Pakistan
Qatar Charity has announced the results of its competition for schools; part of its Ana Snafi (I am Snafi) and Habet Reeh (A Gust of Wind) programs.
Twenty five schools competed for QAR 400,000 prizes.
QC officials presented the prizes in a ceremony held last Sunday at the Aspire Club, Doha and attended by officials from the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Supreme Education Council, staff from other charitable organizations, students and their families.
Prizes were presented in the categories of art exhibition, radio drama, theatre and ‘YouTube’ Film. The results are as follows:
In the Art Exhibition category (primary), first place was awarded to the Qadisiyah School (boys) and Shaqab School (girls). Second and third place went to the Al-Salam Elementary School and Halima Kindergarten respectively.
In the Art Exhibition category (Preparatory Secondary) all three places were awarded to girls’ school, Moza Bent Mohammed Preparatory School for first place, Qatar Preparatory School for second place and third place was awarded to Umm Ayman Secondary School.
The Radio Drama category (Preparatory Secondary), the first place was awarded to Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib School (boys), second place to Doha Secondary School (boys) and third place to Fatima bint Al-Walid School.
In the ‘YouTube’ Film category (Preparatory Secondary), Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib School (boys) won the first place. Third prize was awarded to Ahnaf Preparatory School (boys). For girls, first place was awarded to Alkraana Preparatory School and third to Al-Shamal High School.
In the Theatre category (Preparatory Secondary), the first place was awarded to Doha Secondary School, second prize to Al-Ahnaf School, and third to Ben Khaldoun (boys). The girls’ category, Al Khour Secondary School won the first place, The Audio Education Complex won third place.
The opening ceremony began with a welcome address delivered by master of ceremonies, Ahmed Saleh Al Ali, Director of Support and Centres’ Affairs at QC, followed by a presentation by Dr. Ashraf Jalal Bayoumi Advisor on Local Development.
In his speech, QC’s CEO Yousef Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, congratulated the winners and thanked the staff and students at the schools.
“I am Snafi and A Gust of Wind” were the first projects of their kind in the State of Qatar,” Al Kuwari said.
“We are looking at social, cultural and economic development, and the promotion of values is one of the pillars of any civilized nation. The development is in line with the Qatar vision for 2030 and the five-year plan 2011-2016,” Al Kuwari added.
Al Kuwari concluded his speech by thanking the Ministry of Social Affairs for its generous sponsorship of the campaign, the SEC for its cooperation and partnership, and Al-Sharq Newspaper for its coverage of the campaign, which had a significant impact on the success of the programs.
Sheikha Hessa Al-Thani, Goodwill Ambassador for QC, said that she was very impressed by the ‘I Am Snafi’ and ‘A Gust of Wind’ programs; praising what she called the ‘symbolism’ of the names of the two projects.
“They are an invitation to reflect on our lives past and present; an invitation to search for something bigger and deeper, a call for respect for the generations that preceded us and an invitation to learn from their experience and knowledge,” she said.
Al-Thani thanked QC for its work at the local and international level, expressed she is honoured by the title ‘Goodwill Ambassador’- which she said acts as an incentive for her to personally do more – and called on everyone to consider himself an ambassador for both the concept and the projects.
Abdul Rahman Al-Harami, manager of “I Am Snafi’ project explained that the program was launched in order to contribute to the development of good behavior amongst students, by directing their attention towards a number of values selected semester by semester.
“The activities were designed by the students themselves in order to ensure that they were relevant to their daily reality and to encourage innovation, creativity and diversity,” Al-Harami said.
The winning students expressed their happiness and pride at what they had achieved, and thanked QC for organizing the competition.
“The most beneficial part of the competition for me was overcoming the challenges and difficulties we faced,” said Doha Secondary School student Said Abdul Rahman Abdul Malik, adding that the contest had also encouraged the students to take an interest in the values of society and how to maintain them.
Sheikha Matar Al-Dosari spoke of the positive affect the competition had had on deaf students, who had managed to achieve as much as their hearing colleagues.
The ceremony honored some of the personalities and institutions that have contributed to the success of the programs, including Sheikha Hessa Al-Thani, Ahmed Al Mulla, Director of Associations and Institutions at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Salem Jaber Al Harami, editor of Al-Sharq Newspaper and Al Thani, all of whom were presented with shields and certificates of appreciation.
The judges passed their decisions on the entries with honesty and transparency, awarding 30% of the marks for the project idea, which they expected to be unique and timely. They took into account how well the idea was expressed and how culturally aware the presentation was, which accounted for 40% of the marks. The final 30% took into account the promotion and marketing of the project, its use of new technologies and methods of appealing to its target audience and maximising this audience.
The panel made field visits to the participating schools to monitor and measure the responsibility and positivity values, using pre tests prepared by specialists.
This academic year, the programs focused on the values of responsibility and positivity; different values will be the focus in coming years.
The programs were developed by experts and practitioners in the field of education and targets students at three educational levels, males and females, taking into account the needs and potential of each class, as well as Qatari heritage.
The program was developed in the context of QC’s desire to begin local development work focusing on community, cultural and economic factors.