Doha: The General Directorate of Endowments at the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs has launched the seventh Waqf and Image contest, organized as part of the Waqf Fund for Scientific and Cultural Development. This is part of the Ministry's persistent path towards leveraging the image as an influential international language to fairly cherish Waqf and its humanitarian and development values, as well as consolidate its culture in society.
According to Qatar News Agency, the organization of this competition is primarily laser-focused on encouraging photographers to showcase creative works that manifest values of dedication and giving, in addition to shared responsibility and sustainability. This will inevitably help propagate the culture of Waqf and strengthen the Sustainable Development Goals by projecting the notions of resource protection, serving the community and environment, and sustaining the impact for generations to come.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Directorate's building in Doha, Director-General of the General Directorate of Endowments Eng. Hassan Abdullah Al Marzouqi said since its inauguration in 2018, the competition has been evolving in terms of topics and the scope of participation. The contest started locally and then expanded from its third iteration, he highlighted, stating that it included domestic and international branches and successfully attracted hundreds of photographers at home and abroad.
Al Marzouqi underlined that this remarkable evolution hasn't been limited to the scope of participation but has also extended to topics including the Holy Qur'an, mosques, health care, volunteerism, nature and science, affirming that this manifests the broad scope of Waqf and its impact on the community. He remarked that Waqf gives photographers multiple opportunities to turn these values into influential visual works, suggesting that the broad global attendance for this contest has conspicuously been reflected in the number of participants.
The fifth iteration of this competition drew 694 photographers from 49 nations, Al Marzouqi noted, stating that this marked an indication of the growing presence of this contest, whose message has been delivered to wide spectrums of the audience at home and abroad. He added that the momentum continued in the sixth edition, which focused on "Science and Its Edifices", attracting 655 photographers from 21 countries. Thirty contestants won in the local and international categories, with total cash prizes reaching QAR 203,000.
He said the seventh edition represents an outgrowth of this journey, with "Sustainability" chosen for the international category and "Sustainability" and "Teamwork" for the local category, reflecting the waqf's enduring commitment to giving, community service, cooperation and shared responsibility. Al Marzouqi said the choice of "Sustainability" reflects waqf's focus on lasting impact, resource preservation and continued benefit, while "Teamwork" highlights cooperation in serving society and creating lasting benefits for future generations.
He invited photographers and creatives in Qatar and around the world to submit visual works that embody these values and help promote waqf culture, noting photography's ability to convey humanitarian and development messages across linguistic and cultural differences. The "Waqf and Image" competition is held under the Waqf Fund for Scientific and Cultural Development of the General Directorate of Endowments, highlighting the role of art and creativity in advancing waqf's mission. The competition uses photography as an influential global language to turn waqf concepts and values into accessible visual messages.
