Msheireb Museums and HBKU announced a four-year research initiative titled “Future of Digital Citizenship in Qatar: A Socio-Technical Approach”

The Future of Digital Citizenship in Qatar: A Socio-Technical Approach is the name of a four-year research project that Msheireb Museums and Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) have announced. The goal of this project is to increase good online community involvement in the nation and encourage responsible digital citizenship. 

The initiative, which received funding from the Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation Council (QRDI), was unveiled on International Museum Day, a day that emphasizes the role that museums play in research and teaching for a more inclusive and sustainable global community.

Six sub-projects make up the research, and they are all led by experts in their respective fields: Dr. Wajdi Zaghouani of HBKU is in charge of the MARSAD Social Media Observatory; Dr. Firoj Alam of HBKU is in charge of Digital Critical Literacy & Propaganda Detection; Dr. Raian Ali of HBKU is in charge of Digital Wellbeing; Dr. Khaled Khan of Qatar University (QU) is in charge of Security and Safety as Behavior; Dr. Osama Halabi of Qatar University (QU) is in charge of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion on Social Media; and Dr. Eddy Borges-Rey of Northwestern University in Qatar is in charge of the Digital Citizenship Ambassador Program.

Seven to ten researchers work on each sub-project, bringing together around sixty expertise. These projects will research many facets of digital literacy, well-being, gender equality, social inclusion, and behavior-based approaches to online security in addition to exploring social media discourse and developing web-based tools and teaching materials.

Surveys and interviews will be used in this study to gauge Qatari society's perceptions on social media. Preliminary results show interesting differences in the acceptance of technology and social media across Qatar, the Arab world, and Western nations.