Health Through my Lens
Between 20 November and 18 December 2022, Qatar will host the worlds largest sporting event, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Knowing that sport and health are intertwined, in October 2021, the Ministry of Public Health signed a three-year partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), FIFA, and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy to make the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 a beacon for physical and mental health promotion, and a model for ensuring future mega sports events are healthy and safe. In support of this historic agreement, the Ministry of Public Health and the WHO are collaborating to launch a photography competition and exhibition to showcase healthier life choices through the lens of people in Qatar.
Photography Competition Overview
Health affects everyone and we each have our own interpretation of what health means to us. To showcase the wide range of ways in which people view health and well-being, we invite citizens and residents of Qatar to submit photographs you have taken that best answer your view on ‘What does health mean to me?’
The competition is open to all people with an interest in photography, both amateur and professional, of any age and nationality, living in Qatar. You are invited to submit up to 3 of your own photos representing one or more of the 4 health promotion themes of the Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ partnership: physical activity, nutrition and healthy diets, mental health, and tobacco control.
All photos submitted must be accompanied by a short caption (maximum of 90 words), true and accurate, that includes a description of the setting, place, and date taken, and any artistic comment that describes how the photos represent the health theme you intend to address.
How you choose to represent one or multiple themes in your photo(s) is up to you! The winning entries will be displayed in a photography exhibition at Oxygen Park in Doha, from mid- October 2022 until the end of the year. The winning entries will be featured on the social media and online platforms of the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and World Health Organization (WHO) and partner organizations of the Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™initiative. Participation is free.
The online submission has been closed now. The photographs are being reviewed.
Good luck!
Photograph Themes
Photo submissions must be taken by the individual submitter and should represent one or more of the 4health promotion themes of the Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ partnership: physical activity, nutrition and healthy eating, mental health, and tobacco control.
1. Physical activity
Physical activity is any bodily movement you do whether it is for leisure, for transport to get to and from places, or as part of your work. Both moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity improve health. Physical activity is not limited only to structured sports, such as playing football or basketball. It includes going for a walk in the park, a person with a disability pushing their wheelchair to go to work or shopping, and children playing at school; cleaning the house is also a form of physical activity.
For this photography exhibition, we look forward to receiving photos showcasing people from all paths of life doing any kind of physical activity, highlighting and representing diversity, including people of different ages (older and younger), gender, and persons with disability.
2. Nutrition and healthy eating
A healthy diet consists of choosing a variety of healthy foods and beverages from the six food groups and ensuring that what you consume is low in sugar, salt, and fat. Food is part of our daily lives and a major part of our culture. Food should be enjoyed, but always be aware of the quality as well as the quantity of what you eat.
Adopting healthy eating behaviors consistent with the Qatar Dietary Guidelines will help people stay healthy and strong, maintain a healthy weight, and reduce their risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancers, and osteoporosis.
For this photography exhibition, we look forward to receiving photos showcasing people from all age groups and from diverse backgrounds growing, preparing, cooking or enjoying a meal in a social, intimate, or ordinary context.
3. Mental health
The World Health Organization states: “Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in. Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. It exists on a complex continuum, which is experienced differently from one person to the next, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress and potentially very different social and clinical outcomes.”
Resilience refers to how we deal with stress and our ability to adapt to life’s challenges. Taking care of your well-being can help you feel more able to manage stress. There are different ways to build resilience; for some people, sports or a hobby can help promote wellbeing, for others it may be applying relaxation techniques, socializing with friends or family, or helping others.
For this photography exhibition, we look forward to receiving photos showcasing people from all age groups and from diverse backgrounds either performing an activity or a simple daily habit that supports good mental health or highlighting stigma of mental health through personal stories
4. Tobacco
Smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other chronic conditions for both the tobacco user and people around them. Smoking, in all its forms - including cigarettes, cigars, and shisha has a detrimental impact on society. Conversely, smoke-free environments are more conducive to good health and well-being.
The benefits of quitting smoking can be seen almost immediately and improve overtime. Benefits include reducing your risk of chronic disease, boosting your mental health, improving your cardiovascular health, and eliminating the harmful effects of smoking on family members and those around you.
For this photography exhibition, we look forward to receiving photos showcasing people from all age groups and from diverse backgrounds either using a positive habits to quit smoking, or capture some of the many benefits that a smoke-free lifestyle and tobacco free life implies
Who Can Participate?
- Any citizen or resident living in Qatar, of any age, nationality, race, and gender. Participation should be individual; submissions cannot be by team, club or organization
- The competition abides by the principles of equality, inclusivity, and diversity and welcomes entries from all segments of society on a non-discriminatory basis.
- Anyone younger than 16 years of age is required to obtain parental consent.
What Format Should The Photo Submissions Conform To?
- The competition is open for online submissions only, through the official photography competition submission form.
- Submissions must be in digital format, but the original entry does not need to be taken on a digital camera, high quality scans of transparencies or negatives are also accepted.
- Photos can be colored or black and white.
- Files must be submitted in JPEG format. Photos submitted should be between 1000 to 2000 pixels, at least 300 DPI, and between 3 to 8 MB in size to enable high-quality printing.
- Basic editing, including color enhancement, the use of filters, and cropping of the photo(s) is acceptable, provided any such editing does not affect the authenticity and/or genuineness of the photo(s).
How Will The Winning Photographs Be Selected?
- A judging panel consisting of health professionals and professional and amateur photographers will select 24 winning entries from all photo entries based on creativity, quality, originality, responsiveness to the themes, and overall impact.
- The decision of the judging panel will be final and binding on all participants with respect to all matters relating to the competition. Inclusiveness and diversity, such as photos featuring persons of different ages, gender, and persons with disability will constitute additional criteria for selection.
General Terms And Conditions
- Submissions will not be accepted once the deadline lapses.
- The competition is open to people of all ages. Those under 16 years of age require parental/guardian consent.
- Consent must be gained from all people shown in the submitted photos.
- Each photographer can submit up to a maximum of three photos.
- By entering the competition, participants agree that photos submitted can be used by the competition organizers for non-commercial advertising purposes.
- Each photo entered into the competition must include a caption that includes a description of the setting, place and date when the photo was taken (the photographer’s name should not feature in the caption)
- Photos that do not meet the image format will be disqualified.
- Photos will be disqualified if they showcase any watermark or signature, or if you don’t own it’sfull copyright.
- Photos that portray or otherwise include inappropriate and/or offensive content, including provocative nudity, violence, human rights and/or environmental violation, and/or any other content deemed to be contrary to the law, religious, cultural & moral traditions and practices of Qatar, are prohibited and will be immediately discarded.
- WHO and MoPH reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to disqualify and remove any image uploaded (“entry”) that does not comply with the competition requirements.
Intellectual Property Rights
- Submitted photos must be original and taken by the participant. Images must not contain any materials owned or controlled by a third party for which you have not obtained a license, and must not infringe the copyright, trademark, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity.
- The competition organizers respect the photographers’ copyrights and the copyrights shall remain vested with the creator of the image.
- Upon submitting your entry, you grant the competition organizers worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable right and license to use, publish, reproduce, display, distribute, print, in whole or in part, in any form, in all media forms now or hereafter known, for editorial or educational use, to promote the competition and health awareness objectives.
- The photographer will be credited wherever the image is used.
