H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, EAA Chairperson, speaking at the closing ceremony of the ‘Scoring for the Goals’ campaign.
As part of keeping the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 legacy, Education Above All (EAA) Foundation and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) yesterday announced that 27 tents will be used for refugees and internally displaced communities across Syria, Turkey, and Yemen.
Out of these 27 tents, some were used during Qatar 2022 to serve visiting fans like at Fan Festival at Al Bidda Park. The tents were designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.
The announcement was made during the closing ceremony of the ‘Scoring for the Goals’ campaign held on the sidelines of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, in the presence of H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, EAA Chairperson.
“This tent will be taken apart and sent to a war-torn country to be used as a classroom for displaced children. Other tents being used in the World Cup will be sent to Yemen and Syria,” said Sheikha Moza while speaking during the event held at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Pavilion tent which is designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in the Fan Zone at Al Bidda Park.
Some 27 tents designed by the renowned firm will be placed as schools, clinics, and emergency shelters for displaced communities through a partnership with the International Migration Organisation and Qatar Red Crescent.
The tents allow for natural daylight and are sustainable, weather-proof, modular structures that can be easily moved and reassembled, incorporating components that can also be upcycled, thereby making them ideal for displaced populations.
H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, and others during the closing ceremony of ‘Scoring for the Goals’ campaign held on the sidelines of the World Cup.
Sheikha Moza highlighted how the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is used to promote SDGs and said, “We have used the platform created by a world event to highlight matters crucial to all of us. This can be done wherever the limelight falls.”
Emphasising the need to act immediately to reach the SDGs, Sheikha Moza said, “If not now when?”
“Unlike the teams in this World Cup, the SDGs do not compete, and every one of them must be achieved. If every action we take - from refilling a water bottle to building a school - is made with thought and purpose, then our planet has a future. Let us strive for that future,” she said.
‘Scoring for the Goals’ campaign called for unity and solidarity to achieve the SDGs and the closing ceremony was held in the presence of former President of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic; Deputy Secretary General of the UN, Amina J Mohammed; Chief Scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Ismahane Elouafi; Secretary General of the International Fair Play Committee, Sunil Sabharwal; Secretary General at Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Hassan Al Thawadi and several other dignitaries.
“On scoring for the goals - the first goal needs to be on education. Because it does pull in all the other goals and ensures we get to 2030 with the ambition for future generations,” said Amina J Mohammed.
Emphasising on the importance of ending hunger and malnutrition in countries, Ismahane Elouafi said, “We have to act now. Right now, we have 828 million people that are going to bed hungry. When a kid is malnourished - that kid cannot be educated and cannot reach his full potential.”
During the ceremony Secretary General of the International Fair Play Committee, Sunil Sabharwal, honoured Olympic Athlete Mutaz Barshim for his fair play. “People ask us why we promote acts of fair play and highlight them like this? It is so important because the world needs to have role models,” said Sabharwal adding, “All nations need to play fairly, as a team!”
