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“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, not just a football tournament for 32 teams. It’s a chance for the world to come and see who we are and build bridges between nations and people, and to break down stereotypes. But the much more important part is the tangible impact it has on people’s lives, and every initiative we have seeks to do that,” Thawadi added. “Major sporting events place a lot of requirements on a host nation. And from our experience, it’s very important that the plans you have in place fit with the nation’s overall development plans. That’s what we did,” he said. “From day one, we recognised we were lucky to have a 12-year gap from when we won the right to host the World Cup. That allowed us to plan, but also to sit down and develop our legacy plans. The legacy started from day one. Many nations only start looking at legacy after the tournament, but we planned for it. We worked hard to communicate and engage with stakeholders from the beginning to understand what our nation’s goals and vision were, and what was required and how we could fit into that.” Further commenting on the legacies of the tournament, Thawadi said a national volunteering strategy will be launched in two to three months that addresses the issue of developing volunteering capacity for the World Cup. He said the strategy is also about instilling the volunteer essence and ethos within the communities - Qataris, expatriates and visitors. “The idea is to demonstrate civic engagement and enable people to contribute to their communities through volunteering. It instils a sense of camaraderie, responsibility and community. A national volunteer strategy aims to bring together different stakeholders to develop an initiative that will be one of the legacies that lasts beyond the World Cup.” On other initiatives as part of the preparations such as research and technology, Thawadi said they are working with HBKU on a groundbreaking project that would benefit the fans, workers and others on a global level. He added that they have also partnered with Georgetown University Qatar to work on an initiative that will look into behaviour insights such as engaging with fans and enhancing their experience. On the impact of World Cup in advancing significant workers’ welfare reforms, he said Qatar is always committed to the matter as it has always been embedded into the Qatar National Vision 2030. He said the World Cup has been a catalyst that has allowed for significant amount of reforms that has happened in a very sustainable manner. He highlighted Qatar’s establishment of the universal minimum wage for the workers as well as SC’s efforts together with contractors to reimburse recruitment fees to workers engaged in World Cup projects. He said, “The criticism of worker welfare in Qatar has died down, but we have to be realistic. Unfortunately, among the public, the perception has not changed and is still negative. We can’t be complacent and the progress we are making on worker welfare should not be restricted to the World Cup. It must be something we subscribe to because of our inherent values. We also need to identify the mistakes we have made in the past and look at how we avoid them in the future. At the SC, we look at ourselves as an experiment to see what works and then extend it nationwide. If you implement something without first testing it, the consequences can be significant and can even harm those it is supposed to benefit.” On the issue of sustainability, he reiterated Qatar’s commitment to hosting the first carbon-neutral tournament. Concerning security, he assured the preparedness of the country. To the delight of the audience, he also shared that they have been in talks with FIFA to develop ticketing strategy to ensure that there will be a significant portion that goes to the local market and a significant portion that will be available to the international fans as well. Commenting on the sustainability aspect, Director of Qatar Green Building Council Eng. Meshal al Shamari said, “With less than three years till kick-off of the carbon-neutral FIFA World Cup 2022. Qatar’s sustainability journey feels faster, more challenging and more exhilarating constantly. But our decisions for sustainability today must be made with the intention that they will carry us not just to 2022 or even 2030, but to generations ahead. Khalifa Essa al Kubaisi, Media Relations and Press Office manager at QF, said: “Our Education City Speaker Series hosts experts and thought-leaders from Qatar and beyond to give their insights and share their experiences on a wide spectrum of topics. “It provides the community of Qatar with an opportunity to both hear from and engage with these speakers in the spirit of open dialogue and the exchange of perspectives. In this way, the Education City Speaker Series reflects how QF is committed to providing platforms for discourse, interaction, and the sharing of knowledge. We are delighted to welcome Hassan Al Thawadi as our latest speaker.”
