The Qatari Forum for Authors, held on the occasion of the National Day of the State of Qatar, hosted on Tuesday evening, the writer and photographer Moudi Al-Hajri, and the journalist, Mr. Saleh Gharib, program manager at the Forum and activist on social networking sites, Maria Fernanda Delerio, Indian fashion designer Rashmi Agazul. Writer Muhammad Al-Murri about their latest cultural activities.

Maria said that since her marriage, she started a new and interesting journey, where she joined her husband residing in the State of Qatar and found a hospitable country that opened her heart and arms and embraced her, and she was able to get to know the Qatari people during her wedding ceremony until she held the ceremony with Qatari traditions and customs and then merged into society and began to get acquainted with their customs, and she did not feel alienated or different, but rather she always felt that they were part of the society.

Even her family felt warmth and affection in the Qatari society, and they no longer consider her an expatriate, but rather in her homeland and with her family.

She considered that it is her duty to share her beautiful experience with the world, especially her country, to introduce Qatar and the Qatari people, and to urge people from all over the world to visit and get to know Qatar.

This experience began through social media, as she was inspired by her husband’s book, which he wrote last year and inaugurated it at the Doha International Book Fair in its latest edition, “The Warriors in the Time of Sacrifices”,

She added that she had the honor to meet Sheikha Moza, may God protect her, who was very kind and humble, in addition to meeting Sheikha Hind and Sheikha Mayasa who had heard about her and about her wedding and congratulated her, which made her sure that they care about the residents and accept them, and this meeting was an incentive for her to participate this experience with the world.

She published a lot of information on her various social media accounts and recently supported her experience in Qatar by presenting the initiative “Discover Heritage with Maria from Qatari Books” as part of the activities of the Qatari Forum for Authors, during which she transported the followers on a journey in the Qatari heritage through a group of books.

She considers that getting to know a new culture is an opportunity to gain expertise and a new experience, to enjoy the cultural mixture, to find points of convergence and to accept difference.

She also announced that she is about to write a book about Qatari dress, in which she talks about her experience in Qatar, especially her wedding, and Qatari music whose tones bear the meanings of happy wishes and family meetings.

Then the Indian designer Rashmi reviewed her experience in the field of fashion design in Qatar, as she considers her stay in the State of Qatar an exciting and distinctive journey during which she blended several cultural identities and had the honor of designing a dress for Sheikha Moza.

And she had success thanks to her interest and love for the Qatari culture and heritage, which represented a source of inspiration for her, and she expressed her gratitude to the State of Qatar, which accepted difference and made them part of the society.

And she is happy that she witnessed during the years of her establishment the development of Qatar, whether in terms of buildings or in terms of culture.

She thanked the Ministry of Culture and Sports, which supported her activity and even managed to hold many exhibitions under the Ministry’s supervision.

Regarding her book, which she is preparing to publish soon, she said that she summarized her experience in Qatar, her design career, how she created her own project and the various milestones that she went through.

For his part, Mr. Saleh Gharib said that hospitality and receiving guests is not new to Qatari society, and Qatari houses and hearts have always been open since the days of diving, pointing out that previous speeches are a source of his pride and that there is no discrimination or exclusion in the Qatari society, stressing that the interest of residents in traditional Qatari clothing is an evidence of appreciation of the Qatari identity and of its success in dazzling and attracting the world, so that some foreigners were able to give their own aesthetic touch.

The photographer, Ms. Moudi Al-Hajri, said that she began filming in Qatar and obtained a large number of pictures in the northern and southern regions, in addition to the old architecture and Souq Waqif, confirming that Qatar is full of archaeological monuments.

Her used her works in hand-made masterpieces that she intends to display on the occasion of the National Day, as these pictures and works of art are not only presenting historical places, but rather conveying their splendor and sense, as they motivate visitors to visit historical monuments.