Doha: Qatar Foundation International (QFI), a Washington DC-based non-profit member of Qatar Foundation, is holding an educational exchange trip in Doha from March 7 to 15, bringing together students from the US and Qatar to explore identity and cultures through the Arabic language.
Aber is an annual QFI educational exchange that stems out of its Arabic Language and Culture programme, which aims to expand the study of Arabic language and culture among public schools students in the US, Brazil and other countries.
Aber takes on a different theme each year but with the same goal of expressing one’s identity and culture through Arabic language. Aber 2013 was centred around the theme of graffiti and art, where students collaborated on mosaic art panels that have since been displayed at Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art and Bergamot station gallery, Santa Monica, California.
This year, the trip ‘Aber, What’s Your Story?’ takes on story-telling and includes 23 students from Texas, Washington DC, Honolulu, Tucson, Seattle who have joined 24 of their Qatari peers on an educational adventure that focuses on practising and improving their Arabic-language skills, aligning with Supreme Education Council’s goal to increase and strengthen spoken and writing knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic.
The students are accompanied by Dr Kevin Cordi, a professional storyteller with 28 years of experience, and was the first full-time high school storytelling teacher in the US.
He is guide students as each of them creates physical “storyboxes” that showcase their culture and community and then collaborate on building a larger cumulative storybox based on what they learn from experience in Qatar and their time with one another.
“The trip is another reflection of how QFI aims to provide a unique educational experience that lasts beyond the average school day,” said Maggie Mitchell Salem, Executive Director, QFI.
“We’re thrilled to have Dr Cordi as an integral part of the trip to share with students the value of storytelling as a means of creating community. Not only is the trip a great way to strengthen students’ Arabic language skills, but will also teach them important 21st century skills, such as public speaking and collaboration through a lasting and fun cross-cultural experience.
The seven-day programme will culminate in an Umsiyya, a traditional Arabic story-telling performance, where students will work together on performances and present their story-boxes to the audience, connecting the US form of storytelling with the tradition of oral storytelling in Qatar and the Arab world.
The Umsiyya is free and open to the public.
Each student will have the opportunity to contribute their own talents and showcase what they’ve learned from daily workshops on storytelling and public speaking.
The Peninsula
