Doha International Family Institute Hosts Seminar on Qatari Families: Strengths and Challenges

The Doha International Family Institute (DIFI), a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), in collaboration with the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs, will hold a public seminar titled ‘Qatari Families: Strengths and Challenges’, at the Qatar National Convention Centre from January 16-17, 2018.

The seminar will discuss the findings of a study on Qatari families, as part of a larger DIFI research project on Arab Family Strengths in Qatar, Jordan, and Tunisia. Highlighting the project, Ms. Noor Al Malki Al-Jehani, Executive Director, DIFI, emphasized that families are the basic, foundational social units in every society, and that healthy individuals within healthy families are essential to the core of a healthy society.

“It’s the responsibility of society, and in everyone’s best interest, to help create a positive environment for all families. Therefore, the purpose of our research is to identify the factors that are associated with strong, Arab families, the challenges they face, and how they rely on their strengths as individuals, family units, members of communities, as well as the wisdom of their cultural and religious beliefs, to meet these many challenges,” said Ms. Al-Jehani.

The two-day seminar will include the following four panel discussions:  ‘Marital Relationships’, ‘Parenting’, ‘Culture’, and ‘Financial Aspects’. On the first day, Dr. Abdallah Badahdah, Director of the Family Research Division, DIFI, and Dr. John DeFrain, Professor Emeritus of Family Science in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, College of Education and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA, will present the research findings. Dr. Azza Abdulmeneim, Senior Lead Researcher, DIFI, and Dr. Sylvia M. Asay, Professor of Family Studies, University of Nebraska at Kearney, USA, will present the second day’s research findings.

The event, which is open to the public, will bring together policy-makers, practitioners, researchers, service providers, and members of Qatar’s civil society, providing them with a platform to discuss the most important challenges facing Qatari families and propose recommendations to strengthen Qatari families.

For more information, please visit: www.difi.org.qa