Katara, British Council sign cultural cooperation agreement
Doha, The Gulf Observer: Cultural Village Foundation, Katara and the British Council signed yesterday a Cultural Cooperation Agreement aimed to document and strengthen collaboration in various cultural aspects and in areas of mutual interest activities.
The agreement was signed by Prof. Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of Katara and Scott McDonald, Chief Executive of the British Council
Dr. Al Sulaiti expressed his gladness on the new partnership and said: “This agreement aims to strengthen and reinforce the alliance between us in various cultural aspects and develop activities in areas of common interest.”
“This partnership with the British Council is a remarkable achievement intended to build ties of cultural and civilised communication between the Qatar and Britain to develop horizons of collaboration and promote common goals and to lay a strong ground for cultural exchange.”
He said that both countries will adopt joint strategic programmes, organise cultural events, facilitate the exchange of visits and participation in festivals between the two countries, enabling Qatari citizens to join cultural and educational opportunities in the United Kingdom, as well as exchanging experiences, policies, and regulations related to culture.
McDonald for his part said that he hopes the partnership will contribute to establishing and building sustainable cultural relations that will enhance Katara’s role in enriching the cultural and knowledge aspect, and promoting culture in all its forms, through events and activities based on activating cultural work and consolidating knowledge and openness to the world. Moreover, Katara has also unveiled two murals to promote the concept of sports.
The two murals represent the cooperation between Qatari artist Mona Al Badr and Welsh artists Bryce Davies and Hannah McGarr, showing the extent of the impact of sport as a force for good, changing lives for the better and enhancing its concept of understanding and interdependence between nations.
H E Fahad bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, Ambassador of Qatar to the United Kingdom, Dr. Al Sulaiti and McDonald led the unveiling of the murals.
The first mural “I am somebody” can be seen at Building 47 in Katara and is characterised by containing elements from the Qatari and Welsh cultures by using symbols from the environment of the two friendly countries, such as national flowers, and football was drawn in the lower left by Yasmin Aktar and Sadok John, two young leaders from the UK-based charity Street Child United that works to amplify the voice of street-connected youth and help their campaign for change across the following main areas: identity, access to education, protection from violence, the mural also recognizes the ambition of Street Child United to obtain one million birth certificates for children living on the streets around the world between
The second mural is located at Building 23 called “Together” in Arabic, English, and Welsh. It symbolises the importance of cultural exchange that was represented during the construction of this mural, where participants are from the programme Above All Together “Together,” as well as the public, who also contributed to the drawing of the painting.
In the same context, Dr. Al Sulaiti also inaugurated an exhibition of paintings that combine sports and art, in cooperation with the British Council, including various paintings of several artists reflecting different angles of sports and arts such as music, performances, and others.
