- 32 seats, each representing one of the countries competing in the FIFA World Cup, with a design aimed at promoting mental health.
- The announcement of the seat initiative coincides with World Mental Health Day and a symbolic inauguration event at 974 Stadium in Doha
- Her Excellency Sheikha Hind and Sir Mo Farah unveil the England seat during the World Innovation Summit for Health
Today was announced a unique project of public benches specially made to highlight the critical importance of mental health and the role of football and sport in general in its promotion. Work is underway to design thirty-two “Friendship Benches”, each of which symbolizes a country competing in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, which will be distributed around the most important landmarks of Doha, including next to the tournament stadiums.
The project is part of the Sports for Health Partnership, led by the World Health Organization and the Qatari Ministry of Public Health, and aims to highlight the importance of mental health and provide advice on ways to promote psychological well-being, including through physical activity and sports. The initiative is supported by FIFA, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, WISH, the NGO Friendship Seats, and the WHO Universal Health Coverage Partnership.
Coinciding with World Mental Health Day, a selection of seats is being displayed at Stadium 974 in Doha, one of the stadiums that will host this year’s FIFA World Cup. The seating initiative was symbolically inaugurated with an initial presentation of the England seat at Qatar Foundation’s global health event, the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), ahead of a wider unveiling of the seats on World Mental Health Day.
The England seat was inaugurated by the English sports champion, Sir Mo Farah, who is considered the most successful distance runner in the world thanks to winning ten gold medals in the Olympic and World Championships, and was joined by Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, To hold a dialogue on sports and mental health in a symbolic tribute to the initiative.
Her Excellency Sheikha Hind said, “Meeting Sir Mo and hearing his touching story about how he left Mogadishu for London as a young boy and the mental health challenges he faced highlights the importance of sitting down and talking about our mental health.” “I am proud that the global health initiative implemented by Qatar Foundation is helping to illuminate mental health in an innovative and practical way,” she added.
The seat project is in line with the common goals and awareness campaigns of each organisation, including the joint FIFA/WHO #Tawasul campaign and the “Are you okay?” campaign. The Qatari Ministry of Public Health, and the same pioneering Friendship Seats project, which was originally launched in Zimbabwe and was supported by the World Health Organization. Previously, WISH was used as a platform to promote the concept of friendship seats. The initiative also aims to encourage physical activity as one of the main outcomes of the Sports and Health Project. Designed for this purpose, graphics on each seat include tips describing simple and effective exercises visitors can do to maintain their physical health.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said: “A public bench is a simple but very effective way to promote mental health, from park benches where people gather to football stadium benches where players and staff watch their teams play for the joy of sport and the promise of the win”. He continued, “The Friendship Seats project is a powerful reminder of the importance of health, both psychological and physical, and its common value to all individuals and nations, and how people can communicate through sport with others as human beings like themselves, in a spirit of solidarity and support.”
Her Excellency Dr. Hanan Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health of Qatar, said that the Friendship Seats project is a tangible and permanent symbol of the importance of the sport for health partnership and the goals it seeks to achieve in the context of the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar, which is being organized for the first time in the Middle East and the Arab world, and its legacy. Which the World Health Organization and the Qatari Ministry of Public Health are seeking to consolidate.
Dr. Hanan Al-Kuwari added, “Mental health is an essential component of the Sports for Health Partnership and our goal is to provide the “Friendship Benches” a place, during and after the World Cup, where residents and visitors in Qatar gather to ask each other “Are you okay?” And they take advantage of this opportunity to talk and do physical activities.”
His Excellency the Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee, Mr. Hassan Al Thawadi, said, “We are proud to support this project and benefit more from our hosting of the FIFA World Cup. These seats will be a lasting reminder of the first World Cup tournament in the Middle East and the Arab world, while promoting the importance of mental health among the public. our communities across the country.”
The final locations for each of the 32 friendship seats will soon be announced. After its installation, information will be circulated about how residents and visitors in Qatar can visit the seats of their countries and others, in solidarity and support to promote mental health.
Note from the editor:
Videos and photos from the inauguration of the Friendship Seats will be made available to the media on 10 October.
At 4 pm Doha time, a discussion hosted by the World Health Organization will be broadcast live on the organization’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WHO