The museum, which has not been open yet, is also the first to be publicly funded in Qatar.
Prominent car distributor Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros. Co (AAB) has signed a sponsorship agreement with Dadu, Children’s Museum of Qatar on Wednesday.
AAB, now Dadu’s exclusive sponsor, is the distributor of Toyota and Lexus. It was awarded the Toyota Dealership in 1964 and the Lexus dealership in 1990.
The company’s new agreement with Dadu entails the sponsorship of the museum’s reception area for visiting schools.
“The support of our sponsors takes us one step closer to realising this incredible project, which is founded on a learning and development model grounded in research and practice,” said Dadu’s President Dr. Mohammed Al Sada.
Dadu is the first of its kind in Qatar, aiming to lead innovative approaches in children’s development. The institution supports children, families and educators in achieving a sustainable future.
Explore mental health through art at the National Museum of Qatar
The museum, which has not been open yet, is also the first to be publicly funded in Qatar.
AAB’s President Nasser Al Abdulghani said that the agreement they share with the museum comes part of their commitment to “nation building.”
“One of the Sustainable Development Goals addresses the provision of quality education with a focus on youth development, as our children are tomorrow’s leaders,” said Abdulghani.
The museum’s name, “Dadu”, translates to “play” in classical Arabic, Qatar’s native language. The choice of the word to become the institution’s name came upon discovering that play is a crucial part children’s development.
Dadu promotes curiosity, inclusion and community whilst applying qualities that are fit for Qatari and expat families. The museum’s establishment also comes under the Qatar National Vision 2030 for human, social, economic and environmental development.
“Although doors are not yet open, the museum is already engaging the community in Qatar through programmes from family events with allied organisations to museum-in-residences in schools around Doha,” said Qatar Museums.
Interactive tools indoor and outdoor of the museum provide the families and children the chance to experience a unique learning approach.
“Families are the threads of our community’s fabric, the tighter our weave, the stronger we are,” added Qatar Museums.
Mental health seems to be a factor that Qatar Museums also aims to incorporate at Dadu by bringing the installment of internationally renowned Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist to the institution.
“Your Brain to Me, My Brain to You” is a multisensory installment that enables visitors to explore mental health. The exhibition is collaboration between the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) and Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).
“My message is use your museums as places where we can understand each other,” Rist told Doha News last month at the inauguration of her artwork.
The exhibition includes an animated film for children to speak about mental health that is also open for adults to watch too.
Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, said that the installment should be placed at Dadu, given the cruciality of starting the conversation on mental health with children.
The exhibition compliments the goals of the health ministry’s “Are You OK?” mental health campaign, which seeks to encourage the public to address issues related to their own mental wellbeing.
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