Doha: HE Undersecretary of the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs Dr. Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Ghanem Al-Thani honored the winners of the 5th edition of the "Waqf and Picture" competition in a ceremony held at the headquarters of the General Directorate of Endowments. His Excellency also announced the theme of the sixth edition of the competition, which will be launched on October 1. During the ceremony held at the headquarters of the General Directorate of Endowments, 45 winners of the 5th edition of the competition in its local and international branches were announced. 694 photographers from 49 countries took part in the competition, with this year's number of honorees in each category of the competition increased to fifteen winners and the value of the prizes increased to QR 275,000. Director General of the General Directorate of Endowments Eng. Hassan Abdullah Al Marzouqi said that endowment work has historically been linked to various sectors to become a strong tributary to all aspect s of life, civilization, and human development, and in this context it has been linked to scientific creativity and innovation. He stressed that Islamic values were manifested in the endowment's support for education, and Muslim scholars laid the foundations of experimental scientific curricula which paved the way for modern sciences and the development of Sharia, health, cultural, and educational research. He added that the General Directorate of Endowments' adoption of this edition of the competition is a result of the successes witnessed by the State of Qatar and the growing achievements in the global indicators that have enhanced the position of the State of Qatar at the global level in the field of education as well as the effective role of the endowment in supporting sustainable renaissance and education as a basic pillar in development and renaissance. Source: Qatar News Agency