British Council Qatar has signed a letter of collaboration with Katara – Cultural Village Foundation to celebrate the closing of the seventh edition of the UK Festival, which was themed around Sport for Good and took place from November 23-29. The letter states both countries’ commitment to deepening cultural relations through:
* Strategic joint programmes and events across different cultural fields
* Facilitating exchange visits and mutual participation in festivals between the two countries, and
* Promoting opportunities for Qatari nationals to undertake cultural and educational opportunities in the United Kingdom.
This year’s festival, which was attended by more than 25,000 people, brought to life the UK’s vibrant cultural scene in Qatar, facilitating exchanges between UK and Qatari artists, and young people. As part of the festival, a variety of different artists put on performances and collaborative activities to showcase the Sport For Good theme, including:
* Radio Selector – showcasing diversity in the UK’s music scene
* Parkour shows – award-winning Parkour artists ran live shows to motivate people to use sport for good by spending less time indoors and more time outside moving
* Illustration project – Tim Vyner, a renowned UK-based illustrator collaborated with Qatari artist Kholood al-Ali to draw live illustrations of everything around him, capturing the energy of young leaders participating in the festival in addition to the Qatari culture and heritage
* Mural creation – young people and communities from around the world worked in collaboration with UK and Qatari artists on murals highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusion in sport
* Photography shooting stars exhibition – 10 young people were trained by two world-class photographers to take photos of live events at the World Cup, with their top picks on display at an exhibition visible to all festival goers.
“It is a real pleasure to be here in Qatar and see the activities over the last weeks come together in these great works of arts that embody all that British Council stands for, collaboration and cultural exchange that can help create more inclusive societies and provide young people lasting skills to take into other parts of their live,” British Council chief executive Scott McDonald reflected.
"I would like to deeply thank GREAT for supporting this event, as well as all other partners and in specific, Katara – Cultural Village Foundation,” he said. “The newly signed Letter of Collaboration will further enhance the cultural exchange between both nations.”
“It has been another great edition of the UK Festival with so many cultural highlights that have brought the UK and Qatar communities even closer and explored how you can use different arts forms to connect communities, young and old,” Katara general manager Prof Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti said. “I am delighted to grow our relationship with the British Council Qatar and together work on deepening and enriching our countries’ culture and arts sectors.”
“I am delighted to be here in Qatar, celebrating UK and Qatari creativity and diversity,” said GREAT campaign director Andrew Pike. “It’s great to see all the different activities taking place and how we’ve engaged different audiences around the Sport for Good theme.”
“We were able to increase awareness of UK culture and build a cultural bridge between Qatar and the UK through arts, music and sports! I would like to thank the British Council and Katara for working alongside us to make this happen,” he added. “I look forward to a rich and long-lasting collaboration with Qatar.”
The UK Festival is a partnership between the British Council and the GREAT campaign, and supported by many partner organisations and initiatives: the British embassy in Qatar, Katara, Education Above All, ILoveQatar.net, QBS Radio, Street Child United, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and the Welsh government.
Snapshots from the UK Festival.
