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www.thepeninsulaqatar.com CAMPUS | 3 COMMUNITY | 6 ENTERTAINMENT | 122 Georgetown hosts QDL celebrates Bolllywood missing prominent British long-standing Arab real action heroes: philosopher for lecture equine tradition John Abraham MONDAY 7 MARCH 2016 Email: [email protected] thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar CULTURAL COLLAGE Motiongate, Dubai Parks & Resorts project’s movie-themed park, will feature a “Smurfs village” and a live-action, hip-hop show based on the “Step Up” film franchise. Bollywood Parks, a Lego-inspired waterpark, as well as shops, restaurants and a luxury hotel round out the project. P | 4-5 MONDAY 7 MARCH 2016 | 03 CAMPUS Doha College Learning Garden flourishes Doha College primary school from the Doha College Gardening Club project has officially blos- buried a time capsule in the garden. somed into life with the The capsule is filled with messages Alaunch of the West Bay Cam- from the students talking about their pus Learning Garden. hopes and dreams in 50 years’ time, a The Learning Garden was made pin badge and USB with the College’s possible through the generous spon- prospectus and images of the garden, sorship of Occidental Petroleum of Qa- the school and Qatar plus a copy of a tar Limited (Oxy Qatar) and has been newspaper from the day, in development for more than a year. Kelly said, “On behalf of Oxy Qatar, Doha College Principal Dr Steffen we congratulate Doha College on the Sommer said the garden was a valu- inauguration of the Learning Garden. able outdoor addition to the campus, We know a lot of effort has gone in- providing a site for children to relax but to bringing it to life and now the Doha also to learn. College community can enjoy plants, “The garden is designed to stim- vegetables and herbs right here in its ulate the student’s senses — there is own school, bringing to the students everything from cacti to carrots. Our first-hand experience of the things staff are using the garden to bring les- they learn in class. sons to life for our students” Dr Som- “At Oxy Qatar, we strive to be a part- mer said. ner of choice. We are committed to “I would like to extend my sincere being a valuable contributor in each of thanks to Oxy for their support as the our operating locations,” he said. Learning Garden is well-loved by the Primary Class Teacher and Curricu- students and the broader Doha Col- lum Enrichment Coordinator Darragh lege community. Shanahan said students, staff and par- To celebrate the official launch, Oxy ents had spent many hours planting, Qatar President and General Manager weeding, watering and painting over Stephen Kelly, Dr Steffen and students the months. Georgetown hosts prominent British philosopher for lecture he Master and founder of London’s be paired with a separate visit to Do- is a columnist for Prospect magazine, TNew College of the Humanities, ha College where he will engage stu- and was for a number of years a col- Professor A C Grayling (pictured), will dents in a discussion on philosophy umnist on the Guardian and Times. He be delivering a public lecture titled “A and where he is scheduled to present has contributed to many leading news- Philosophical Perspective on the Fu- a lecture to their faculty on The Value papers in the UK, US and Australia, and ture of Education” on the campus of of Humanities in Modern Society. His to BBC radios 4, 3, 2 and the World Georgetown University in Qatar to- last stop will be at the Emirates Festi- Service, and he has often appeared on day, at 5.30pm. Casting a global per- val of Literature in Dubai, where he will television. spective, the scholar and prolific writer talk about his new book titled The Age He is a Vice-President of the British will discuss why education should be of Genius. Humanist Association, a Fellow of the adapted to the condition of the twen- A C Grayling is also a Professor Royal Society of Arts, and a Fellow of ty-first century and its complex future. of Philosophy at the London-based the Royal Society of Literature. Antho- Professor Grayling, who has been New College of the Humanities, which ny Grayling was a Fellow of the World called “Britain’s most eminent public- launched as an institution of higher Economic Forum for several years, and ly engaged philosopher” is visiting Ed- education in 2012, and the author of a member of its C-100 group on rela- ucation City as part of a region-wide over thirty books of philosophy, biog- tions between the West and the Islam- tour. His public Georgetown event will raphy, history of ideas, and essays. He ic world. 04 | MONDAY 7 MARCH 2016 COVER STORY A cross-cultural collage in Dubai tic, suggesting that lower fuel coaster. Motiongate, the project’s Some 5,000 palm trees and By Jon Gambrell prices will eventually make flights movie-themed park, will feature 1.2 million shrubs will be plant- AP less expensive, helping them to a “Smurfs village” and a live-ac- ed alongside air-conditioned attract visitors from Europe and tion, hip-hop show based on the queues to battle Dubai’s sum- Asia once the park opens in Oc- “Step Up” film franchise. Bolly- mertime heat, when the temper- tober. wood Parks, a Lego-inspired wa- ature hovers above 40 degrees weating and hopeful, The park, planned to be over terpark, as well as shops, restau- Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) the performers lined up 25 square kilometres, sits south- rants and a luxury hotel round with high humidity. Many attrac- once more and received west of downtown Dubai in the out the project. tions also will be inside. Sinstructions mirroring wind-swept deserts off the main Some 15,000 labourers are “Every couple of degrees the aspirations of the soon-to- highway linking it to Abu Dhabi, employed on the site, Shah said. helps,” Shah said. open massive amusement parks the capital of the United Arab they hoped to join: dance three- Emirates. eighths Bollywood with a stiff The area is close to where Du- shot of hip hop and a touch of bai plans to host the 2020 World whimsy. Expo, or world’s fair, as well as Al And one more thing: “Does Maktoum International Airport at anyone tumble?” Dubai World Central, which of- This cross-cultural collage ficials hope someday will han- will be Dubai Parks & Resorts, a dle over 200 million passengers $2.8bn bet on tourism in this Mi- a year. Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mo- deast city-state featuring a Taj hammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Mahal-inspired theatre, the inter- recently announced the creation locking plastic bricks of Legoland of a planned $8.1bn project near- and movie-themed attractions. by called Dubai Wholesale City. Despite all the glitz on display, “We’re no longer the Lone the attraction is clouded by the Ranger out in the desert,” said earlier experience of an amuse- Vinit Shah, Dubai Parks & Re- ment park project that went bust sorts’ chief destination manage- and the fact that low oil prices ment officer. that have cut into pockets across A red dragon built out of the Gulf. 230,000 Lego bricks has already But backers remain optimis- arrived for a Legoland roller- MONDAY 7 MARCH 2016 | 05 COVER STORY Investors hope to gain from the growing number of tourists visiting Dubai, home to the long-haul airline Emirates, the world’s tallest building, luxury malls and other attractions. Shares in Dubai Parks & Resorts trade on who has done feasibility studies on the park. ty bubble. Dubailand was to sprawl over some the Dubai Financial Market stock exchange at But Shepherd said airline ticket prices like- 260 square kilometres of desert and include around Dh1.20 ($0.33) apiece. Its majority own- ly will drop, and that more family-focused tour- parks like Legoland, Universal Studios and Six er, with 60 percent of the company, is Meraas ists than ever want to come to Dubai from India, Flags, as well as other attractions. Holding, a firm backed by Sheikh Mohammed. as well as the United Kingdom. They’ll find the But Dubailand, proposed by a company in The Kuwait Investment Authority, that country’s Dubai amusement park fits their budget and a conglomerate also controlled by Sheikh Mo- sovereign wealth fund, also owns a five per- needs, he said. hammed, collapsed when property values in cent stake, as does Bahrain’s Mubasher Finan- “Apart from small ones like Ferrari World and the emirate crashed amid the Great Reces- cial Services. a few waterparks, nothing really exists in the sion. Heavily indebted, Dubai accepted multibil- Investors hope to gain from the growing region at all,” Shepherd said. “If you just look at lion-dollar emergency aid packages from Abu number of tourists visiting Dubai, home to the the number of people coming into Dubai, the Dhabi to stay afloat. long-haul airline Emirates, the world’s tallest opportunity to access the European market on Today, the dream of Dubailand is as faded building, luxury malls and other attractions. In one side and the Asian market on the other as the lonely Universal Studios gates that open 2015, Dubai saw 14.2 million overnight visitors, side ... it’s an untapped opportunity.” onto empty desert behind it. up from 13.2 million the year before, accord- Shah agreed. A livelier scene awaits at Dubai Parks & Re- ing to the emirate’s Department of Tourism and “Regional instability is actually something sorts, where dancers and singers have been re- Commerce Marketing.