Qatar Philharmonic at Kennedy Center

The new Qatar Philharmonic will perform at the Washington, D.C., Kennedy Center on February 24, 2009. They will perform in Arabesque, a 3-week series involving ensembles and performers from 22 Arab nations. The Qatar Philharmonic will perform Marcel Khalife's "Arabian Concerto" and Beethoven's 5th Symphony; the juxtaposition of these two pieces may be a subtle, or not so-subtle, statement of the importance of Arab world music and Khalife's prominence as a contemporary Arab musician.

The Qatar Foundation and Education City community are planning a send-off concert in conjunction with the U.S.-Islamic World Forum, a conference held in Doha just before the departure of the Philharmonic for its U.S. debut. The performance will be a statement of the importance of cultural diplomacy, an idea advocated by former Ambassador and current faculty member at Georgetown University, Dr. Cynthia Schneider.

The importance of Arabesque and the Qatar Philharmonic's role in fostering western and Arab world cultural interaction should not be underestimated. Both are akin to the 2008 North Korean tour of the New York Philharmonic where the boundaries and bonds of political isolation were bridged through sharing music of western and eastern culture. Who knows where the Qatar Philharmonic will go... Buy your tickets and make your plans.

Contemporary and Islamic art

When I was in the Swedish Architecture Museum, I browsed a book, I.M. Pei, his complete works. I've been aware of I.M. Pei for many years, including the first time I was aware of his style when the Center for Atmospheric Research was built in Boulder, Colorado, when I was a child. Later I was captivated by the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art when it opened while Diane and I lived in Maryland. To my great delight, the "complete works" includes Pei's latest and last contribution to the world of architecture, the Islamic Art Museum in Doha.

The description of the Islamic Art Museum is wonderful, including Pei's statement that the Islamic Art Museum is his most ambitious and complete work. Pei's selection as the architect resulted after a failed competition that did not yield a design satisfactory to Qatari visionaries. They went after Pei who demanded that the museum be built away from the Corniche on an island of its own so that other buildings on the Coniche would never be able to obscure its beauty. Pei painstakingly studied many Arab world and Islamic buildings for his inspiration. He also studied the intricate designs prevalent in textile, rugs, and tiles (one displayed in the new museum is to the left). The result of Pei's careful study and genius is a building where literally every centimeter is a reflection of the art and culture that defines the Persian, Arab, and Islamic cultures. And, in the most amazing artistic colision, Pei's life-long commitment to sharp, clean, expressive contemporary lines meshes with Islamic art in electrifying ways.

One of the most spell-binding colisions is in the center of the Museum where, when you look up, you see ascending and closing octagons (to right) with natural light at the top. In this picture, you also see the underneath of the huge arcing chandelier, covered with a beautiful surface of Arabic geometric patterns. The chandelier then becomes the connector between the height and floor of the Museum when you look down from one of the hanging staircases; there you see the amazing combination of geometric forms in the floor, punctuated by the sweep of the chandelier. In the picture below, you see the chandelier as it was intended to reflect the lamps that so often light the interiors of Mosques throughout the world of Islam.

Cultural encounters in Sweden

One of the great bargains of Stockholm is the Stockholm card, a purchase that allows free or reduced-cost access to all museums. I got one and then set out to make sure I got my money's worth for three days - and I did. One of the museums I visited was the Swedish National Museum, a collection of art and furnishings representative of Sweden's history. As I was browsing through the 17th-18th century gallery, I noticed several fabrics and carpets to the side of the room. I went over to look at them and immediately recognized them as Persian in origin. To my delight, the text by the samples noted that these fabrics began to pour into Europe as easier travel and active trade routes developed. It also noted that the intricate geometric and floral designs became so widely incorporated into elegant fabrics throughout Europe that they became uniquely reflective of European high culture, although they were actually inspired by the Persian world. A little bit of Arab pride swelled up inside me.

The last museum of my Stockholm visit was the Medelhausmuseet, a collection of artifacts from the ancient Mediterranean world. The exhibit was closed for renovation but I picked up a magazine by the same name from the gift shop. I assumed that the magazine would describe the museum although it actually described the European Union's focus on the Mediterranean and near Middle Eastern world. The 1995 Barcelona Declaration established a path to build understanding among the citizens of the EU and the broader Mediterranean as well as protect the treasured artifacts that have been discovered in (and many times taken from) the Arab world. One of the projects sponsored by the Barcelona Declaration is the creation of a virtual museum that will bring together the resources about the Mediterranean to display them with recognition of their context, "thus maximizing mutual enrichment between the place of origin and the place of exhibition of the artifacts." (Medelhausmuseet, 3.2005, p. 26) Besides the opportunity to see objects that are now spread throughout the world, the virtual collection is intended to reflect the different understandings and interpretations in the Muslim versus non-Muslim world of the same historical events and "enriching the visitors' experience and encouraging them to visit the countries where the objects came from."

It's so very odd that for decades westerners have traveled to Europe as a statement of cultural awareness and privilege. The "Grand Tour" was a sort of "coming of age" experience for the children of the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, Mellons, Fricks and other wealthy Americans of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Only now have I begun to realize how much the Mediterranean and Middle East were exploited when their historical objects were taken to fill the galleries and museums of Europe. Some of the "acquisitions" of Europe were the spoils of war (i.e. Napolean). Regardless of how the objects got there, what would the Louvre, Pergamon, and even Topkapi museums be like without the many objects that were taken from the Mediterranean and Middle East? And just incidentally, the economic impact of museum collections isn't small; the Mediterranean region is the largest tourist draw in the world, a force for economic vitality taken away from those who were the descendants of the history we see in the galleries of Europe.

I was delighted to see the EU's initiative to help right the wrongs of artistic theft and incorporation. I was even more delighted to see reference to the fact that much of tourism "focuses on monumental forms of heritage, which more often than not commemorate war, conflict, conquest, and colonization - and say little about the people and how they got on with their day-to-day lives." Medelhausmuseet (3.2005, p. 32) refers to this as the valorization of war and conquest. No wonder that the people of the Mediterranean and Middle East are seen as always in conflict if that's all we see in our museums. The Mediterranean Voices initiative, a complement to the virtual museum, will bring to life the oral histories and natural cultural practices throughout this region, balancing the history of war and conflict with the nobility of everyday life.

The Medelhausmuseet is an important initiative, although a small voice in the broader museum industry. In addition, there are serious initiatives to bring the history of the Middle East, Arab, and Islamic world back to its origins. The new Museum of Islamic Art in Doha is one of the most serious examples. I returned to Doha ready to dig into understanding the art and artifacts that we now have at our doorstep.

Home of the Nobel Prizes and more

Because the academic semester concluded last week, allowing many of my colleagues to leave Qatar over the weekend, I was facing a pretty lonely time in Qatar during the Eid Al Adha break. I decided to use up some frequent flier miles to go someplace that might feel like the holidays. I landed on Stockholm, Sweden, as my destination - a great decision for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the beautiful Christmas Market to the right in Gamla Stan (the old city area of Stockholm).

Stockholm is an old city, serving throughout its history as the capital of Sweden and claiming rights as the unofficial capital of Scandinavia. Sweden became very prosperous during Europe's days of domination in shipping. It was one of the countries that prospered most; as a result, Sweden built many imposing buildings throughout the 16th and up and through the 19th century. The entire city of Stockholm is plotted on islands among waterways and canals. Like other cities of Europe where access by water was very important to their development (i.e. Amsterdam and Dresden), it claims to be the Venice of the north. I don't know which city has the most justified claim but water certainly plays prominently in Stockholm's history.

One of the most fascinating reminders of Sweden's history as a maritime power is a ship that sank on its maiden voyage from Stockholm in 1628. Because the ship sank twenty minutes after setting sail, and sunk in waters that protected it over the centuries, archaeologist were able to raise and restore it at the Vasa Museum. The ship that you see here is 95% complete with the original wood that shipbuilders used to construct it. The ornamentation is incredible, an assertion of the wealth and power of Sweden as it engaged in the "30 years war" that gripped Europe in the 17th century. I thought that the ships in "Pirates of the Caribbean" were impressive but they are dwarfed by the size of the Vasa. Standing by the side of this vast ship, I could just imagine what it must have been like to have the ship sail by, overwhelming everything in its path. The sinking of Vasa was the result of over-building with two decks of heavy canon and towering sails that capsized it when a strong wind tipped the ship, the balast rolled, and water gushed in through the canon portals. One can only imagine...

More impressive than the beautiful buildings and the amazing reconstruction of Vasa, the Nobel Prize overwhelms this city. I just happened to be here during preparations for December 10, which is the day on which the prizes are always awarded. It was awe-inspiring to say the least to see the Nobel winner museum and observe the preparation for the Nobel banquet at City Hall.

It's ironic that a city that built its wealth from domination by sea is the home to the recognition and celebration of people who have contributed most to the advancement of science, economics, and peace. The buzz of the city is palpable and a joy to observe. I have one more day left before I return to Qatar. My feet/legs are so tired I can hardly walk but I'll dive into several more museums tomorrow.

Making educational progress

In case it is not obvious, this blog frequently serves as a place where I note publications or reports that I've found of interest (and don't want to forget) as well as where I attempt to integrate different ideas across fields, culture, and time. Because the work at Qatar Foundation is essentially about educational progress in Qatar and the Arabian Gulf and because the educational models we are using are from the U.S.A. and Europe, it's important to watch for the links between the educational work in the Gulf and the western world. Two reports, one from the Arabian Gulf and compiled by the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute, Aligning Post-Secondary Education Choices to Societal Needs, and one from the U.S.A., Measuring Up 2008, have been the focus of my attention over the last couple of weeks.

The RAND-Qatar Policy Institute report advocates that Qatar's scholarship programs focus on five goals: 1) meet workforce needs; 2) develop language, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills; 3) prepare future leaders; 4) build cultural awareness of and ties to other countries; and 5) meet civic and cultural needs. Further, authors of the report studied a number of scholarship programs throughout the world and concluded that five principles should guide the operation of Qatar's scholarship programs; 1) quality, 2) accountability, 3) efficiency, 4) flexibility, and 5) support. Prior to establishing the vision for, and directing the resources to establish, the new approach to K-12 and higher education in Qatar, a select number of young people attended universities in the UK and U.S.A. The majority of Qataris, especially women, did not have the opportunity to continue their educations. Now through enhanced opportunities provided through Qatar University, CNA-Q, and Education City, an increasing number of male and female students have a breadth of higher education opportunity that can be tailored to each of their backgrounds/preparation, their interests, and the needs of the country. Educational opportunity can now be found in Qatar or through select programs abroad.

Measuring Up 2008 critiques educational progress in the U.S.A., noting that the U.S.A. was successful in the past but is now slipping in comparison to a number of other countries around the world. The parallel elements between Measuring Up 2008 and the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute report are the importance of; 1) improving K-12 preparation so that students can attend university, 2) providing affordable access to higher education regardless of family socio-economic status, and 3) focusing on increasing and assessing the quality of learning so that young people are prepared for work that will serve their private interests and the public good.

While Qatar does not have the history and the numbers of students that the U.S.A. has had, it is very ambitious in its contemporary vision. A laser-like focus that incorporates the recommendations of the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute report is likely to achieve in a very short time a level of education that will be rivaled by few, if any, other nations. The key issue for Qatar is stimulating the imagination of its people to see the incredible potential ahead and to see that the hard work required to get there is justified. By contrast, the key issue that I'm growing to realize as important for the U.S.A. is that it must not abandon the commitments it made in the burgeoning days of higher education in the mid-20th century. Measuring Up 2008 documents that, unless the U.S.A. returns to the focus on education that it previously had, the baby-boomers will be the last generation to benefit from higher education in such significant ways - the future promise of the U.S.A. may suffer as a result.

Qatar and the U.S.A. - interesting partners in education and both able to learn from each others' experiences of yesterday and today... The U.S.A. has been in an enviable position because it committed so much to higher education after the depression of the 1930s and WWII. Things are tough again in 2008/09. Qatar is investing its resources in education. Where will the U.S.A. invest its resources?

Educating, engaging, and empowering our citizens at home and abroad...

A new Brookings Institution report, Voices of America: U.S. Public Diplomacy for the 21st Century, proposes a variety of initiatives that will help to reestablish the U.S.A. as a positive force in the world. Coupled with the appointment of Barack Obama's new National Security Team, a new day is dawning. On the National Security Team, the headline in the LA Times says it all, "Obama stresses diplomacy with new national security team." Portraying the team as a renewal of diplomacy is reinforced by the fact that two of the seven new Security Team members have a relationship to the Brookings Institution; Rice (new Ambassador to the U.N) is a former Brookings Institution affiliate and Jones (new National Security Advisor) served on the Advisory Board noted in the "Voices of America" report.

President Bush's admission that the thing he wasn't prepared for was going to war sheds more direct light on the problem that the U.S.A. now faces. In the interview with Charlie Gibson, Bush declined to express regret for the faulty intelligence information that led to the war in Iraq but expressed satisfaction in his, "Recognizing we're in a war against ideological thugs and keeping America safe." Constructing the world as a battle against the "axes of evil" and a "war against ideological thugs" will be difficult to undo. However, The Brookings Institution report and Obama's appointment of a diplomacy-oriented security team is the beginning of the long road back to the principles that world-citizens admire about the U.S.A. A period of deep listening is ahead and my hope is that this results in realigning the U.S.A. with the needs of the world. The admonition that the U.S.A. must move forward by "educating, engaging, and empowering our citizens at home and abroad..." tapped one of the most important resources the U.S.A. has. Those of us abroad can listen carefully and we can demonstrate the eagerness of the U.S.A. to be a force for peace and prosperity in the world.