Insight
People don't lack a desire to change the world.
They lack the belief that they can.
At a time when young people were becoming increasingly aware of global challenges—from climate change and inequality to technological disruption and social injustice—many felt overwhelmed by the scale of those problems and uncertain about the role they could play in solving them.
Many of the barriers preventing change weren't physical. They were learned. Assumptions, stereotypes, bias and social norms that had quietly conditioned the way people saw themselves and the world around them.
Opportunity
Use the global attention surrounding the FIFA World Cup to redefine how the world understood Qatar Foundation.
Rather than positioning it as an educational institution, reveal that it had already disrupted the traditional model of education and, in doing so, become a changemaker itself.
Objectives
Clarify Qatar Foundation's purpose to a global audience.
Unite education, research and community development under one compelling idea.
Inspire people to become active participants in creating change.
Build a global movement around lifelong learning and curiosity.
Position Qatar Foundation as a destination for future changemakers.
Strategic Response
To create change, we first have to unlearn.
Question assumptions.
Challenge bias.
Rethink what we've always accepted as true.
Only then can we become students of change.
If we want people to change the world, we first have to help them unlearn the barriers that stop them believing they can.
Idea
Students of Change
Working alongside Qatar Foundation's leadership, I helped develop a global strategic platform that expressed not what the organisation did, but why it existed.
Twenty-five years earlier, Qatar Foundation had disrupted the traditional model of education. Rather than following a conventional approach, it brought together ten of the world's leading universities on one campus and built an entirely new way of learning. Innovation, collaboration and lifelong learning weren't simply encouraged; they were designed into the system itself. It wasn't simply investing in education. It was reimagining it.
Twenty-five years later, that disruption had become proof. Qatar Foundation had already been a changemaker for a generation. The challenge wasn't to invent a new purpose. It was to help the world recognise the one that had been there all along.
From that insight came Students of Change.
Not a campaign, but a global platform that repositioned learning as something far greater than education. It became an invitation to question everything, challenge assumptions, embrace curiosity and continually unlearn in order to create meaningful change.
As Global Creative Director, I partnered with the Head of Strategy to develop the central strategic premise that meaningful change begins with unlearning. From that foundation, I led the development of the global creative platform, working closely with a Regional Creative Director based in Lebanon to ensure the idea could be expressed consistently across different markets while remaining culturally relevant.
I led a multidisciplinary team of more than 50 internal and external collaborators spanning creative, digital, content, social media and production, ensuring every expression of the platform remained strategically aligned.
Working directly with Qatar Foundation's senior stakeholders, I presented the work, facilitated feedback and guided the platform from concept through to global rollout. As part of the organisation's weekly newsroom, I worked closely with editorial teams to identify stories emerging from across the organisation and translate them into content that continually reinforced the Students of Change platform.
The platform was deliberately designed as a long-term strategic ecosystem rather than a single campaign.
Hero
A series of global films introduced the movement through five themes that represented Qatar Foundation's impact:
Progressive Education
Artificial Intelligence
Precision Medicine
Sustainability
Social Progress
Together they explained not simply what Qatar Foundation invested in, but the future it was helping to create.
Hub
The strategy combined inspiration with proof. Hero content invited people into the movement. Hub content demonstrated that change was already happening.
Working closely with Qatar Foundation's newsroom, we created an ongoing stream of stories, social content and interactive experiences that demonstrated the organisation's purpose in action.
One of the flagship initiatives I developed was Faces of Change, a content series celebrating researchers, educators, innovators and community leaders whose work embodied the movement. By putting real people at the centre of the platform, we transformed an abstract purpose into authentic human proof.
Interactive content encouraged audiences to question assumptions, challenge bias and participate in conversations about the future, turning passive audiences into active contributors.
The platform became a communications ecosystem capable of supporting global reputation, public engagement, recruitment and thought leadership through one consistent strategic idea.
Outcome
Students of Change repositioned Qatar Foundation from a world-class educational institution into a place where people come not simply to learn, but to learn how to change the world.
The platform became Qatar Foundation's global purpose platform, uniting education, research and community development under a single strategic idea that could be activated consistently across local, regional and international markets.
Designed to support one of the most visible moments in Qatar's recent history, it gave the organisation a common language for communicating its purpose while inspiring people around the world to become part of the movement.
The platform extended well beyond external communications. More than 5,000 employees were engaged through Qatar Foundation's internal MyQF platform, helping transform employees into ambassadors for the movement and ensuring the organisation's purpose was lived internally as well as communicated externally.
Designed as a long-term platform rather than a one-off initiative, Students of Change became the launchpad for Qatar Foundation's purpose story, establishing a strategic framework for hero films, proof-of-purpose storytelling and ongoing engagement across global, regional and local markets.
What This Taught Me
The strongest purpose already exists. The challenge is uncovering it and helping others see it.
Students of Change wasn't about inventing a new purpose for Qatar Foundation. It was about recognising the one that had been there for twenty-five years and expressing it through an idea the world could understand and want to be part of.
Yasmina Toak
Insight
People don't lack a desire to change the world.
They lack the belief that they can.
At a time when young people were becoming increasingly aware of global challenges—from climate change and inequality to technological disruption and social injustice—many felt overwhelmed by the scale of those problems and uncertain about the role they could play in solving them.
Many of the barriers preventing change weren't physical. They were learned. Assumptions, stereotypes, bias and social norms that had quietly conditioned the way people saw themselves and the world around them.
Opportunity
Use the global attention surrounding the FIFA World Cup to redefine how the world understood Qatar Foundation.
Rather than positioning it as an educational institution, reveal that it had already disrupted the traditional model of education and, in doing so, become a changemaker itself.
Objectives
Clarify Qatar Foundation's purpose to a global audience.
Unite education, research and community development under one compelling idea.
Inspire people to become active participants in creating change.
Build a global movement around lifelong learning and curiosity.
Position Qatar Foundation as a destination for future changemakers.
Strategic Response
To create change, we first have to unlearn.
Question assumptions.
Challenge bias.
Rethink what we've always accepted as true.
Only then can we become students of change.
If we want people to change the world, we first have to help them unlearn the barriers that stop them believing they can.
Idea
Students of Change
Working alongside Qatar Foundation's leadership, I helped develop a global strategic platform that expressed not what the organisation did, but why it existed.
Twenty-five years earlier, Qatar Foundation had disrupted the traditional model of education. Rather than following a conventional approach, it brought together ten of the world's leading universities on one campus and built an entirely new way of learning. Innovation, collaboration and lifelong learning weren't simply encouraged; they were designed into the system itself. It wasn't simply investing in education. It was reimagining it.
Twenty-five years later, that disruption had become proof. Qatar Foundation had already been a changemaker for a generation. The challenge wasn't to invent a new purpose. It was to help the world recognise the one that had been there all along.
From that insight came Students of Change.
Not a campaign, but a global platform that repositioned learning as something far greater than education. It became an invitation to question everything, challenge assumptions, embrace curiosity and continually unlearn in order to create meaningful change.
As Global Creative Director, I partnered with the Head of Strategy to develop the central strategic premise that meaningful change begins with unlearning. From that foundation, I led the development of the global creative platform, working closely with a Regional Creative Director based in Lebanon to ensure the idea could be expressed consistently across different markets while remaining culturally relevant.
I led a multidisciplinary team of more than 50 internal and external collaborators spanning creative, digital, content, social media and production, ensuring every expression of the platform remained strategically aligned.
Working directly with Qatar Foundation's senior stakeholders, I presented the work, facilitated feedback and guided the platform from concept through to global rollout. As part of the organisation's weekly newsroom, I worked closely with editorial teams to identify stories emerging from across the organisation and translate them into content that continually reinforced the Students of Change platform.
The platform was deliberately designed as a long-term strategic ecosystem rather than a single campaign.
Hero
A series of global films introduced the movement through five themes that represented Qatar Foundation's impact:
Progressive Education
Artificial Intelligence
Precision Medicine
Sustainability
Social Progress
Together they explained not simply what Qatar Foundation invested in, but the future it was helping to create.
Hub
The strategy combined inspiration with proof. Hero content invited people into the movement. Hub content demonstrated that change was already happening.
Working closely with Qatar Foundation's newsroom, we created an ongoing stream of stories, social content and interactive experiences that demonstrated the organisation's purpose in action.
One of the flagship initiatives I developed was Faces of Change, a content series celebrating researchers, educators, innovators and community leaders whose work embodied the movement. By putting real people at the centre of the platform, we transformed an abstract purpose into authentic human proof.
Interactive content encouraged audiences to question assumptions, challenge bias and participate in conversations about the future, turning passive audiences into active contributors.
The platform became a communications ecosystem capable of supporting global reputation, public engagement, recruitment and thought leadership through one consistent strategic idea.
Outcome
Students of Change repositioned Qatar Foundation from a world-class educational institution into a place where people come not simply to learn, but to learn how to change the world.
The platform became Qatar Foundation's global purpose platform, uniting education, research and community development under a single strategic idea that could be activated consistently across local, regional and international markets.
Designed to support one of the most visible moments in Qatar's recent history, it gave the organisation a common language for communicating its purpose while inspiring people around the world to become part of the movement.
The platform extended well beyond external communications. More than 5,000 employees were engaged through Qatar Foundation's internal MyQF platform, helping transform employees into ambassadors for the movement and ensuring the organisation's purpose was lived internally as well as communicated externally.
Designed as a long-term platform rather than a one-off initiative, Students of Change became the launchpad for Qatar Foundation's purpose story, establishing a strategic framework for hero films, proof-of-purpose storytelling and ongoing engagement across global, regional and local markets.
What This Taught Me
The strongest purpose already exists. The challenge is uncovering it and helping others see it.
Students of Change wasn't about inventing a new purpose for Qatar Foundation. It was about recognising the one that had been there for twenty-five years and expressing it through an idea the world could understand and want to be part of.
Yasmina Toak
