The public can explore the worlds of journalism, news, current affairs and documentaries at Al Jazeera’s first café opened in May in Doha, capital of Qatar, home to Al Jazeera Media Network.
Located in Katara, at Building 4 on Shakespeare Street, the innovative new concept is at the centre of Doha’s fast developing cultural area. The cafe gives visitors an exclusive look inside broadcast media while they can also enjoy a range of fresh organic dishes.
As well as boasting a suitably international menu for one of the world’s leading media organisations, the cafe features an interactive studio where members of the public can take away videos of themselves reading from a teleprompter on an Al Jazeera set.
AIB CEO Simon Spanswick tried out the studio (pictured left) during a visit to Doha and Al Jazeera Media Network at the beginning of June. “This is a great initiative,” says Spanswick. “It brings Al Jazeera closer to its audience with a truly hands-on experience. Visitors have travelled from across the Gulf region to visit the Cafe during its first couple of weeks of operation, trying their hand at news reading and weather presenting, as well as sampling the cuisine.”
At the entrance to the cafe is a selection of historic artefacts from the Qatar-based Network, including some of its first broadcasting equipment from 1996 and equipment damaged in attacks on the Kabul and Baghdad bureaux in 2001 and 2003 (picture, right).
The cafe itself boasts a smart contemporary design for its multiple zones. Menus are loaded on tablets while a range of flat screens show the network’s TV channels and digital properties, keeping patrons up to date with news from around the world.
Abdulla Alnajjar, Executive Director for Global Brand and Communications at Al Jazeera said:
“What we’re offering here is an experience that makes people feel part of Al Jazeera, the Al Jazeera team and the Al Jazeera environment. The cafe is a hub for conversation, debate and sharing of ideas and opinions. People have always felt part of Al Jazeera, and most recently this has chiefly meant engaging with us online. The cafe fuses together our modern connections with the traditional idea of the coffee house as a centre of community.
“A lot of thought has gone into the design, the interaction, and the menu. We hope that the public will like it, and we look forward to the conversation.”
Al Jazeera Cafe is open to the public and can be followed on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at #aljazeeracafe
#aljazeeracafe