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Social and human legacy programme extends reach across disadvantaged populations  

 

Tribune News Network
Doha

WITH under a year to go until the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 gets underway, Generation Amazing has continued to make significant progress towards creating lasting human and social legacies through a range of initiatives. These include an extensive programming for Afghan refugees in Qatar, the GA-Qatar Foundation (QF) Ability Friendly Programme and a new partnership with the Ministry of Sports and Youth aimed at enhancing gender equality.  

“We are very proud to have reached these new human and social legacy milestones for Generation Amazing with just one year to go until Qatar hosts the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and Arab world,” said H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC). “By working closely with our partners at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qatar Foundation and the Ministry of Sports and Youth, we have expanded our programme reach even further over the past months to serve disadvantaged communities, thereby making sure that we leave a tangible legacy for the world beyond 2022.”

The human and social legacy programme of the SC is also well on the way to reaching its target of positively impacting 1 million lives by 2022, with the current total of 725,000 beneficiaries set to further increase with the new partnerships and programmes.

Since the arrival of refugees from Afghanistan to Qatar, Generation Amazing has worked extensively to offer them a series of learning and development opportunities, including providing a safe space for them to thrive in. Generation Amazing has partnered with Maktaba Children’s Library to deliver a wide range of educational activities for children, including music, arts and crafts, yoga and dance sessions, while a football pitch inside the compound has been used to deliver regular football for development activities and tournaments. Generation Amazing also successfully delivered a coaching certification in football for development to three groups of youth, including members of the Afghan women’s football and basketball teams, which will allow them to train and inspire others going forward.

HE Lolwah Rashid Al Khater, Assistant Foreign Minister and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “The joy Generation Amazing brought to the temporary Afghan housing facilities is immeasurable. The process of evacuation can be quite disorienting and draining; there is a lot of fear and uncertainty. It was thus inspiring to see many individuals – children and adults – blossom into themselves with the activities that Generation Amazing arranged.”


Meanwhile, working in close collaboration with QF, Generation Amazing has continued to enhance the inclusive football programme for young people with disabilities in Qatar.

“Qatar Foundation believes in the inclusion of all people with different abilities, which is reflected in our support for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the legacy of the tournament,” said Machaille Hassan Al Naimi, QF’s President of Community Development. “The power of sport comes from its universality and its capacity to remove barriers and boundaries, and the Ability Friendly Programme exemplifies how, as well as bringing enjoyment, sport has an intrinsic role in shaping a society where all needs are recognised, respected and provided for.”

The GA-QF Ability Friendly Programme offers the chance for sporting and social integration opportunities to become more accessible to children with special needs, including those with physical, mental and visual impairments, deafness and Autism, as well as other learning challenges. This programme is offered in a number of locations, including Qatar Academy Al Khor and Qatar Academy Al Wakra, both of which are schools under QF’s umbrella. Sessions take place in a safe and supportive environment and involve experienced coaches from both partners.

Generation Amazing has also launched a new partnership to mark the one-year countdown to Qatar 2022. The initiative with the Ministry of Sports and Youth got underway this month and aims to enhance gender equality. With the participation of 20 female members of Simaisma and Al-Daayen Youth Centres aged between 16 and 29, the joint programme kicked off on Saturday 20 November for an eight-week period. The programme aims to provide an innovative approach which enables girls to exercise in a safe environment, and develop their life skills such as leadership, communication and teamwork through sport and football.

Commenting on the partnership, Fawaz Abdullah Al Misufri, Head of Youth Centres Department at the Ministry of Sports and Youth, said: “We are pleased to cooperate with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, represented by Generation Amazing, to launch our joint programme, which comes in consolidation of the principle of fruitful cooperation between the ministry and all bodies and institutions operating in the country, in a way that contributes to achieving our common goals. We have made all necessary privacy arrangements to ensure girls are practising sport in complete comfort. Perhaps the most prominent aspect of this distinguished programme is that it combines the benefits of practising sport, acquiring life skills and spreading values. On the other hand, we would like to emphasise the importance of continuing this cooperation with the SC and hope to hold multiple cycles of the programme in the future in other areas in order to reach more girls.”

Next month, Generation Amazing will be hosting youth from all over the Arab world at the Generation Amazing Festival 2021, taking place from 14-18 December at QF’s Oxygen Park. The festival will showcase football for development workshops and knowledge to youth from all participating nations of the FIFA Arab Cup™, following a recently announced programme organised in collaboration with Aurora for Training and Development entitled ‘One Goal Arabia’.

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25/11/2021
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