The Ministry of Culture, represented by Akkas Photography Center, organized a distinctive edition of “Photo Forum 2022”, held concurrently with Qatari Photography Day in the Cultural Village “Katara”. This edition focused on the humanitarian concerns, highlighting its success story around the world. It exposed the etiquette of humanitarian documentation in the field through a number of media professionals, photographers and influencers on social networks, in cooperation with Qatar Charity, whose participation in the forum consisted of organizing “Journey of Hope” Exhibition and launching an international competition for the best humanitarian picture, as well as organizing a panel discussion entitled “Documentation in the Humanitarian Field “.
On the sidelines of the Forum’s activities, Ahmed Fakhro, Head of Resources and Media Development Sector at Qatar Charity, expressed his happiness at partnering with the Ministry of Culture and the Cultural Village in organizing the forum, extending his thanks to the forum’s sponsors, partners and supporters. Looking forward to the continuation of such forums in the future, he noted that Qatar Charity’s participation contributed to exposing humanitarian issues and that it is keen to use pictures to serve humanitarian action.
Ahmed Omar Al-Shirawi, Head of the Department of Relations and Social Responsibility at Qatar Charity, said, “We are pleased to participate and present a humanitarian touch for this year’s edition of the Photo Forum to convey human suffering and the photographer’s message from the field, as we are a humanitarian institution that has kept abreast of many events and crises.”
Mr. Abdullah Al-Musleh, Head of Akkas Center, praised Qatar Charity’s participation in the forum and said: “It made a distinguished contribution through the humanitarian exhibition to raise awareness of humanitarian issues.” He added that the Photo Forum is a mini-festival that attracts photographers from outside and inside Qatar to share experiences through several events and services provided by sponsors and supporters.
Mrs. Fatima Al-Emadi, President of Photo Forum, in turn, thanked Qatar Charity for its support to the Forum and its participation in its various activities, including the competition, symposium and exhibition, which was very well received by the public and visitors, noting that this year’s Forum was different, as it addressed the humanitarian aspect through humanitarian photography and documentation from the field.
Best Photo Contest
Photographers from all over the world are participating in the international competition, organized by Qatar Charity as part of the Forum’s activities, to select the best humanitarian picture. The competition aims to highlight humanitarian issues through photographic images. It will continue until 7 May, and the best photo will be selected (first, second and third place). Participation in the competition is still open for candidates, who can register via the link below:
https://www.qcharity.org/blog/humanitarian-photography
“Journey of Hope” Exhibition
“A Journey of Hope” Exhibition highlighted the importance of the humanitarian photo and its role in advocating humanitarian issues. It exposed the suffering of the needy and success stories of the individuals sponsored by Qatar Charity under “Rufaqa” Program. The related pictures reflected the difference that the sponsorship program made in the lives of thousands of sponsored orphans and the success stories achieved in Mali, Somalia and Sudan, along with the children of the camps.
Photographer and humanitarian journalist Paddy Dowling, photographer Muhammad Inas Abdel Alim, and photographer Musa Al-Sharbaji participated in the exhibition. The exhibition was very popular among the public and it was praised by many visitors.
Humanitarian symposium
The humanitarian symposium held under the title “Documentation in the Humanitarian Field” addressed a number of topics, such as the importance of photography and documentation from the field to reflect the real suffering caused by humanitarian crises and poverty, the specifications of the most effective and attractive human image, and the most important technical requirements for taking photos and conducting documentation in the field, in addition to the ethical standards and behaviors that must be observed when documenting humanitarian action, as well as the importance of visiting the humanitarian field for media professionals and influencers on social networks.
The symposium was attended by the journalist Asmaa Al-Hammadi from Al-Jazeera, the journalist Mohamed Al-Hammadi from Qatar TV, and Ahmed Abdullah, an influencer on social networks, in addition to the online participation of the photographer Mohamed Hazaa. The participants exposed their personal experiences with field work through their trips with Qatar Charity to crisis areas and poor communities.
Honor Trophy
At the end of the forum, Qatar Charity was honored along with a number of supporting bodies, sponsors and participants. Abdullah Al-Musleh, Head of Akkas Center, and Fatima Al-Emadi, Head of Photo Forum, presented the trophy of honor to Qatar Charity, which was received by Ahmed Fakhro, Head of the Resources and Media Development Sector at Qatar Charity.