Ready for a month of culture and art at Qatar National Library?

Starting 1 October, QNL will launch its first online GIF contest for people aged 12 to 18. This fun activity will allow participants to develop creative GIFs from images that represent the library’s digitised distinctive collections.

They can then upload their final work on Instagram with the hashtag #GIFwithQNL – and the prize? The best three GIF creators will secure spots as jury members at this year’s Ajyal Film Festival 2021.

On the following day, the library will host Abdullah Hilal Almohannadi, an intermediate school student who will discuss and raise awareness about the dangers of bullying and ways to deal with it at school.

On October 5, the first Virtual Scientific Research Forum for young adults, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Qatar National Research Fund will be held at the world-renowned facility.

Middle and high school students will be introduced to Qatar’s national priorities for scientific research that will help them learn skills in the field of research. Workshops will also be available for students to showcase their science-related projects to the public.

On October 6, QNL will hold an event to shed light on the diversity and breadth of jurisprudence schools in Qatar as part of the “Doha Capital of Culture in the Islamic World” celebration.

The library will also host a session to highlight the efforts of the founder of Qatar, Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed, in printing and publishing religious books to spread knowledge about Islamic culture.

As for all music lovers out there, a live concert by the Mosaic Ensemble, made up of members from the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, will be held in the library on October 6, in which around 20 musicians will play classical Egyptian and Qatari songs.

October 10 will see a session about the importance of children’s mental health, while October 13, will see a session about the newly developed Higher Education Strategy in Qatar.

October 16 will be all about sustainability and environmental efforts, with sessions to teach the community about marine life, the impact of plastic pollution in Qatar, suggesting a few simple solutions they can implement to protect the environment.

The library will also host a practical workshop by photographer Khalifa al-Obaidli, who is also director of the Tasweer Photo Festival, on October 22-23 as part of the “Between Science and Art: The Beginnings of Photography in the Middle East” exhibition.

This focuses on the stories of early photographers, presenting models of archaeological images that summarise some of the most important moments in the region.

The mesmerising shots are considered one of the rarest collections in the world, given that they date back to the announcement of the discovery of photography in 1839.