Education City reception showcases QF’s commitment to advancing contemporary sustainability practices and solutions through traditional knowledge

Doha, Qatar: We feel at peace in (in traditional Qatari homes like Bayt Al Khater) precisely because they work with the grain of nature rather than a...

Doha, Qatar: “We feel at peace in (in traditional Qatari homes like Bayt Al Khater) precisely because they work with the grain of nature rather than against it. This sense of ease is not a coincidence; it is in resonance with the principle of mizan or balance – a universal law found in all wisdom traditions. It is through this sacred harmony – this keeping of the scales – that life truly prospers,” Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, has emphasized the importance of an international partnership focused on harnessing traditional knowledge to advance sustainability.

Qatar Foundation’s (QF) Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future at its core has a mission to redefine sustainability in a way that is locally relevant, contextual and built on the wisdom from peoples of the land. A key component lies within traditional urbanism practices, on which Earthna and The King’s Foundation – a UK charity founded by His Majesty King Charles III – launched a two-year collaboration in January 2025 to establish four urban development pilot projects around the world that showcase how local cultural heritage, preserved and passed down from one generation to another, can guide and influence the sustainable practices of today.

And 12 months on, a high-level reception at Al Khater House – a historic house within QF’s Education City that has been preserved as a space for sustainable, inclusive cultural heritage activities and experiences for the community – explored the progress of the projects supported by the partnership in India, Guyana, Sierra Leone, and Zanzibar, while reinforcing the importance of harnessing the learnings of the past to shape 21st Century sustainability solutions.