Arab Culture and Heritage Promoted Through the Middle East's first-ever World Cup

The Host Country Media Center held a seminar entitled consolidating Arab heritage and culture through the first-ever World Cup the Middle East

The Host Country Media Center in Msheireb Downtown Doha held Tuesday a seminar entitled "consolidating Arab heritage and culture through the first-ever World Cup the Middle East".

The seminar was attended by Acting Deputy CEO of Exhibitions and Director of Exhibitions at Qatar Museums Sheikha Reem Al-Thani, Director of Strategic Planning and Projects Affairs at Qatar National Library, Hind Al Khulaifi and Head of Community Arts Department at Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) Amira Al Aji.

The participants talked about the vision, goals and mission of their institutions and what they offer to society, visitors and guests of the State of Qatar, as they are part of the country's institutions that have all sought to enrich the experience of fans of the teams participating in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and simultaneously present the correct image of Qatari and Arab culture.

They said that their institutions held many artistic and cultural programs, which consisted of art exhibitions or artistic and cultural festivals, events and many multi-lingual initiatives and seminars to introduce fans to Arab culture and arts and ensure diversity and tolerance during the tournament.

They also pointed to the partnerships that their institutions made with some of their counterparts abroad to bridge gaps between cultures.

The speakers also highlighted the importance of preserving the Arabic language and the efforts made by the authorities in the country in this regard, and they discussed some of the programs and initiatives of their institutions to protect the Arabic language, whether individual initiatives or those in cooperation with other authorities in the country.

In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Sheikha Reem Al-Thani, said that Qatar Museums worked to introduce the culture and history of the Arab world during the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, by holding art exhibitions that showed Arab ideas and history from an Arab viewpoint, apart from the Western narrative. These exhibitions, for example, included an exhibition on the State of Qatar and another on Palestine, an exhibition on football, among other exhibitions that are open to football fans, she added.

She added that her intervention in the seminar focused on Arab arts as entrenched in the Arab history.

She stressed that all museums and the archaeological and heritage sites such as Al Zubarah Castle saw a large fan turnout, especially on non-match days.
Also speaking to QNA, Al Aji said that the seminar wanted to present the correct image of Qatari, Arab and Islamic culture in general to the public and media professionals currently in the country, while at the same time emphasizing the role of arts and culture to bring together societies and peoples.

She added that the impact created by the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 was wonderful on the level of introducing Qatari and Arab cultures and customs to football fans, stressing the role played by the QF, along with many institutions nationwide through devising initiatives, projects, programs and activities during the tournament.

She highlighted that the tournament's positive impact, with foreign visitors and fans wearing traditional Qatari clothes, hailing the move as a longstanding legacy of the World Cup in Qatar.

(QNA)