H E Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of the Board of Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation with other officials and honourees during the ceremony.
Doha, Qatar: Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation (ALF) held a ceremony to honour the schools that won in the Farm Your Country programme for the 2024–2025 academic year.
The event was organised in partnership with the Ministry of Municipality — represented by the Public Parks Department —and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
The ceremony was attended by H E Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of the Board of Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation; Hamad Khalifa Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary for Shared Services Affairs at the Ministry of Municipality; Eng Abdullatif Ali Al-Yafei, the General Manager of Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation; Sheikh Suhaim bin Abdullah Al-Thani, Events and Communications Officer at the Public Parks Department at the Ministry of Municipality as well as a number of educational and executive leaders from both ministries.
This year marks the tenth consecutive edition of the programme, which involved the participation of 500 students from various educational levels across 46 public and private schools.
Over the years, the programme has positively impacted more than 3,500 students, equipping them with valuable knowledge about producing healthy food through teaching them how to grow vegetables and ornamental plants.
These skills are used to beautify their school gardens and homes, while also fostering a culture of self-reliance, initiative, and resourcefulness in the next generation.
As part of the programme, the Foundation awards a special Excellence Prize to the most outstanding school of the agricultural season. This award includes the implementation of a fully integrated botanical garden within the school — a key goal of the Foundation to promote green sustainability and leave a lasting impact on students, the future leaders.
On the morning of Sunday, May 4, 2025, a sustainable botanical garden was officially inaugurated at Ruqayya Preparatory School for Girls, the winner of the previous season’s Excellence Prize. The garden represents the school’s successful implementation of agricultural sustainability, featuring a greenhouse and plants used for educational and awareness activities — offering a living example of how education can be integrated with environmental practices.
At the event, Jassim Bin Hamad Secondary School for Boys was announced as the winner of the Excellence Prize for the current academic season.
H E Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani expressed his happiness with the performance of the schools and students in this year’s edition, stating that the Foundation’s programmes are always designed to equip students across all groups with essential scientific, engineering, and technical skills that support both their academic and future careers. These aims were clearly reflected in the high level of competition seen between the participating schools throughout the agricultural season, which ran from November 2024 to March 2025.
Eng. Abdullatif Ali Al-Yafei, the General Manager of Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation, emphasised the Foundation’s commitment to sustainability and raising students’ awareness of the importance of agricultural environments and the self-sufficiency they can bring to individuals and society.
Sheikh Suhaim bin Abdullah Al Thani, Events and Communications Officer at the Public Parks Department at the Ministry of Municipality, also highlighted the fruitful partnership between the Ministry of Municipality, represented by the Public Parks Department, Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation, and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
