Years of Culture
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2025/06/19
This reflection draws on an op-ed by Her Excellency Lolwah Al Khater, Minister of Education and Higher Education, originally published last week in Arab News, to explore how the Years of Culture programme continues to shape Qatar’s cultural diplomacy in 2025 and beyond.
In 2012, Qatar launched the Years of Culture initiative as a way of inviting the world in, during the years leading up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Since then, it has become something much larger: a living, evolving platform for dialogue.
Chaired by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Years of Culture initiative has become a central pillar of Qatar’s cultural diplomacy, welcoming creative voices, building lasting partnerships, and inviting mutual learning across borders.
This evolution was explored by Her Excellency Lolwah Al Khater, in the op-ed she wrote for Arab News. Reflecting on the programme’s unique approach, she writes, “It is not about exporting Qatari culture or importing others. It is about rewriting how culture can move - collaboratively, respectfully and without hierarchy.”
From São Paulo to Tangier, Paris to Jakarta, and now Buenos Aires and Santiago, the Years of Culture programme embraces a decentralised model that fosters authentic cross-cultural collaboration. “This ethos is exemplified by the contemporary Qatari art exhibitions that travel to former partner countries such as Germany, China and Russia, showcasing the work of young Qatari artists.”
Over the years, this approach has helped shape national conversations, inspired new institutional frameworks, and created ripple effects felt long after each particular edition officially ends. Some of the most beautiful stories to emerge from Years of Culture are the ones that continue beyond their original scope.
For example, the acclaimed On the Move exhibition, originally curated for the Qatar-MENASA 2022 Year of Culture, went on to be shown in China, a legacy partner from 2016. Moroccan artist Sara Ouhaddou’s work was first shown in Our World is Burning at the Palais de Tokyo as part of Qatar-France 2020, and she later returned to Doha for the Qatar-Morocco: Crafting Design Futures residency in 2024.
These creative partnerships demonstrate a core strength of Years of Culture: its ability to evolve, deepen, and build upon shared experiences. This vision is especially meaningful for young creatives and cultural producers from the Global South, for whom Years of Culture provides a rare and valuable platform.
Another distinctive element of Qatar’s cultural diplomacy is how it weaves together high-level partnerships with community-led programmes. While embassies and cultural ministries remain essential to the work, so too do designers, chefs, students, economists, and volunteers.
Programming spans everything from landmark museum exhibitions, like the recent LATINOAMERICANO, co-curated by MALBA and Qatar Museums, to design residencies, culinary pop-ups, and public art installations in cities across the globe.
“Each cultural year is co-developed with the partner country, encouraging mutual ownership and cultural authenticity,” explains Al Khater. “In 2024, the National Museum of Qatar hosted a fashion exhibition spotlighting Moroccan designer Mohammed Benchellal, whose collection was produced using materials found in Doha’s car shops and created at the Liwan Design Studios and Labs.”
At the heart of Years of Culture is a belief that culture is a vital part of how nations understand one another and themselves. As Her Excellency Lolwah Al Khater writes, “Qatar’s broader vision for global engagement remains central. As it shapes its post-World Cup identity, Qatar has embraced cultural diplomacy as a vital expression of its international role, rooted in dialogue and intellectual exchange.”
Once seen as a rising player in the global cultural landscape, Qatar is now carving out its place as a dynamic centre for ideas, diverse voices and possibilities. As Al Khater notes, “In the years ahead, Years of Culture may shift from a model of annual partnerships to one of ongoing, intersecting global dialogues - born in Doha but resonating far beyond.”
As we mark 15 editions of Years of Culture, we also look forward with optimism, purpose and a deep commitment to collaboration. Whether through exhibitions, research partnerships, or grassroots initiatives, the work continues to grow, connect and resonate.
In a world that can feel increasingly divided, these quiet acts of creative exchange matter more than ever. They remind us that culture is not a commodity or a competition. It’s something we live, something we share. Born in Doha, but echoing around the world, Years of Culture is not just a programme of events. It is a way of thinking about cultural connection in the 21st century - one that invites us all to take part.
Explore upcoming exhibitions and events in Qatar and abroad as part of the Qatar, Argentina and Chile 2025 Year of Culture.
