QF’s Education City Speaker Series To Focus on Regenerative Development – and a Future Beyond Sustainability

The concept of regenerative development will come under the Education City Speaker Series microscope next week, when the latest edition of Qatar Foundation’s international dialogue platform explores how the world can go further than simply seeking to build a sustainable future.
Experts from Qatar and abroad will participate in a virtual panel discussion titled Beyond Sustainability: Imagining A Regenerative Future, focusing on a form of global development that aims to allow human and natural systems to co-exist for the resilience and prosperity of the planet.

While sustainable development has primarily focused on minimizing damage to the environment and people’s health, and making more efficient use of resources to limit the harm done to nature, regenerative development looks to reverse the degradation of natural systems. With its roots lying in indigenous culture, it involves taking a more integrated and holistic approach to the design of cities, buildings, and almost all human activities.

Tackling the topic through the Education City Speaker Series on Tuesday, October 27, will be Ibrahim Mohamed Jaidah, Group CEO and Chief Architect, Arab Engineering Bureau; planning consultant and sustainability and regeneration expert Bill Reed, Principal at Regenesis Group, Inc. and General Partner at The Place Fund; and Dr. Anne Poelina, Chair of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council in Western Australia and an indigenous community leader who advocates for the rights of both humans and nature.

The discussion – moderated by Jason Twill, Director of the World Cup Master Program at Qatar Foundation – will look at issues such as what regenerative development means, why it matters, and where it has been applied, how traditional knowledge and modern science can be blended to regenerate the world, and how regenerative development can be aligned with specific cultural contexts.

Next week’s talk will be the fifth online edition of the Education City Speaker Series, which has continued in virtual form during the COVID-19 pandemic and attracted tens of thousands of local and international viewers – reflecting QF’s commitment to providing opportunities for dialogue. Launched in 2018, the initiative enables audiences from Qatar and beyond to hear from, and interact with, experts and thought-leaders on topics that are shaping societies and lives.

Taking place from 4-5.30pm Doha time on October 27, a 45-minute discussion will be followed by a question-and-answer session, with the audience having the opportunity to post their questions to panelists. Viewers tuning in on Microsoft Teams can watch the event with English, Arabic, French, Spanish, and Italian subtitles, and the discussion will also be available on QF’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

For more information and to register, visit www.qf.org.qa/ecss