Partnership brings global debate on Architecture and Urbanism to Argentina

10 September 2025 – Doha, Qatar – Qatar Foundation’s Doha Debates, a global platform for truth-seeking dialogue, in partnership with Qatar’s Years of Culture initiative, will host a town hall on 24 September 2025 at 6 p.m. at Usina del Arte cultural center in Buenos Aires. As part of the Qatar Argentina and Chile 2025 Year of Culture, the event will explore how cities can be reimagined for a more inclusive, sustainable, and just future.

This announcement comes after Qatar Foundation and Years of Culture signed a formal partnership agreement to host a town hall, embedding dialogue and debate within cultural exchange. The Buenos Aires event is the debut town hall co-funded by an external partner, expanding Doha Debates’ presence in Latin America, and highlighting how Qatar’s cultural institutions connect global conversations with local realities.

Amjad Atallah, Doha Debates’ Managing Director said: “At Doha Debates, we believe truth-seeking dialogue is essential for tackling the challenges of our time. This partnership with Years of Culture allows us to bring young people and experts together across borders to debate the future of cities—how they can be more inclusive, sustainable, and just. Buenos Aires is the perfect place to host this debate, as its own history of reinvention reflects the very questions we’re asking the world to consider.”

The Urban Question

By 2050, nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in cities. With urban centres facing housing shortages, rising inequality, overburdened infrastructure, and ecological challenges, the town hall will ask: how should we reinvent cities for the future? Students and recent graduates from Qatar, Argentina, and Chile will take the stage alongside experts in the field — Guadalupe Granero Realini, Akel Ismail Kahera, and Nicholas Boys Smith — to explore competing visions. Together, they will debate whether cities should grow denser and more globally competitive, prioritise dignity and community spaces, or even reimagine life beyond large urban centres in response to ecological limits.

Symbolic Choice

Usina del Arte is a fitting setting for this conversation. Built in the early 20th century as a power station in Buenos Aires’ working-class La Boca neighborhood, the building was reborn as a cultural landmark in the 21st century. Its soaring industrial architecture, preserved as the space was repurposed, embodies the tensions the debate will explore: how cities reconcile heritage and reinvention. For the audience, the setting serves as a reminder that architecture and urban planning are never neutral but continuously shape the lives of those who inhabit them.

The town hall is also a showcase of Qatar’s cultural diplomacy. The Years of Culture initiative, founded in 2012 by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, pairs Qatar with partner countries each year to establish long-term connections that promote respect and dialogue through art, sports, education, and entrepreneurship. For participating students, the event includes a cultural exchange programme designed to deepen understanding across borders.

Years of Culture said in a statement, “This collaboration unites cultural diplomacy and dialogue to inspire young voices and shape shared futures. We’re grateful to our partners at Doha  Debates for adding a crucial topic of conversation to our 2025 calendar.”

To attend the event, reserve your free ticket now at https://ReinventingCities.eventbrite.com