Every year, on 24 January, educators and students around the world mark the International Day of Education. The global observance proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly aims to raise awareness about the role education plays in peace and development around the world. For its part, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), which is responsible for delivering the infrastructure and legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, has placed an emphasis on education throughout its work – notably through Josoor Institute, its education and training arm.
Since being launched in 2013, Josoor Institute has worked to build the capabilities of the sports and events industries in Qatar and the MENA region in the run-up to Qatar 2022 and beyond. In particular, the organisation works to create a talent pool that can support the delivery of Qatar 2022, along with other mega sporting events, as a way of developing skills among professionals across the region in a sector of the economy of increasingly strategic importance and market share.
“Through the delivery of high-quality education programmes, we are increasing the World Cup’s legacy in a way that will have an impact on generations to come. We believe in the power of learning to transform lives and want to be a catalyst for growth in the sports and events industries throughout the region, so that more young people can have the necessary tools to organise world-class mega sporting events, as well as events in cultural and other domains, independently,” said Afraa Al Noaimi, Josoor Institute’s Executive Director.
“As the world marks International Day of Education, I take this opportunity to thank all teachers and educators who work tirelessly to upskill and empower different sectors of society to excel in their respective fields, and also to the students who continue to be inspired to live up to the challenge of building sustainable societies for all. This message is even more important this year as the education community worked tirelessly to continue teaching safely in the face of a global pandemic,” Al Noaimi added.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, which saw students switch to learning from home, Josoor Institute worked closely with its academic partner, SDA Bocconi School of Management, to make sure their flagship professional diploma programmes in sports management and major events management could be delivered seamlessly online. As such, Josoor Institute and SDA Bocconi successfully delivered large sections of its programme online between March and December 2020.
In parallel, Josoor Institute established a regular online presence by means of an ongoing series of webinars and panels on a variety of topics, including sports and events management, education and research, youth, environmental sustainability, and sports diplomacy. These were developed in collaboration with other teams at the SC, including the Technical Delivery Office and Generation Amazing, and with partner organisations including UNESCO and the University Campus of Football Business. In the run up to 2022, Josoor plans to produce specific online education offerings in sports and events management for a greater audience across the MENA region, and will continue to host webinars and online sessions for the broader public interested in the latest developments in the sector.
In addition to the work carried out by Josoor Institute, another SC educational initiative is Tamreen, a programme targeted at students aged 8-18 that will help them develop skills in core curriculum areas, including mathematics, science, geography, art, Arabic, English and citizenship, while also gaining an understanding of the SC's development goals and the lasting legacy of Qatar 2022.
Run in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Tamreen website offers teachers a complete toolkit, including guidance notes, information sheets, presentations, worksheets and quizzes. The toolkits can be used together to form a comprehensive, in-depth look at Qatar 2022, or individually to highlight certain initiatives or areas of the curriculum – giving teachers, youth group coordinators or parents the maximum freedom when it comes to teaching.
Click here to learn more about Qatar 2022 education initiatives.