Sheikha Moza urges realisation of SDGs; EAA donates 27 tents to displaced communities

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, drew a parallel with the question, "If not now, when?”, which Her Highness had asked some 12 years ago about the hosting of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
Her Highness Sheikha Moza was speaking at the closing ceremony of the EAA’s Scoring 4 the Goals campaign at EAA's SDG Pavilion, FIFA Fan Festival, Saturday.
Her Highness also participated in the 'Walk to Zero' walkathon that took place to raise awareness of achieving three key ambitious goals that are part of the effort to achieve the SDGs - zero hunger, zero out-of-school children, and zero-dose immunisation.
She was joined by deputy secretary-general of the United Nation Amina Mohamed, former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, First Lady of Rwanda Jeannette Kagame, First Lady of Albania Armanda Ymeri, and several of sheikhs and ministers.
EAA, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and its human and social legacy programme, Generation Amazing Foundation, announced that 27 tents, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) to serve and support displaced populations, will be donated to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) and Qatar Red Crescent Society, as part of the country’s efforts to ensure the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has a lasting impact beyond the tournament. The news was announced at a ZHA-EAA replica tent inside the FIFA Fan Festival in Doha.
With the FIFA World Cup final taking place Sunday and the need for both the finalists to score goals to win the tournament, Her Highness Sheikha Moza said; “Argentina and France have to score goals to win the World Cup. And we, governments, NGOs, civil societies and everyone of us must contribute for scoring the goals our planet definitely needs.”
“Across the last four weeks of the World Cup here in Qatar, we have hosted several heads of states, ministers and other global leaders. Beyond football, these world leaders have participated in SDG advocacy and several of them making commitments here in our pavilion. We have used the platform created by a world event to highlight matters crucial to all of us. This pavilion in itself is a great place for commitment to sustainability,” she explained.
In her address, Her Highness Sheikha Moza said many tents designed by ZHA will be sent to different countries to serve and support displaced populations and to be used as classrooms or other purposes.
"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," Her Highness Sheikha Moza concluded.
Three ZHA-EAA tents are currently being used as schools for hundreds of displaced Pakistani and Syrian children in Pakistan and Turkey, respectively. The newly donated structures will be used as schools, clinics and temporary shelter for displaced communities in Syria, Turkey and Yemen. Fifteen tents will be given to IOM, of which 10 will serve as schools and five as health clinics in Turkey and Yemen. In Syria, for its part, Qatar Red Crescent Society will receive 12 structures that it will serve as shelters for displaced communities in Syria.
Yasir al-Jamal, director-general, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, said: “These vital structures will showcase the legacy of the first FIFA World Cup in our region. From day one, our goal has been to deliver a tournament that would benefit Qatar, the region and the world.
“This project highlights the power of the World Cup by helping vulnerable communities long after the final whistle and complements our already successful Generation Amazing Foundation, a football for development legacy initiative. We are proud that Generation Amazing will continue to
inspire and serve communities through football well into the future.”
Education Above All’s CEO, Fahad al-Sulaiti, said: “At EAA, we are committed to doing our part to achieving SDG 4, and by donating these tents, we are acting now to help countless children in Yemen, Turkey and Syria to have access to quality and accessible education.”
Zaha Hadid Architects’ project architect Gerry Cruz added, “We have a like-minded partner in Education Above All who is committed to investing in innovative design for the better good of disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. We hope these newly donated tents will bring safety, learning and play to thousands in Yemen, Syria and Turkey.”
The ZHA-EAA tents allow for natural daylight and are sustainable, weather-proof, modular structures that can be easily moved and re-assembled, incorporating components that can also be upcycled, thereby making them ideal for displaced populations. With more than 70mn people displaced in their own countries or living as refugees, and half under the age of 18, EAA saw a critical need for a suitable infrastructure that could serve as classrooms, temporary housing, and medical centres for displaced children and their families. That’s when EAA teamed up with Zaha Hadid Architects to create a structure that offers safe, versatile and sustainable spaces for children to use for play, learning, and development.
The ZHA-EAA tent housing EAA’s Scoring 4 the Goals campaign at the FIFA Fan Festival has been visited by football fans over the course of the FIFA World Cup. The campaign includes art and immersive video exhibits, games and activities which creates awareness about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.