The flags are out and ready. The cars have been decorated. The whole country has been painted maroon and white in celebration. Tomorrow is Qatar's National Day. Everybody is prepared to participate in this lively occasion.
Qatar National Day is a relatively new national holiday. Its celebration started in 2007, and as its alternative name of ‘Founder's Day' shows, it commemorates the historic day in 1878 when the founder of the state of Qatar, Shaikh Jasem, succeeded his father Shaikh Mohammad Bin Thani as the ruler.
Shaikh Jasem unified the country and led it towards success, where until this day, Qatar is marching forward and making itself known to the world as a global leader in humanitarian efforts, a conflict mediator and a source of inspiration for the whole Middle East.
Qatar's joy and pleasure on this day is amplified by the fact that it recently celebrated another victory, having got the privilege of hosting the football World Cup in 2022, a feat that took the world by surprise and further strengthened Qatar's reputation of setting high standards for itself and competently achieving them.
This year's line-up of festivities is overwhelming, and the abundance of culturally-rich events makes it difficult to set plans for the day, with a formidable array of art galleries, poetry shows and live events, there's bound to be something to suit every taste.
One of the secrets of Qatar's great success is that it has entrusted its people with responsibilities as big as its dreams, and with this trust, it has been able to create a sense of self-awareness in its culture, which leads to a society that embraces creativity in every form possible.
Every member of a society has a multitude of roles, on both professional and personal levels. Among us are engineers, writers, artists, scientists and a plethora of other professions and interests, and every one of us needs a well of inspiration to initiate innovation. This is where the role of national celebrations becomes evident.
The heritage of our countries in the Gulf contains lessons in every aspect of our lives. It is our task to discover these lessons and apply them to our surrounding contexts. What could we possibly learn from a story about pearl-diving? In addition to obvious fundamental values such as perseverance, an artist could borrow aesthetically pleasing elements from the journey, a designer could study the intricate details of diving equipment and a sociologist could ponder the effects of such a trip on family life.
A manager could learn something from the pearling hierarchy, even game designers could draw inspiration from such content, have any of you seen a pearl-diving game before?
We should all realise that patriotism is much more than a waving flag and a convoy. It is the will and sincere intention to give back to our countries, and pay homage to our forefathers by carrying their ambitions, engaging with our heritage and translating them both into ideas, decisions and actions that bring value to our lives.
National Day is a perfect opportunity to consider the significance of Qatar's achievements in the region and appreciate the endeavours of those who struggled for the sake of our prosperity.
It is a day where feelings of pride emerge as we envision our past, present and future, and commend ourselves for our progress in paths that have not been trodden before. I, for one, plan to cast a net with hopes to catch enough inspiration for the following year, and dive for pearls that could bring me and my country closer to our dreams
Fahad Al Assiry is a Qatari writer specialising in social and cultural affairs.
