02.12.2008
Doha, 7 March 2008 – A delegation from the Doha 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Bid Committee has arrived in Jordan to take part in the IOC World Conference on Women and Sport.
The conference, on the shores of the Dead Sea, is the first time the annual event has been held in the Middle East.
At the conference’s opening ceremony, timed to coincide with International Women’s Day, Doha 2016 Board Member and President of Qatar’s Women in Sport Commission, Dr Anisa Al-Hitmi commented: “Qatar is actively encouraging women in the country to participate in sport. The importance and social significance of women participating in sport in the Gulf region, especially in Qatar, cannot be overstated. Sport is providing new paths of excellence, pride and self expression for young women all across the region, and Qatar is at the forefront of this change.”
Under the motto “Sport as a vehicle for social change”, the conference participants will debate how women athletes can serve as role models for young girls, how more women might take part in coaching and officiating, how to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic through sport, and how culture determines women’s access to sport.
Keynote speakers at the conference include former top athletes, representatives from governments, businesses, UN agencies, media and academics.
Speaking just prior to the start of conference, Laila Hussain, a competitive rifle shooter who competed in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha and who is a member of the Board of Directors of the Doha 2016 Bid, said: “Sport has always celebrated inclusion and participation among cultures, nations and genders. The Asian Games demonstrated that sport in Qatar is for men and women alike.”
Her comments were echoed by Doha 2016’s first Bid Ambassador, the archer and rally driver Nada Zeidan, who said: “Women in Qatar have more and more opportunities to take part in sports of every kind. As a result, there has been a big increase in the number of Qatari women competing at high levels.”
The Qatar Women Sports Committee was founded in 2001 by the Heir Apparent of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tameem Bin Hamad Al Thani. Its aim is to promote women's sport in Qatar as well as encouraging sporting excellence among women.
As a result, at the 2006 Asia Games, 43 women represented Qatar in sports ranging from archery, chess, horse riding, fencing, gymnastics, golf, judo, sailing, shooting, swimming and taekwondo.
The Chairman of Doha 2016, Hassan Ali Bin Ali, who is a delegate at the conference said: “This is an excellent opportunity for the Bid Committee to listen and learn from the people at the top of women’s sport. There are always things that we can improve.”
He added: “We have recently held a number of top level women’s sports events in Doha – just this month we had to top women tennis players competing at the WTA Qatar Total Open. Judging by the very positive comments in the media from players such as Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic, they were very happy with the experience.”
In addition to Mr Ali Bin Ali and Dr Al-Hitmi, the Doha 2016 delegation also consisted of Ms Mozah Rabia Jasim, from the Qatar Women Sports Committee, and Mr Abdullah Abdul Al Jaber, Government Liaison for Doha 2016.
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
- Dr Anisa Al-Hitmi, who is the Qatar Olympic Committee’s President for Women’s Sports, is on the Board of Directors for the Doha 2016 Bid. Dr Al-Hitmi holds a number of leadership positions at the national, regional and global level on behalf of women’s sport. She is a member of the Arab Football Association’s Women’s Football Committee and the Vice President of the Women’s Islamic Federation in Asia. Dr Al-Hitmi was also a member of the FIFA Women’s Football and Competition Committee from 2004-2007. Within paralympic sport, Dr Al-Hitmi is the President of Sport Education at Qatar’s Ministry of Education, and holds memberships at the Qatar Association and Qatari League for People with Special Needs.
- Laila Hussain, a competitive rifle shooter from Qatar, is on the Board of Directors for the Doha 2016 Bid. Mrs Hussain was part of the GCC’s first-ever women’s competitive shooting team in 2000. She won her first medals, silver for the 10-meter and bronze for the 50-meter, at the 3rd Islamic Competition for Ladies in Iran in 2001. She also represented Arabic women from the GCC region for the first time at the 2002 Asian Games in Seoul, Korea.
- Nada Zeidan, a Doha 2016 Bid Ambassador, competed at an international level in archery at the 14th Asian Games, in Busan, South Korea in 2002. She went on to represent Qatar again at the 15th Asian Games in Doha in 2006. The 31-year-old is, however, equally accomplished behind the wheel of her rally car which she has regularly driven to victory on the Middle East rally circuit. During the 2004-5 Middle East Rally Tour she won three Ladies Cups in Dubai, Syria and Lebanon.