Best of Qatar 365 in 2024: Driverless buses, a unique waterpark and inspiring women

euronews (in English)

From exploring artificial intelligence in fashion and transport to unique water activities and inspiring women in science and sports, Qatar 365 marks another year of putting the spotlight on life in Qatar.

Transcript

00:00We are testing our autonomous vehicles, readiness at autonomous level 4, just to ensure that

00:09someone can take action in case of any emergency.

00:12For women and girls all over the world, no matter what you look like, what your beliefs

00:15are, you have and should always have a place in sport.

00:22Hello and welcome to Kata365 with me, Laila Humaira.

00:26On this episode, we look back at some of our favourite moments of 2024, whether it's

00:31making a splash at Qatar's largest water park, finding our zen with water therapy,

00:37or meeting some inspiring women blazing the trail in sports and science.

00:42But first, I go behind the wheel to find out how Qatar is putting artificial intelligence

00:47at the forefront of its tech-driven future.

00:52This compact vehicle is not only all-electric, it's also driverless and is powered by artificial

00:59intelligence.

01:00This is Mawasalat's autonomous bus.

01:05The last test we did was in Lusail City, where we really tested the autonomous vehicle readiness

01:09for public transportation and public interaction within the vehicle.

01:18The cool thing is the cameras that people don't see, the cameras that are existing outside

01:22of the bus, there's like around more than 16 or so cameras which are continuously working

01:29for the vehicle's AI so it can detect anything that's happening in the street.

01:34Mawasalat's Lusail bus depot is capable of supporting 478 e-buses, just like the ones

01:41behind me.

01:42In 2022, this sprawling site of more than 400,000 square metres earned its place in

01:48the Guinness World Records for being the biggest electric bus depot in the world.

01:54It's from here that hundreds of these e-buses start their journey every day, serving tens

01:59of thousands of passengers all around Qatar.

02:05Our short ride may be coming to an end, but Qatar's journey towards an AI-powered, fully

02:11electric transportation system is just getting started.

02:16While travelling in a bus with no driver sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, it could

02:21become the norm sooner than we think.

02:24Another tech revolution that's unfolding is how AI is being applied in the world of fashion.

02:30Adel Halim hit the runway to see how tech meets Qatar.

02:36Could this be the future of fashion?

02:39Augmented reality runway shows.

02:41Digital artist Ramiro Alban uses AR technology to create multidimensional experiences, so

02:47art is not just observed, but experienced.

03:09For the runway show, Ramiro collaborated with renowned fashion designer Debra Sawaf's The

03:15Power of Words by interpreting the brand's seven spirit animals and bringing them to

03:21life.

03:22So what we did is create a program where people can actually understand the emotions of each

03:27other because it's seven words and seven emotions.

03:31And you use the emotions in both ways, you express your emotion or you ask for an emotion.

03:38One of the highlights of this year's TEFA event is the Middle East's first ever Fashathon,

03:42which is a hackathon for fashion.

03:44It's a way for designers to use AI to create their own 3D fashion pieces, either from existing

03:50templates or by using their own imported designs.

03:54Fashathon is designers who want to showcase their creations, who want to contribute their

04:00templates to earn royalties, and now with artificial intelligence coming, they kind

04:04of become a fashion designer.

04:08While global trends show that the world isn't advancing women's empowerment at a fast enough

04:12pace, that's not the case in Qatar, and the stats speak for themselves.

04:16In fact, women account for 70% of STEM graduates, and I got to meet one individual who's also

04:22getting them to join the workforce.

04:25Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, together they make up STEM, a giant network

04:34of industries that quite literally makes the world go round.

04:39For years, it's also been known to be a male-dominated field, but Qatar is among many countries determined

04:47to change that by diversifying its STEM workforce.

04:52Those efforts start here, at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology,

04:58a place powering up Qatar's digital transformation.

05:02And leading the charge is Iman Al-Kuwari.

05:06My role as the director of digital innovation is about spearheading the smart country program

05:13where we're actually digitally transforming different sectors and seeing where technology

05:19makes sense to improve the quality of lives.

05:22From real-time crowd and traffic management to food security analytics, the high-tech

05:27solutions from the ministry's digital transformation program, TasMu Smart Qatar, stems from its

05:33innovation lab.

05:35There's been a global push in recent years to get more young women to pursue a career

05:39in STEM.

05:40Here in Qatar, those efforts have been taken up a notch to make sure that more women are

05:46being represented in positions of power.

05:49Iman's commitment to creating a diverse working environment starts from the youth.

05:54She helped develop Studio 5, a tech initiative targeting young women.

05:58We wanted to explore how technology is actually working.

06:01They can develop video games out there using these advanced softwares that you see them

06:06use in big corporations.

06:08From exploring the world of STEM to excelling in the field of sports, women are continuing

06:13to break barriers when they're empowered to challenge the norm.

06:17Adel Halim caught up with two sportswomen who have defied societal standards and charted

06:23paths for other women to follow.

06:27Hani Taljia knows her way around a football pitch.

06:30Growing up in Palestine, it's where she found her peace.

06:34I wanted to change the circumstances around me.

06:37I never believed that there is a limit.

06:40Whether it's social, cultural, political barriers, I always wanted to embrace change.

06:46That change came through her passion for football.

06:49Hani manages public relations for FIFA, but during her playing days, she was the first

06:54captain of the Palestinian women's national team.

06:58Football gave me the tool to embrace those barriers and gave me the power and liberated

07:04me to come across all these barriers with confidence.

07:09Someone else who's changed the game is Ibtihaj Mohammed.

07:12She was the first U.S. athlete to wear hijab while competing at the Olympics and the first

07:17Muslim-American female to win an Olympic medal.

07:21I really felt like I was doing it for the communities that I'm a part of, for the Muslim

07:25community, for the black community, and for women and girls all over the world, no matter

07:30what you look like, what your beliefs are, you have and should always have a place in sport.

07:38With more than 560 kilometers of shoreline and serene turquoise waters, it's no wonder

07:44Qatar is also called the pearl of the Arabian Peninsula.

07:49The abundance of water has enabled the country to thrive, while many new opportunities in

07:54tourism and wellness are also helping to steer the country's growth.

07:59And as Adel Halim found out, one way to do that is to make a splash at Qatar's largest

08:05water park.

08:08Plenty of high-speed twists, turns, and of course, splashes are on offer at Merial Water

08:14Park.

08:15But this isn't just any old water wonderland.

08:17The park pays homage to Qatar's history of oil and gas discovery, while illustrating

08:22its love for the sea.

08:25Merial was conceived by the government as an opportunity to really show off the oil

08:32and gas industry.

08:33This is one of the most intensely themed parks that I've ever been seen or been involved

08:37with.

08:38It's an amazing park.

08:40Walking around the grounds, there's a clear rusty feel, and the park's general manager

08:44says that is completely intentional.

08:50If you're on an oil site, they pour concrete, they never let it set, so you see tire tracks

08:54and footprints.

08:55If you walk around the park, you see that everywhere.

08:57Also, a lot of sites are old, they have rust everywhere, but it really helps with the theming.

09:05There are 53 slides spread across six acres here at the Merial Water Park.

09:10One of the major highlights is this 85-meter high water slide, billed as the tallest in

09:15the world.

09:17Bill Lentz believes once the park cements itself as a family-friendly entertainment

09:21destination, it will not only be an anchor to draw people to Kataifan Island, but also

09:26make a big splash for the country's tourism industry.

09:31From the exhilarating rides at Merial Water Park in Kataifan Island, we escaped the city

09:37and travelled all the way up to the northernmost tip of Qatar to visit Zulal Wellness Resort

09:42by Shiva Som, where I experienced watsu therapy, a type of massage conducted in warm water

09:49and believed to be beneficial for blood circulation.

09:55If there's any place that personifies the tranquility and cleansing properties of water,

10:00it's Zulal Wellness Resort.

10:03Zulal means pure water in Arabic, and purifying the mind, body and soul is what the resort

10:10seeks to bring to its guests through its wellness-focused programs.

10:16Among many of Zulal's treatments is watsu, a combination of Japan's zenshiatsu massage

10:22and modern techniques of hydrotherapy founded in the 1980s.

10:26It was important to include watsu as a treatment and as a therapy at Zulal.

10:32Watsu has great benefits, it is wonderful for pain relief, it is great for sleep enhancement,

10:39reducing stress.

10:41Watsu is among dozens of treatments offered here at the resort.

10:45Nestled in the northernmost point of Qatar, Zulal encourages its guests to fully immerse

10:51themselves in detoxing, physically, mentally and digitally.

10:56Participants are immersed in warm water no deeper than 1.2 meters and are encouraged

11:02to be as relaxed as possible, while the therapist cradles, moves, stretches and massages them.

11:10Once we go to the water, we will receive the therapy by the water.

11:16Aquatherapy, the water, they have their own energy to purify the negativity for us.

11:29From seeing how tech is changing trends in fashion and transport, to inspiring stories

11:34of women breaking the glass ceiling in science and sport, to a rollercoaster look at some

11:39fun water activities, we hope you've enjoyed reminiscing some of our favourite moments

11:43with us.

11:44But that's all the time we have for now.

11:47For more, check out euronews.com and connect with us through our hashtag.

11:50Thanks for watching Qatar 365 this year, and from our whole team here in Doha, we wish

11:54you a happy new year.

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