Doha,November 10 (QNA) -The Sport for Health Photography Exhibition, “Health Through My Lens”, was officially opened in Education Citys Oxygen Park today by the Director of Public Health Department at the Ministry of Public Health Sheikh Dr. Mohamed Bin Hamad Al-Thani, who was joined by special representatives from partner organizations.
The exhibition aims to showcase a 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, he pointed out.
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.
World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Qatar Dr. Rayana Bou Haka said that 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 peoples lifestyle choices, pointing out that WHO is delighted to have partnered with Qatars 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.
Executive Director at Generation Amazing Foundation, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) Nasser Al Khori 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, pointing out that he strongly believes that sports, particularly football, can not only foster healthy lifestyles, but help build ones individual capacity in addition to strengthening relationships by bringing people together from all walks of life under a common interest and goal, because 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.”
Al Khori added that Qatar will host a vast array of cultural and entertainment options for families during this years FIFA World Cup, and this exhibition is another opportunity for families and friends to enjoy an informative exhibition in a wonderful setting and be further inspired.
The competition was open to anyone in Qatar, as 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.
CEO of the World Innovation Summit for Health, Qatar Foundation Sultana Afdhal explained why the Foundation was happy to co-host the exhibition, pointing out that 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.
(QNA)