18th International Open Repositories Conference (OR2023), Stellenbosch University, South Africa, 12‐15 June 2023 Marcin Werla (mwerla@qnl.qa), Dr. Alwaleed Alkhaja (aalkhaja@qnl.qa), Dr. Arif Shaon (ashaon@qnl.qa) Qatar National Library In November 2022, Qatar National Library (QNL) launched a new repository service called Manara – the Arabic word for ‘lighthouse’ – with the ambition of capturing, curating, preserving and providing open access to all research outputs created in Qatar. This service builds on a national-level e-resources consortium that the Library has been coordinating since 2016, ensuring optimum licensing and ﬁnancial terms for subscription-based access to research and educational content for 10 major institutions. Besides institutional-level cooperation, Manara welcomes all kinds of research-related open access contributions from all researchers based in Qatar on an individual voluntary basis. The Library is responsible for the basic content review before publishing. Introduction Manara is a new service and will initially operate as a pilot. The wider goal is to develop Manara as a core Library service that is strategically important for QNL's long-term mission and vision. The exact long-term sustainability model will be developed in cooperation with participating institutions after the initial pilot period, which runs until mid-2024. THE FUTURE Find out more at manara.qnl.qa Manara, as a comprehensive and sustainable research repository, contributes signiﬁcantly to several UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals by enriching scientiﬁc, educational and cultural knowledge environments, supporting research communication and information sharing. The open access model promoted through the repository makes the contribution even stronger, opening Qatari research outputs to the world. UNESCO SDGs An important role of Manara is to help preserve institutional archives in the dynamic landscape of Qatar. To support the Library’s mission, Manara can preserve research and educational content from institutions that no longer exist, like the Qatar branch of University College London, UCL-Q, which was active between 2010 and 2020, and played the role of Center of Excellence for Cultural Heritage and Knowledge Management in the country, conducting around 100 research and education projects. LEGACY ARCHIVING The concept at the heart of a refreshed Qatar Foundation strategy revolves around creating a collaborative and diverse higher education ecosystem in Qatar that promotes interdisciplinary learning, research excellence, and global connectivity. The concept emphasizes the integration of multiple universities, research institutions, and educational facilities within a shared campus or network. It aims to contribute to the development of Qatar as a knowledge-based society and a hub for education and research in the region. This is a comprehensive development plan introduced by the government of Qatar to guide the country's growth and progress across various sectors by the year 2030. The vision emphatically focuses on four key pillars: human development, social development, economic development, and environmental development. The vision profoundly emphasizes the importance of creating a knowledgeable and skilled society, developing a knowledge-based economy, and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation. Qatar National Library actively promotes open access through a broad variety of services, to support global dissemination of, and unrestricted access to, Qatar-based research, including: • signing open access agreements with publishers and providing an article processing charges fund for Qatar-based researchers; • supporting international open access initiatives, like INTACT’s OpenAPC and Open Access 2020; • running events and training sessions; • providing information and advice to researchers about open access publishing and open licensing. Qatar National Vision 2030 Promoting Open Access The Qatar Foundation Multiversity Manara