The Qatar group was pleased to welcome IIRSM President Peter Hall and Chief Executive Phillip Pearson to its September meeting. Along with Clare Fleming, head of marketing and communications, and other members of IIRSM, the team has been in the Middle East promoting the values and visions of the Institute.

Since Peter’s last visit in 2014, IIRSM has grown from strength to strength in Qatar and the group now has more than 160 members, 10 Fellows and a high member turnout at the regular monthly meetings. The Qatar group has been helped tremendously by the generosity of Qatar International Safety Centre (QISC), an Interserve associate company, which sponsors the venue and provides refreshments for the meetings as part of the community investment vision of its global parent company. Not only does QISC fund the meetings, it also attends and takes part – who could ask for more?

The world is aware of the bad press associated with allegations of worker mistreatment in Qatar. However, the “good news” stories can sometimes be overlooked. The enthusiasm of the multi-national membership here in Qatar is fuelled by a vision to get involved and make a difference to the country’s safety practice and culture; and to emulate the successes of our colleagues in the UAE. Following months of discussion, Peter, Phillip, branch chair Viv Turner and vice chair Mike Preston met with representatives of a group of local companies, Specialised International Services (Bourhan Kreitem) and Safety First (Noel Chambers), to sign a Memorandum of Understanding aligned to the Qatar 2030 vision. The alignment of the vision is, and will continue to be, a key factor in IIRSM’s growth and influence in Qatar. We are pleased to confirm that council approved branch status at its recent meeting and we look forward to the future in this region.

For more information on the Qatar branch, visit http://www.iirsm.org/branches/qatar