The Board of Directors of the Olympic Refugee Foundation held its annual meeting for the year 2024 in Doha, in the presence of His Excellency (HE) Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee and member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
The meeting was chaired by Thomas Bach, President of the ORF and President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and attended by Mr Filippo Grande, Vice-President of the ORF and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and members of the ORF Board. Bach opened the meeting with a welcome address, praising Doha’s hosting and Qatar’s active role in supporting the Olympic Refugee Foundation.
Always very concerned about the refugees, Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, said: “We are committed to expanding our partnership with the Olympic Refugee Foundation (ORF) to provide a year-round safe haven for refugee athletes from around the world, along with their coaches and technical officials – giving them the training, facilities, and access they need to develop their skills in Doha.”
For her part, HE Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressed: “Qatar has demonstrated how sport can bridge divides, foster mutual understanding, and promote peace. We have invested in sport as a platform to unite people from different backgrounds, emphasising that it’s more than sport – it’s dialogue”.
During the meeting, the members discussed several agenda items and took appropriate decisions. Following the meeting, the Board members visited the Palestinian refugee camp in Al Thumama and were accompanied by HE Mariam Al Misnad, Minister of Social Development and Family.
The Board members met with senior stakeholders from across Qatar’s public sector, including Fahad Al Sulaiti, CEO of Education Above All, and Nasser Al Khori, Executive Director of the Generation Amazing Foundation, who outlined the work Qatar is doing to promote social development through sport.
In addition, members of the Board of the Olympic Refugee Foundation met with a number of officials from various public sectors in Qatar to strengthen relationships, as Fahad Al-Sulaiti, CEO of Education Above All, and Nasser Al-Khouri, CEO of the Generation Amazing Foundation.
The meetings reviewed Qatar’s efforts to promote social development through sport. The IOC established the ORF in 2017 at its Session in Lima, where the QOC became a founding partner. The Foundation’s mission is to enable displaced youth to find a sense of belonging through sport, and to shape their future in their own way.
by Asia Hockey
