TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
Qatar Foundation hosted an Arabic poetry writing competition that gave young people the opportunity to serve as ‘Wanda FIFA Flag Bearers’ at the opening match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Al Bayt Stadium, as well as to recite their work at the D’reesha Performing Arts Festival, taking place in Education City’s Oxygen Park.
The competition, held in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar and under the theme “Marhaba – Qatar Welcomes the World”, was designed to celebrate the Arabic language in honour of the World Cup taking place in the Middle East for the first time.
Divided into three age categories, Wessam Al Rawy, a student at Amr Ibn Al-Aas Secondary School for Boys, won the 16 – 17-year-old category; Ragaa Hamdy, a student at Rabaa Al Adawiya Secondary for Girls, took first place in the 14 – 15-year-old category; and Jana Ahmed Al Said from Roqaya Preparatory School for Girls, placed first in the 12 –13-year-old category.
The three winners were then given the opportunity – through a partnership between Wanda Group, the Chinese conglomerate and FIFA partner, and Qatar Foundation (QF) – to carry the ceremonial FIFA flag onto the pitch at the opening game of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, before the teams from Qatar and Ecuador took the field.
“I was eager to participate in D’reesha’s Arabic Poetry Competition and share my poem as a way to give back to the country where I was born and have lived my whole life,” said Al Rawy. “I’m proud to have made it this far with my first attempt in poetry writing. It has boosted my self-confidence and encouraged me to continue writing. I was honoured to have had the chance to carry the FIFA flag to the pitch, and I will cherish this memory.” Highlighting QF’s continuous efforts to empower its students and community members through self-expression, Aljazi Al-Henzab, Community Program Manager at QF, said: “As we worked on delivering the D’reesha Performing Arts Festival, it was important for us to highlight poetry as one of the earliest uses of language in Arab history. This competition, which represents one of our initiatives to provide the youth with opportunities to express themselves in creative ways in Arabic, gave the young students a platform to discover their potential.
“Our partner Wanda played an instrumental role in providing the winners and runner ups with a unique experience and opportunity to shine on the pitches of Qatar stadiums in this once in a lifetime event, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” added Al-Henzab.
Basmala Mohamed Fouad, a student at Arwa Bint Abd Almotaleb Secondary School for Girls; Alaa Ashraf Salem, a student at Amna Bint Wahab School for Girls; and Yazan Abdel Kader Amin, a student at Osama Bin Zaid Preparatory School for Boys, were the runner ups of the D’reesha Arabic Poetry Competition, and were given the opportunity to carry FIFA flags for a group stage match during the tournament.
QF’s D’reesha Performing Arts Festival will conclude on December 17.
Held under the theme ‘Travel and Adventure’, it will showcase a variety of performances in Arabic and English, from music and poetry to visual arts and theater, with the new D’reesha of Invention showcasing scientists, scholars, and researchers from the Arab world.
