In its bid to become the primary cultural resource for expats, newcomers and visitors in learning more about Qatar and its fascinating culture, Embrace Doha has been holding a range of events ever since it opened two years ago. The upcoming Embrace Qatari Culture and Lifestyle session is another step ahead in this long-term community experience dialogue.
The first service provider of its kind in Qatar, Embrace Doha believes in providing expats with sufficient cultural awareness to understand and effectively interact with Qatari society. On Tuesday, from 6pm to 8pm, the Embrace Qatari Culture and Lifestyle session will cover four broad aspects: Hospitality and Greeting, Qatari Clothing and Dress Codes, Qatari Gatsronomy, and Qatari Culture and Tradition. The ticket for QR250 can be purchased at the gate of the venue; at Souq Waqif, next to the Police Station.
“Expatriates coming to Qatar often face a cultural shock. Many of them have never lived in the Middle East, let alone in the Gulf, where traditions and customs are very particular and often foreign to them,” say the organisers, explaining the importance of their culture sessions, “This lack of awareness leads to negative living experience for the expatriate community, which in some cases ends up in lack of adjustment. If one is unhappy in one place, one often leaves quickly. To break this cycle, Embrace Doha uses engaging and interactive cultural sessions far from the meeting rooms, where Qatari ambassadors meet with the newcomers and talk about all the cultural questions they need to ask.”
Ashok Choudhary, the Communication Manager for Embrace Doha, told Community, “70 per cent of Qatar’s population comprises expats. There is a huge gap between the locals and the expat community. Most of the expats, for instance, don’t know how to approach locals or strike a conversation with them. We are trying our best to build a bridge between the two by teaching expats about the Qatari culture and lifestyle.”
Embrace Doha says that it has taken the task of cultural integration upon itself through cultural awareness sessions such as Tuesday’s so as to introduce Qatari culture to the expatriate community, enabling them to experience the Qatari way of life and to have all their questions answered from this mixed group of bright, young Qataris, male and female, and get a true insight into the expats’ local environment, helping them enrich both their personal and social lives in Qatar.
Choudhary says, “In the two years of Embrace Doha, we have held around 20 cultural sessions and dozens of other events such as giving people a tour of an old, authentic Qatari house on the outskirts of Doha, or taking them through a tour of Souq Waqif and elaborating on the importance and history of Souq. The feedback to our activities has been amazing. So far, more than 500 people have attended our events. A lot of expats are surprised that such a practical primer in culture absorption is being offered. They want to ask more questions and know more.”
From orienting the participants about the Qatari hospitality, which deals with how the locals gather in Majlis and treat each other with tea, to taking the participants through presentations on local dresses and outfits apart from showing them on how to dress for various occasions, the session is just the kind of support and guidance that the expat community seeks, feels Choudhary.
“We want to be the leading organisation that provides cultural services to all corporates and expat communities,” he says, “We also help get expats the information that they find hard to access, such as an insight into school admissions. We even give induction sessions to the school staff, like teachers.
Embrace Doha’s regular orientation sessions at Souq Waqif are fast gaining fame among expats of Qatar. Through prior bookings, say the organisers, the two-hour long session is attended by a mix of expatriates from different walks of life, who are given an extensive knowledge of the Qatari ways of living, customs and culture through presentations. The mission of Embrace Doha is to introduce their clients to the values, principles, customs and traditions of Qatar and the Gulf region, to create healthy cross-cultural dialogue between Qataris and non-Qataris based on mutual respect and understanding.