The programme introduces radical transformations taking place across global countrysides today, reframing the desert and countryside as sites of resilience, adaptation, and possibility rather than marginal spaces of scarcity or abandonment. It highlights how these landscapes are newly inhabited, imagined, and transformed in a rapidly changing world, and the panel discussion extends the conversation through public engagement and policy-relevant dialogue, anchoring a broader intellectual agenda of exhibitions, design studios, and cross-institutional collaborations that positions the desert at the center of critical global conversations about sustainability, innovation, and the future of shared life.
Programme details:
4 – 4.30pm Registration and Reception
4.30 – 4.40pm Opening Keynote Speech by Dean Safwan Masri (Georgetown University in Qatar)
4.40 – 5.25pm Fireside Chat by Dr Raha Hakimdavar (Georgetown University in Qatar) In Conversation with HE Fahad Al Attiyah
5.25 – 6.10pm Panel Discussion with Dr Nouf Al Thani, Georgetown University in Qatar (moderator), Ms. Rwodah Ibrahim AlNaimi (Qatar Fund for Development), Dr Radhouane Ben Hamadou (Earthna) and Dr Logan Cochrane (Hamad Bin Khalifa University)
6.10 – 6.15pm Closing Remark
