QInvest, Qatar's leading investment group and one of the world’s most prominent Islamic financial institutions, is pleased to announce its support of the second Annual Autism Outreach and Training Symposium, organized by Child Development Center (CDC) in Qatar.
The symposium, which was held on at the Intercontinental Hotel The City - Doha, brought together a consortium of internationally recognized experts in the fields of autism and related disorders. Over 200 delegates from 60 different nationalities attended the event, representing the leading international schools, nurseries and clinicians. It also provided an opportunity for important dialogue to identify the local needs of autistic children and their families.
A range of speakers, led by keynote Dr. Fouad Al Shaban (MD, MSc, PhD), Senior Scientist at Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, discussed the salient trends and challenges facing professional institutions and parents.
Commenting on the event, Essa Saud Al-Kawari, CSR
programs’ spokesperson and QInvest’s head of government
& community relations and administration affairs,
said:
“QInvest is very proud to have partnered with CDC. It is
making great strides in assisting children and their
families access quality medical and support services in
Qatar. Over the last year CDC has successfully helped more
than 200 children with special needs, whilst also
[significantly] increasing the private sector’s
involvement in this area.”
Al-Kawari added:
“We will continue to work closely with CDC, supporting
children and families in our local communities by helping
to deepen knowledge and introduce new tools via
professional centers like CDC.”
Commenting on the symposium, Mrs. Hasna Nada, Founder
and CEO of CDC, said:
“Cooperation with leading institutions, like QInvest, is
an effective means of raising awareness of autism; whilst
also demonstrating how the private sector can work
alongside its local community. The symposium also
presented an excellent opportunity for members of the
business, local, medical and special needs communities to
come together and share learnings and responsibilities.”
Other speakers at the event included: Dr. Jungyeon Kim - Head of Policy Development at WISH; and Dr. Muhammad Waqar Azeem - Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Sidra Medical and Research Center and Deputy Chair of WISH Autism Research Forum. There were also a range of speakers from across the CDC’s Heads of Department, including: Carole McGuinness - Head of Early Intervention Program; Jennelle Olalo - Early Intervention Curriculum Specialist; Valmerie Gordon - Senior Occupational Therapist; Keren vanRooyen - Occupational Therapy Consultant; and Oksana Kamenetskaya - Head of Speech and Language Pathology.
Last month, QInvest announced another year of robust growth recording its highest revenue since inception of QAR 393 million (US$ 108 million) and net profit of QAR 154 million (US$ 42 million). QInvest generated consistent performance throughout 2015 despite challenging global economic conditions and regional volatility, culminating in an increase in both revenues and net profit of 32% and 76% respectively. The bank recommends doubling the dividend to shareholders for financial year 2015.