in the country. But the emir soon became aware that oil and gas would not last forever.
"Sheikh Hamad realized that oil and gas wealth, enormous as it is, was going to be a temporary window of opportunity," said Robert Baxter, Communications Advisor for Qatar Foundation. "In order to create something sustainable out of it, you need to invest in the capabilities of the people which is the true asset in the end. Education was the way to bring it out and make it relevant."
Baxter, who spoke to United Press International during a symposium on education hosted by the Qatar Foundation in Doha earlier this week, said Sheikh Hamad wanted Qatar "to be known for more than" its oil and gas wealth.
"Education represented the best way to create a kind of sustainable prosperity and at the same time to position Qatar as a regional leader," he said, noting that the Qatari authorities had invested heavily in educational.
The Qatar Foundation has been the driving force behind the country's commitment to education since it was founded in 1995 by Sheikh Hamad and supervised by his wife, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned.
The foundation's landmark project is the Education City, an 8-million square meter location in Doha which includes learning and research facilities, a science and technology park as well as a 350-bed specialty teaching hospital with an endowment of $8 billion to support its operating costs and fund research.
The Qatar Foundation went into partnership with five world-renowned American universities; Cornell, Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown and Virginia Commonwealth, each setting up branch campuses offering degrees in medicine, arts, engineering, business and foreign affairs. The Qatar Foundation has also gone into partnership with the RAND Corporation, allowing RAND experts in the United States and Europe to study issues of concern to the Middle East.
Education City includes the Qatar Academy, offering programs in English to students between three and 18-years-old; and the Qatar Leadership Academy, which focuses on preparing Qatari citizens to assume leading positions in society.
"Our target is to represent a hub of high quality education," said Baxter who explained that 450 students from various nationalities were currently enrolled in the various schools, colleges and universities of the Education City while the target is to reach 7,000 to 10,000 students.
In line with the Foundation policy, 60 per cent of the students and employees should be Qataris while the remaining 40 per cent is to be made up of other nationalities. Baxter agreed that maintaining such a ratio would be "a big challenge indeed" because of Qatar's small population that barely exceeds 200,000.
Another challenge would be to attract enough students and meet the target because of the high fees cost in the Education City's various colleges and universities that exceeds $30,000 a year per student.
Loans and scholarships will be available but there will be no compromise on quality, according to Michael Vertigans, director of public affaires in Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.
"It is the Cornell degree that is being delivered. The curriculum, the standard, the staff... everything is same as (in the mother college) in New York," Vertigans told UPI.
He noted that 129 students from over 20 countries were currently enrolled in the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar which is the "first American style medical campus in the Middle East."
This is the first time that a number of prominent universities have "moved to an Arab country, especially in the Gulf region," said Qatar Foundation Vice-President Seif Ali al-Hijri.
One of the main challenges facing the Qataris is the emir's vision of maintaining an open society despite the ever-growing number of foreigners flocking to the country, while at the same time preserving the country's identity, culture, heritage and customs.
"There are fears and they are genuine. The number of expatriates is much more than the nationals and this will continue for many years to come because the quick overture and big development are larger than the capacity of our society," said al-Hijri. "The solution is to prepare 20 to 30 percent of our citizens to be leaders. Otherwise, we will face a big gap."
Despite such fears, change is welcomed in Qatar.
"It is normal that any change is not accepted easily and that any development has a price. With such projects going hand in hand with a strong economy, a degree of political reforms and democracy, we have a better future," said a Qatari businessman who requested not to be identified. "People will adapt to change gradually but the most important is to preserve our culture and identity."
Qataris are keen to preserve their cultural independence. One fear is that Qatar, a staunch U.S. ally, is being "Americanized" and "falling under Washington's influence." But despite mounting pressure from Washington to silence al-Jazeera, the Doha-based TV network has successfully managed to rebuff Washington's efforts to censor it.
By promoting itself a hub of high-quality education along with its huge wealth from oil and gas, Qatar has eyes on a larger political say in the region and a greater political presence in the international arena.
