The international design conference entitled Design at the Cross Roads: The Intersection of Change and the Future will take place at VCUQatar from March 3-6 2008. The goal of Tasmeem Doha is to engage scholars, students, practitioners and community members in conversations on design. The students, staff and faculty at VCUQatar are looking forward to the fifth year of this annual conference and the international group of designers and professionals who will gather at the university to discuss design and its role in the future.
"Last year, we instituted a pre-conference workshop for students, led by conference presenters, to address design problems in Qatar. This year there will be six groups of students, from universities in Education City and worldwide, working with design professionals and conference speakers to address the issue of navigation and "wayfinding" in Doha and Qatar. The topic applies not only to finding one's way around town but also to the culture and history of this rapidly changing country. Each day during the conference two of the groups will give a 20-minute presentation on the outcomes of their workshops." said Nancy Fawley Committee Chair, Tasmeem Doha 2008.
Tasmeem Doha 2008 will include 13 international designers, breakout sessions, design exhibitions and panel discussions. Participants will include practitioners, design professors and students from academic institutions and facilities throughout the world. This year's Tasmeem speakers include several regional designers who are leaders in their fields of design.
"The Ministry works very closely in coordination with VCUQatar annually to organize Tasmeem. It gives us the opportunity to strengthen our partnership with Qatar Foundation and VCUQatar. For five years we have gathered scholars and practitioners in the fields of graphic, interior and fashion design to discuss current issues in design while engaging with our students and community members.We are most grateful to our sponsors for their continuing support in this great endeavor."said Abdul Aziz Al Sulati, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Tasmeem 2008 Committee Chair.
"We are very excited about the line up of speakers we have this year at Tasmeem. It is our aim to not only to bring international world class designers to Doha but to also highlight regional designers who are making an impact on the international design scene. We are very pleased to have two regional design speakers presenting this year, Mohammed Harib creator and Creative Director of Freej, the Middle East's first three-dimensional animated series and Sheikh Majed Al-Sabah creator of Villa Moda." added Donna Duffett, VCUQatar Events Project Manager.
