Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) secretary general Hassan al-Thawadi was this week invited to be the guest speaker at a Diplomatic Salon in Doha.
Organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, al-Thawadi met and addressed around just over 100 ambassadors to Qatar at the prestigious Diplomatic Club on Monday evening. The session was moderated by Dr Hassan al-Muhannadi, director of the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Diplomatic Salon is an annual event held and organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Diplomatic Institute in which ambassadors, directors at MoFA and diplomats are invited. This year an invitation was sent to the SC’s Secretary General to present as the guest of honour.
The event serves two explicit purposes: first, building and strengthening diplomatic relations internally. Second, ambassadors send reports back to their respected governments with updates and comments on the event.
Showcasing the plans ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, al-Thawadi addressed the gathered dignitaries for almost two hours, out-lining the vision of the first World Cup in the Middle East and demonstrating the progress on promises made to date.
Six years after winning the bid, the half-way point in Qatar’s historic journey represented the perfect opportunity to update the wide range of nations currently carrying out their ambassadorial duties in Doha.
Whilst taking the opportunity to address high-profile issues such as workers’ welfare, al-Thawadi used the opportunity to talk a captive audience through legacy-based programmes such as Generation Amazing, the Josoor Institute, Challenge 22 and the recently-launched Behavioural Insights Team (BIT).
He said: “We have a deep vision for this tournament and it was important to share this vision with people in Qatar who I consider as friends and colleagues.
“We have a duty to share as much information as we can with our ambassadors, to ensure they can answer the questions asked of them in their own countries. We have tried to build the legacy of this tournament based on a foundation of engagement within our communities. The same rationale applies here.”
Conducted in an atmosphere of collaboration and openness, many of the issues raised by the ambassadors ranged from workers’ rights, legacy plans, a desire for continued transparency and an appetite to acknowledge what was being done to ensure this truly was a World Cup for the Middle East.
Al-Thawadi added: “For us, this World Cup is no longer simply a sporting event. It hasn’t been for a long time. We must grasp the platform we have to showcase our differences and celebrate them – not allow them to become a barrier. This tournament will bring people together like no other event in history.” (SC.qa)