AlFaisal Without Borders Foundation (ALF) has kick-started this year’s Destination Imagination Qatar (DI) programme with DI Team Managers Training Workshops for 229 volunteer teachers from the 68 independent and international schools.

Ali Mar’e, executive director, said: “This year we are seeing nearly 10 times the number of schools taking part in DI Qatar programme across the country and the response to attend our volunteer Team Manager Training workshop with 229 teachers signing up reflects this huge increase and growing interest in this highly successful programme that delivers real empowerment to Qatar schoolchildren.  

“We’re hoping to be able to send 140 students to the global DI Finals in Nashville next summer, a fivefold increase on last year.“

“As the license holder for the DI Program in the GCC and Jordan, we are also taking DI to Jordan and UAE this year and plan to reach all the GCC countries by the end of 2018,” he added.

The DI programme empowers students through developing key life skills and sharpening their independent learning ability.  

The DI Training of Team Managers aims to ensure they understand the programme objectives and the wording of the complex challenges that students have to master so that pupils get the most they can out of the DI process.  

The training also reinforces the importance of creativity through all the stages of the creative process - recognise, imagine, initiate, collaborate, assess and evaluate – which helps to enhance students’ talent for innovation.  

It also aims at reinforcing the concepts of honesty, ownership, opinion giving and teamwork through activities that demonstrate the relevance of these skills in life and business.

Abdullatif Al-Yafei, general manager, said: “One of the cornerstones of the ALF Foundation is educational empowerment of Qatar’s youth to become well-rounded and capable future leaders.  

“Last year’s DI pilot was a resounding success and it was inspiring to see how pupils that took part developed personally, socially and educationally.  Learning crucial 21st century skills can only stand them and future DI teams in great stead for the rest of their lives.”

This year the DI organisation is planning an Invitational for students from all over the world, which will be held in Beijing and run by DI China.  

The teams will attend the four-day DI China Tournament and take part in a special 24-hour challenge which they will solve at the tournament, presenting their solution to appraisers on the third day.  

Qatar will send a team of five 13 year olds from Amna Bint Wahab Independent Preparatory School for Girls to attend the DI Beijing event.  - TradeArabia News Service