H E Alessandro Prunas, Ambassador of Italy to Qatar, during the launch of a joint social media campaign of Italian Embassy and Qatar Foundation on bilateral cooperation.
The Embassy of Italy and Qatar Foundation (QF) have launched a joint social media campaign on bilateral cooperation in the field of research and science diplomacy.
The recently launched campaign features a series of video clips by Italian and local QF researchers who highlight their ongoing research projects and share their experiences of being part of Qatar’s and QF’s RDI ecosystem. The videos are a window to the cutting-edge initiatives that have the potential to bring about positive impact on both countries as well as the wider international community.
“Science diplomacy” or, as I like to call it, “diplomacy for science and research” can be instrumental in building bridges between the scientific communities of our countries and bring about closer interaction for the benefit of people beyond borders. The COVID-19 global emergency has made us realise that we need to improve common tools to respond to health crises and this can be achieved by reinforcing the network of relations that are already in place between our countries. Italy is eager to further increase diplomatic efforts to encourage research and scientific cooperation with Qatar,” said H E Alessandro Prunas, Ambassador of Italy to Qatar.
The campaign has been developed to highlight the personal commitment of scientists and experts, who are devoted to their academic and professional careers in areas that are key to the future of the next generations, such as Environmental Policies and Sustainability, Artificial Intelligence, Precision Medicine and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These are just a few examples of areas of joint interest which are also top national priorities in Italy and Qatar,” said H E Ambassador Prunas.
The campaign, which is promoted on the official Twitter and Facebook accounts of the Italian Embassy in Doha, features leading Qatari entities like QF Research Development and Innovation’s (QF RDI) internationally recognised Qatar Genome Programme, as well as the three national research institutes — Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Qatar Computing Research Institute, Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, that are part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU).
“Collaboration is a crucial factor for highly effective research. It contributes to both accelerating scientific progress and it enhances quality of the work. Our partnership with Italian research centres and scientific experts is part of QF RDI’s effort in placing Qatar at the forefront of scientific research and technological advancement and providing solutions to national and global needs,” said Dr. Richard O’Kennedy, Vice-President for Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) at QF and Vice-President for Research at HBKU.
The common interest of Italy and Qatar in the fields of scientific research and technology has seen the two countries develop various forms of cooperation and partnerships aimed at facing present and future global challenges with innovative solutions and enhancing human capacity through greater interaction among researchers and knowledge exchange.
In this regard, QF has played a crucial role, especially in enhancing connections with leading Italian research institutes and universities, and engaging them in Qatari research, development, and innovation projects.
“When I took office few months ago, I had the chance to meet many Italian researchers working at QF institutes, and I realised that there was a growing number of local projects involving top Italian research centres.
“When I discussed with the QF the ways to enhance bilateral cooperation, we felt it would be essential to disseminate information about existing QF programmes to generate greater awareness among the Italian scientific research community, as well as highlight the contribution of Doha-based Italian scientists and experts as a means to encourage new research, development and innovation partnerships between our countries,” said H E Ambassador Prunas.
