The exhibition is an initiative of the Sport for Health partnership between the Ministry of Public Health Qatar, WHO, FIFA and Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy and hosted by Qatar Foundation
The Sport for Health Photography Exhibition, called “Health Through My Lens”, was officially opened in Education City’s Oxygen Park today by Sheikh Dr. Mohamed Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Director of Public Health Department at the Ministry of Public Health in Qatar, who was joined by special representatives from partner organizations. The exhibition aims to showcase healthy lifestyle choices through photography.
The competition is an initiative of the Sport for Health partnership between the Ministry of Public Health Qatar, World Health Organization (WHO), FIFA and Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy. The three-year partnership aims to ensure that this FIFA World Cup™, the first to be held in the Middle East, is healthy and safe and serves as a benchmark to deliver future impactful, sustainable, and health-promoting mega sport events.
Sheikh Dr. Al-Thani said that this was an excellent way to engage the public in thinking more about their health and wellbeing and the importance of sport for health: “Health affects everyone and we each have our own interpretation of what health means to us; photography is an amazing medium to get people actively engaged in public and productive discourse about the contributing factors to better health”.
“We had so many excellent submissions and everyone who participated is already a winner because they have demonstrated an appreciation for the correlation between sport or physical activity and health. I wish to congratulate the photographers whose images are displayed in this exhibition and encourage anyone in Qatar over the coming months to visit Oxygen Park and get inspired by the many amazing images and positive messages on display,” added Dr. Al-Thani.
Dr. Rayana Bou Haka, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Qatar said: “Sport and health are intrinsically linked, and this partnership uses the FIFA World Cup 2022 as a catalyst to raise awareness of health and stimulate positive change in people’s lifestyle choices. The WHO is delighted to have partnered with Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health and partner organizations of the Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™initiative to support this exhibition.”
The Sport for Health photography exhibition brings together two elements; one is a series of winning photos from a public competition and the other is a visual representation of the Sport and Health initiative. The photography competition represented an opportunity to engage with the public to share their personal health-related images.
Thirteen winning photos were selected by an international panel of judged who selected the photos based on originality, creativity, and relevance to the Sport for Health concepts. An additional set of images and messages underpin the Sport for Health initiative that seeks to promote physical and mental health.
Mr. Nasser Al Khori, Executive Director at Generation Amazing Foundation, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), said that the exhibition is an example of how community can be engaged in creative ways to advocate for active lifestyles and foster healthy dialogue: “At Generation Amazing, we believe strongly that sports, particularly football, can not only foster healthy lifestyles, but help build one’s individual capacity in addition to strengthening relationships by bringing people together from all walks of life under a common interest and goal. Sport offers people a fantastic platform to improve their physical health, mental wellbeing, and social development. Through our various football for development programming and curricula, we empower young people by imparting global skills and inspiring people to participate in sport and perform regular activity to help them achieve these many benefits.”
“Qatar will host a vast array of cultural and entertainment options for families during this year’s FIFA World Cup™; this exhibition is another opportunity for families and friends to enjoy an informative exhibition in a wonderful setting and be further inspired,” added Al Khori.
The competition was open to anyone in Qatar. The outdoor exhibition is hosted by Qatar Foundation and expected to be open to the public for at least three months. The artists whose winning photographs are displayed in the exhibition were invited to join the opening and received recognition from Ministry representatives.
Sultana Afdhal, CEO of the World Innovation Summit for Health, Qatar Foundation, explained why the Foundation was happy to co-host the exhibition: “Qatar Foundation is passionate about promoting healthy lifestyles and wellbeing for a happier and healthier society and this exhibition, which highlights the vital role that sport and art can play as a vehicle for positive change, will contribute to that vision.
“Oxygen Park, located within Education City, is one of the most popular public parks in Doha and easily accessible by Metro. It covers an area of 130,000 square meters of green space which includes one of the official FIFA Fan Zones that will attract many guests. We are therefore delighted that visitors to the park will also be able to enjoy and benefit from this exhibition”, Afdhal added.
Source: Ministry of Public Health