Qatar

It’s official. Malta is one of the safest places on earth (bar Qatar). Apparently the Maltese archipelago is one of the zones of the earth that is least prone to natural disasters with a 0.72% risk of such an abomination occurring. There is one country that is safer and that country is Qatar (0.2% risk). While I was reading this fact sometime yesterday it struck me that this was the second time that I thought of Qatar and Malta at the same time.

Qatar, a Gulf state that has hitherto lived in the shadow of its giant neighbour Saudi Arabia is living a gold age. Success story follows success story with social improvements and business stories being the daily staple diet of the Qatari people. Sure, they have been well treated by mother nature since they do not only sit on the safest real estate on the planet but it also happens to be a source of black gold. It’s not just that though. It’s what the Qataris are doing with it that is fantastic. They have large scale projects, a modern society that has attracted major sporting events (FIFA World Cup anyone?) and smart investments. Qatar was given a heads up by mother nature and capitalised on the consequences.

Hearing a report on France Culture about Qatar’s success story I couldn’t help but wonder how important it is for a nation to realise its assets and capitalise on them quickly and efficiently. It also means investing wisely and pushing for the right marketing….

Just think about this. The Malta Tourism Authority decided to sponsor a team in the UK in order to raise Malta’s profile among the Brit tourist crowd. Who did we choose? For some obscure reason it was Sheffield United. Now much as I might think that the blades have a wonderful footballing pedigree steeped in history I cannot but question whether this partnership was well thought out.

Back to Qatar. Next time you see Barcelona skip onto the field in their Champion’s League outfit take a look at the sponsor on their shirts. Let me just add that Barcelona were famous for being one of the largest teams that obstinately refused to accept a shirt sponsorship for a very long time before finally accepting to carry “UNICEF” in the place of advertising. Well UNICEF is there no more. Do you know which country’s name sits proudly on the chest of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi while they weave their magic infront of a global audience?

Yep. You guessed it. Qatar. In the form of the Qatar Foundation. Here’s the vision statement from their website:

an independent, private, non-profit, chartered organization founded in 1995 by decree of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, to support centers of excellence which develop people’s abilities through investments in human capital, innovative technology, state of the art facilities and partnerships with elite organizations, thus raising the competency of people and the quality of life.

And here is their mission statement:

Qatar Foundation’s mission is to prepare the people of Qatar and the region to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world, and to make Qatar a leader in innovative education and research. To achieve that mission, QF  supports a network of centers and partnerships with elite institutions, all committed to the principle that a nation’s greatest natural resource is its people. Education City, Qatar Foundation’s flagship project is envisioned as a Center of Excellence in education and research that will help transform Qatar into a knowledge-based society.

Now that’s what I would call smart.