Science Majlis in Qatar

• In Event: Science from the Eyes of Local Cultures

Abstract

Between April 2015 and November 2016, Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), one of the country’s state-sponsored three research institutes, held a monthly public forum called the Science Majlis. The hybrid phrase—a combination of an English and an Arabic word—is meant to attract the Qatari publics (professionals, students, scientists) to the informal gatherings to discuss scientific topics that are relevant for the country. The discussion questions mostly revolve around issues of energy and environment, especially about water resources and solar energy. But occasionally another topic such as astronomy was included. The discussions were conducted in English, but speakers of Arabic were given a chance to ask questions, to comment, and even to respond in Arabic whenever they would like to. The forum welcomed participants of different age groups, educational backgrounds, professions, nationalities, and genders since one of its goals was to engage non-professional scientists to talk about QEERI-related issues. In fact, QEERI’s Science Majlis events were all held on the second floor of a café in downtown Doha on a Wednesday evening to make it accessible for the general public. In every event, a discussion leader, typically a QEERI scientist, started a discussion by giving a 10-minute talk on a topic before opening up the Majlis for a sustained discussion for about an hour. Everyone, including school-age children, could and did participate. Usually between 20 and 30 participants attended, although not everyone engaged in the discussion. A moderator strove to ensure that the discussions remain accessible by asking newly introduced terms be explained and balanced by avoiding that the conversation to be dominated by a specific group. Using qualitative data gathered from participeant observations and interviews with some of the Majlis participants, this paper traces the origins of the Science Majlis and examines how some of the Majlis participants experienced and understood the scientific topics discussed as well as their motivation to attend a Science Majlis event. Our analysis indicates that different Majlis attendees offered different perceptions of the Majlis based on among other things their educational background, prior exposure of the topic, ease of participation, and relevance of the scientific question to their daily lives. Their participation also informs to a certain extent how informal science education functions in Qatar. Despite initial skepticisms of QEERI’s upper echelons of the success of this program, having organized it for 1.5 years shows a persistent interest in these topics among certain types of publics even though engaging other targeted audience remained elusive. This seems to support one scholar’s contention that “public communication of science cannot be understood in a vacuum; rather it should always be viewed not only in the context of expert/citizen interactions, but also in broader context of science in society” (Bucchi 2008, 68).

Authors

• Anto Mohsin, Northwestern University in Qatar

• Aisha Al-Qadi, Northwestern University in Qatar

• Jemina Legaspi, Northwestern University in Qatar

• Sara Al-Ansari, Northwestern University in Qatar