Tribune News Network
Doha
The activities of the Katara Summer Camp began on Sunday. The camp, which will last until August 15, will be held on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays in the southern side of the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) from 10am to 7pm, with the participation of 40 children ranging in age from 10 to 15 years.
The camp records the participation of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Endowment (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs, the Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS), the Al Jazeera Media Institute, the Nomas Centre and the Shooting Club.
On Monday (today), the programme will include a set of activities and lectures to be presented by the Civil Defence, the Poetry Council and the Ministry of Awqaf, in addition to a workshop entitled ‘The importance of volunteering in events’ and teaching the Qatari Arda, in addition to a visit to the Al-Mahamal Museum and playing beach football and paddle ball.
On the first day of the camp, the participating children watched a series of awareness lectures, including a lecture presented by the Civil Defence on methods of protection and prevention from dangers, in addition to the various lectures presented by the other participating parties that dealt with various topics on the importance of self-confidence and religious lectures, in addition to their practice of a number of sports activities such as football, shooting, beach volleyball and exchange in an atmosphere of fun and entertainment and with the full briefing of a specialized sports staff.
Mohammed Al Marri, director of the Communication and Public Relations Department at Qatar Red Crescent Society, said: “Based on the solid partnership between the two sides, QRCS was keen to participate in the Katara Summer Camp by organising four training workshops over the course of a full month, at the rate of one workshop per week, for the benefit of a total of 120 students aged 10 to 13 years, with the aim of introducing them to the basics of first aid and sound health rules.”
This cooperation embodies the common visions between the Qatar Red Crescent Society and Katara with regard to social, educational and volunteer activities that contribute to building the capacities of young people and future leaders.
For his part, Dr Abdel Salam Saleh, a researcher at the Department of Studies and International Affairs at the Ministry of Interior, said: “The aim of the lecture I gave is to spread awareness among children of the importance of family bonding, the development of religious convictions, the promotion of authentic values and principles, the strength of personality and its impact on awareness and behavioural modification.
“We focused on educating the participants in the camp about the importance of filling the time with useful activities and positive influence and not being drawn into anything suspicious.”
He called on parents to get close to their children and maintain family cohesion, which will enable them to notice their children’s behaviour and changes.
He praised Katara’s efforts in organising the summer camp, which attracts a large number of children, stressing the need for parents to pay attention to such activities and to register their children in them, because of their great benefit to them.
Ahmed Al Kuwari, director of the Shooting Club, said: This is not the club’s first participation in Katara activities. We have participated five times before in various events and festivals. This participation comes as part of the community service activities the Shooting Club’s plan, as we seek to teach children air rifle shooting skills. We have provided a mobile caravan with trainers from 5pm to 7pm to train children as well as the general public who wish to the experience.” He added that the club also seeks to attract children with high skills into the national team.
Regarding its participation in the Katara Summer Camp, Al Jazeera Media Institute will present a series of workshops with a number of specialised trainers within the Al Jazeera Ambassadors Initiative, which is a non-profit initiative launched by the institute to train young international cadres inside and outside the Arab world.
The activities will include a workshop on self-confidence and personality types by trainer Iman Al Obeidi, a workshop on young broadcaster by Malak Khalil, a story writing workshop by trainer Raghda Jamal, a public speaking workshop by Abdul Majeed Barakat, a video-making workshop by Jana Al Maslamani, and a digital identity workshop by Zainab Haji. These workshops will contribute to teaching participants a set of creative skills in various fields of communication.
The Maritime Museum and the Beach Administration will present activities on slitting oysters, in addition to the valuable information the participants will receive during their visit to the museum, which will contribute to introducing the participating children to the marine heritage, reviving the heritage of the ancestors, and informing the young about it.
In order to consolidate the customs and traditions, the participants will also follow practical workshops on drinking coffee, making coffee, how to pour coffee, receiving guests at the Qatari Majlis, and other authentic Qatari customs and traditions, such as the Qatari Ardha and others.
The Katara summer camp aims to contribute to the link between educational practice on the one hand and the promotion of Qatari identity and local customs and traditions on the other hand, which will work on the development of social, religious and national values.
