HH Sheikha Moza Witnesses Closing Session of WISH 2022 Summit

HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser

HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, attended Thursday the closing session of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH 2022), which was held under the theme "Healing The Future".

The closing session was also attended by HE President of the United Republic of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan, HE Wife of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone Fatima Maada Bio, HE FIFA President Gianni Infantino, HE Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation (QF) Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani, HE Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) Hassan Al Thawadi.

A number of Their Excellencies sheikhs and ministers in addition to a host of experts, leaders and policymakers from all over the world also attended the closing session.

The closing session discussed the role played by major sporting events to promote physical activity, and the strategies required to make sport accessible to persons with disabilities.

The discussions concluded with many recommendations to benefit from sport to boost healthy lifestyles at different age levels, expand the positive impact of sporting events, support effective planning, and work to build a sustainable legacy for sporting events, as well as developing knowledge transfer mechanisms.

The session also saw the announcement of the launch of the fourth edition of the Street Child World Cup, an initiative advocated by a global movement calling for the protection of street children. In partnership with Qatar Foundation, this year's edition of the Street Child World Cup will take place in Doha 7 15 October 2022 with the participation of 28 teams (boys and girls) from 25 countries.
The attendees were shown a video of Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr. addressing the children who will feature in the championship.

The video showed Neymar highlighting that he started his career playing soccer in the street, adding that football is his favorite manner to express himself though scoring goals, shooting, and winning.
The Brazilian superstar voiced hopes the children would stick to their dreams, play soccer passionately, enjoy their appearance in the championship , and be proud to represent their countries.
The session also featured the launch of the WISH Declaration on Disability Inclusion in Sport and Health.

The declaration affirmed that discrimination against anyone on the basis of their disability is an affront to their dignity and value, and that persons with disabilities have the right to enjoy the highest standards of health without discrimination in accordance with Article 25 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

It also stressed that they have equal rights to participate in major sports, and in sports or projects related to persons with disabilities, as stated in Article 30 of the same Convention.

The declaration stressed that health and sports are interconnected, and that sports activities reinforce values of self-confidence, self-esteem, expression of opinions independence, social participation and solidarity. It added that all these activities promote participation, inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities.

Besides the panels on sports and healthcare, many experts and policymakers from around the world took part in the activities of the three-day summit, which covered a variety of topics, including Building Health System Resilience, Vaccine Innovation, Lessons from Qatar's COVID-19 Experience, and Promoting Health and Wellbeing Among the Global Migrant Workforce.

WISH Summit is an effective platform to celebrate outstanding innovations in healthcare through competitions in two categories: Spark (early-stage startups) and Booster (established startups looking to scale). The winners in this edition received cash awards and WISH-sponsored trips to Web Summit 2022 to be held in Portugal in November.

This year's edition of the WISH 2022, held under the title "Healing The Future", focused on four main themes: the post-COVID-19 legacy, disability and accessibility, sport and health, and wellbeing.
The discussions revolved around ten topics presented in specialist seminars that addressed important global health challenges such as: climate change and food security, mental health of health care workers, and vaccine innovation, all supported by evidence-based research and practical policy recommendations prepared by the summit experts.

The Innovation Center hosted about 20 innovators in the health care field from 13 countries who were selected to showcase their innovations at the summit, which, over three days, witnessed a variety of events, including art exhibitions, introducing start-ups, and Agora sessions which discussed multiple issues related to this year's edition.

(QNA)