This month, Qatar National Library is organizing events that cater to a wide variety of audiences from history enthusiasts and chess fans to parents and book lovers.
Egypt’s history and culture will be among November’s highlights with the launch of the first instalment in the "Ancient Egypt Rediscovered" series, which explores the treasures of ancient Egypt, from hieroglyph-laden monuments to antiques.
On 12 November, chess enthusiasts will have the opportunity to compete in the Chess Open tournament to try to claim the title of QNL Champion in the first event of its kind to be organized by the Library.
On 15 November, tradition will meet innovation when QNL hosts the first of a series of seminars titled “AI & Arabic Calligraphy: Crafting Calligraphy in the Digital Age”. The event will shed light on Arabic calligraphy's cultural significance and emphasize AI's transformative role in artistic expression.
Later in the day, the Library will host the first seminar in the “Ancient Egypt Rediscovered” series. Spanning 23 volumes – with three being among the most massive books of the era – the “Description de l’Egypte” collection of works played a pivotal role in birthing the Western field of Egyptology. The first book in the collection was published in 1809, almost a decade after Napoleon’s
unprecedented expedition to Egypt when more than 150 scientists, engineers, and scholars conducted surveys of the landscape, catalogued plants and wildlife, and documented the treasures of the country.
On 16 November, the focus will turn to the well-being of children and mothers during another expert-led session as part of the ‘Mommy to Be’ series. This month’s session will feature Enas Al-Hadidi, a positive discipline educator for parents and a Montessori instructor for new-born babies and children up to the age of six, who will talk about the importance of a baby’s first year. The event will be followed by a session for parents of autistic children titled “Strategies for Calming Tantrums & Meltdowns”, which will help parents recognize differences between autism tantrums and autism meltdowns.
“AI & Arabic Calligraphy” will return on 22 November, this time with a two-hour hands-on workshop, allowing participants to create Arabic calligraphy using basic AI tools.
The Parenting Book Club will return on 26 November with Dr. Heba Jamal Hariri, a psychotherapist, researcher, and faculty member at the University of Jeddah in the Department of Psychology, and Dalal Almulla, an educational trainer and expert in clinical social work. The pair will discuss how to talk about sensitive topics with your children.
On 29 November, the Library will host an inspiring book discussion with Latifa Ali about her book Light of My Life. Latifa will talk about her experiences in writing, the challenges facing women in today’s world and how to overcome them.
QNL will wrap up this month’s activities with a celebration of International Day for Persons with Disabilities, with an event showcasing works by a group of talented artists.
The Library encourages all members of the community to mark their calendars for these enriching events. For more information about the full program calendar and to register to attend, please visit the Library’s website at www.qnl.qa/en/events or the QNL mobile app, which is free and available to download from the App Store or from Google Play.
