By Fazeena Salim
A unique collection of photographs taken by students aimed at raising awareness for World Environment Day is being showcased at the Gate Mall.
The photographs are the top 50 most inspiring ones submitted through Instagram for a competition ‘My Qatar,’ which was held in April.
‘My Qatar’ provided a wonderful platform for the youth to be a part of World Environment Day celebrations. It provided an opportunity for students, both from university as well as the high school, to explore mother-nature through clicking photographs and exhibiting their creativity to a larger audience.
The photography competition was held to comply with the theme for this year’s World Environment Day ‘Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.’ A total of 600 submissions, from different nationalities, were received throughout the month of April.
The competition was held under the patronage of the Ministry of Environment, an initiative of The Youth Company and sponsored by Doha Festival City, Nakilat and N-KOM.
Three winners of the competition were announced and prizes were presented during a ceremony on Thursday. Muhsen Al Khyarin, Director Public Relations and Communications, Ministry of Environment, together with ambassadors of several countries, representatives of The Youth Company, Nakilat N-KOM and Doha Festival were present at the event.
The first winning photo was taken by Mohammed Muddassir (16) in 2014 during a visit to the Souq Waqif, where there is a Camels enclosure for public viewing.
He is a student at the Newton International School — Lagoon Area Branch and takes photographs out of passion.
“It puts a big Smile on my face to be selected among the best of the 50 finalist photos. I am thankful to the Youth Company and all the Sponsors for this Win. This gives me motivation to do better for the Environment and have a sustainable future,” said Muddassir.
He has also participated and did a stop motion short animation film for the Qatar Bid 2022 organised by the Doha film Institute and that got interested in film making and photography.
“Later I also did a short film for the Youth Company Short film Competition in which I won the third prize. I have been participating in various photography contests in Qatar and won the Campus Magazine Facebook Photography Contest in year 2013,” said Muddassir.
The second place was won by Abdul Rahman for his photograph titled ‘Green Qatar.’
For third place winner Anas Ashroff (19), a software student, photography is a passion and his entry of picture was a drop of water.
“My mother was watering the garden and just got an idea of photographing the water drops. I took many photos and was not satisfied. But finally this wining photo came right. But I didn’t think it would among one of the three winners,” he said.
My Qatar was aimed at promoting sustainable and environmentally-friendly activities by encouraging participants to explore Qatar’s nature and to capture inspirational shots. The Youth Company, together with Nakilat and N-KOM, hoped to inspire Qatar’s residents and create awareness by triggering a passion for a greener tomorrow. The challenge’s judging panel selected 50 submissions, based on pre-set criteria, to be displayed for the public in an exhibition at the Gate Mall until Tuesday.
Mohamed Farid, Founder and Chairman of The Youth Company, commented: “I’m thrilled with the outcome of this initiative; not only have we received hundreds of submissions but we managed to get students to think about the environment and engage in a creative activity themed around sustainability. Photography is a great way to pause and observe surroundings and details that we normally do not notice; It is very valuable to capture these details and share them with the rest of the community. When looking at the bigger picture, I think youth will be making a huge difference and, hopefully, will strive to keep our environment healthy.” The Peninsula
