The activities of the Schools Olympic Program have began. The Opening ceremony, on September 24, was the occasion for a double celebration, Eid Al Fitr celebration coupled with the hope of being able to write some new pages in the history of success of this program whose first and last objective is to serve youth in the levels of Sport, Health, Environment and Culture, as this is reflected by its annual logos. As stated by all, locally and internationally, the idea of linking sport to another of life important aspects in society attributes a special distinctive quality to the Schools Olympic Program. Culture joined the convoy this school year, after Health in the first edition and Environment in the second.

The theme “Sport and Culture” came on the right time this year, first for the obvious strong link between sport and the various domains of Human life in general, but mainly because this theme coincides with the choice of Doha as the Capital of Arab Culture in the year 2010. Would there be a better occasion for inculcating to our youth the respect of other people cultures, opinions and traditions, in a country which is proud of hosting many communities from various cultures who live in peace, security, tolerance and understanding.

We have a great hope that school sport contributes through these concepts to building a sound personality for our youth, a personality which would have been imbibed with the values of hard work, respect of others and keenness of serving the country. We would have gained young people with a good education and culture, active and civilized as well as some athletes capable of performing at a high level with a fair play spirit and who would win titles and medals which will enhance Qatar’s position in international arenas.