Doha: Several officials in Arab and international cultural organisations affirmed that Qatar has succeeded in providing a fine example to follow in promoting cultural diversity, human coexistence, and civilized dialogue during the hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
This came at the end of the work of the two-day “Organizations from Local to Global’’ forum, which was hosted by the Ministry of Culture as part of the Darb Al Saai activities to celebrate the Qatar National Day, which falls on December 18 of each year and held this year under the slogan “Our Unity is Source of Our Strength”.
The participants in the forum affirmed the success of the State of Qatar in promoting dialogue and understanding and enriching cultural diversity, while proudly expressing its Gulf, Arab and Islamic culture and identity during its hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which earned it the respect of the whole world.
In press statements following the conclusion of the forum, the Director of the Department of Culture and Arts at the Ministry of Culture Maryam Yassin Al Hammadi said that discussions reflected the unity of the approaches and strategies in force, particularly promoting identity and civilized communication, both at the level of interfaith dialogue or cultural dialogue through various initiatives.
She pointed to Qatar’s efforts to promote the most important commonalities, namely the Arabic language and the preservation of identity, the most important of which is the law to protect the Arabic language issued in 2019, in addition to Qatar’s interest in translation and promotion of international understanding such as the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding, along with the role of specialized centres in the Ministry of Culture, which promote culture and support the Arabic language through its various activities and the efforts of various state institutions to support this language.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Doha International Centre for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi reviewed the mechanisms of cooperation and bridging between cultures to achieve understanding and dialogue and highlight the efforts made in the field of interfaith dialogue, referring to DICID’s efforts to enhance human communication and understanding between peoples, especially the experience of coexistence between citizens and residents of different nationalities until they become united, which strengthens the unity and strength of the state internally and externally.
Al Nuaimi emphasised DICID openness internationally as it helps those wishing to enhance such community cohesion and those who have challenges, as much as possible, through intellectual communication with religious leaders to build partnerships and relationships that in turn contribute to building communication networks to solve any problems or challenges that may arise. He highlighted DICID local and international efforts, conferences, publications, and various digital platforms, that communicate daily in various languages to clarify the importance of sport and its relationship to religions.
Secretary of the Executive Council and the General Conference and Acting Director of the Culture Department at the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) Dr. Mourad Mahmoudi reviewed ALECSO’s mechanisms to bridge differences and turn them into areas of strength, indicating that it stems from three things, which are communication, acquaintance, and consensus.
Mahmoudi explained that ALECSO is communicating with organizations and institutions to build understanding and knowledge exchange, adding that ALECSO has also chosen a networking mechanism with community institutions so that it is not elitist, but for all members of society.
He pointed out that communication achieves knowledge of the other, which leads to coexistence while preserving the cultural specificity of each country, which is what the State of Qatar succeeded in during the hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Mahmoudi hailed Qatar’s success in achieving coexistence and the requirements of the World Summit held in Mexico recently, which are to live in peace while respecting cultural specificities, explaining that diversity means integrating with different colours, races, and languages. He stressed that the Qatari model is an Arab and international model in achieving coexistence and international understanding.
