Doha, 8 February 2023 - The Ministry of Education and Higher Education held the fifth discussion session of the "Illuminations" initiative, entitled 'The World Cup legacy', which highlighted the lessons learned from Qatar's FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 hosting.
Moderated by General Supervisor of the "illuminations" initiative, Maryam Al Mohannadi, the session discussed the World Cup's impressive success, which transformed the concepts of volunteerism and sustainability into a tangible reality that stunned the world.
Addressing the session held under the slogan "We Dialogue.. We Enlighten.. We Rise", Official Spokesperson for the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), Khaled Al Nama highlighted Qatar's success in overcoming the huge challenges related to the mega-event hosting. In this respect, he said that the tournament embodied the concepts of Arab culture after the Western campaigns that sought to distort this culture, with Qatar insisting as of the first day of winning the World Cup bid that the tournament would be for all Arabs.
Among the SC's objectives are to prepare the infrastructure and equip facilities, coordinate with all state agencies and sectors and achieve a sustainable legacy, Al Nama said, highlighting the many World Cup-related gains which can be harnessed to serve the country in the next stage.
The tournament will have a positive impact on society, leave a sustainable legacy, and enhance many aspects, particularly its contributions to the positive change in the country, he added.
He added that the tournament discovered many young leaders who contributed to the awe-struck World Cup and presented Qatar as an ideal model for organizing an exceptional edition. Qatar earned the respect of the world by formulating success criteria while preserving its identity and customs and fulfilling its promises, Al Nama said.
The SC is currently cooperating with the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum to document all World Cup scenes and events to allow the next generation to learn about this inedible trip, he said.
Sustainability Executive Director at the SC, Eng. Bodour Al Meer said that the World Cup hosting faced many challenges, which the SC was able to deal with by finding solutions that would benefit future generations, as sustainability and legacy were among the priorities in organizing the tournament.
She stressed that Qatar was able to reach the most sustainable championship, and translated this into reality in partnership with FIFA, where about 70 projects were implemented to keep pace with sustainable development, and succeeded in setting new standards that will change the way of thinking and planning for major sports tournaments and the way they are organized in the future.
For the sake of sustainability, the World Cup stadiums were established in strategic locations to serve the local community after the tournament, taking into account issues of climate change and waste recycling, Al Meer said.
More than 80 percent of waste and materials resulting from construction operations were recycled, and this percentage amounted to 90 percent in some stadiums, she said, while highlighting the efforts to reduce carbon emissions and stressing the need to promote concepts of sustainability among school students and provide a detailed introductory explanation about them in order to build a conscious generation, especially since sustainability is one of the pillars of development in the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Al Meer expressed pride in the achievements linked with the World Cup hosting, particularly the tournament's great cultural and civilizational legacy and the many positive messages conveyed to the world.
There will be a big Qatar National Library pavilion that will document all the World Cup-related sustainability achievements, Al Meer said.
Director of the Volunteer Strategy Department at the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Nasser Al Mogaiseeb said that the World Cup helped develop a culture of volunteer work, which is a very important factor in building a society.
Al Mogaiseeb said that the SC volunteering strategy was launched in 2018, attracting more than 20,000 volunteers, the largest record for a World Cup edition, adding that no effort was spared in providing volunteers with all the necessary skills and training to ensure that they are well prepared professionally, for them to contribute to strengthening Qatar's position in the international sports arena and that sets an example to be followed globally in the field of volunteer work.
He noted that SC has developed the national volunteering strategy in partnership with Qatar22, which focused on several aspects, such as developing legislative laws for volunteering in Qatar, setting a national volunteer day, and encouraging more people to volunteer and take part in the best volunteer experience during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Al Mogaiseeb indicated that volunteer work is not just bound by the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 hosting, but rather goes beyond it to form a permanent community legacy whose primary mission is to proudly raise the national flag and deliver events hosted by the world sports capital successfully, adding that the tournament certainly motivated many schools and academic establishments to perpetuate the culture of volunteer work and community service.
Al Mogaiseeb praised the initiative launched by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE), which provided an opportunity for all school students to write about the most important lessons they have learned in the World Cup.
He concluded his remarks by saying that the tournament left great benefits in terms of volunteering, experience transfer and promoting a cooperative culture, with the aid of volunteering centers and all state institutions, in addition to the fact that the Qatari society has proven that it is capable of making the impossible.
The illuminations initiative launched by MOEHE this year is based on holding periodic educational discussion and dialogue sessions to discuss the most important educational issues in a comprehensive and integrated framework, which concludes with coming up with a list of outcomes and recommendations in order to enrich MOEHE's educational plans, programs and activities.
It aims to provide a meaningful dialogue platform that brings together educators from MOEHE and beyond to discussion sessions that deal with specific educational and academic issues of common interest in order to reach effective, inspiring and developmental ideas and solutions.
