Submitted by tomski on 1 December, 2010 - 18:45.
On November 15-18, Professor Wojciech Lipoński participated in the Sport and Culture Forum held as part of a prestigious international congress Aspire4Sport Conference and Expo in Doha – the capital of Qatar. Prof. Lipoński delivered a paper on traditional sports and their importance for cultural and national identity. The congress was organized by the Qatari Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage.
The city of Doha has been chosen the UNESCO Arab Capital of Culture for 2010. It submitted a bid for the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Doha has organized a number of international scientific, cultural and sports events, including the Asian Games in 2006, and is home to the world’s largest indoor sporting arena – the ASPIRE Dome, in which the Aspire4Sport Conference and Expo took place.
The congress program consisted of several scholarly and sport training sessions, numerous sports competitions, car and motorcycle races, art exhibitions, sports fairs and a friendly football match between Brazil and Argentina national teams. The most renowned participants, who shared their professional experience during the conference sessions and fairs, included the world-famous sculptor Lorenzo Quinn (a son of the actor Anthony Quinn), Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, former sprinting Olympic and world champion Michael Johnson and tennis legends Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova.
Professor Lipoński was the only participant from Poland, and his paper opened the Sport and Culture Forum. The forum was attended by Dr Hamad bin Abdul Aziz Al Kuwari, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage of the State of Qatar, who awarded Prof. Lipoński with a glass-encased sculpture of the national emblem of Qatar. In return, Dr Al Kuwari was presented with a copy of Prof. Lipoński’s World Sport Encyclopedia, which includes information on more than twenty traditional Arab sports. Prof. Lipoński’s speech and his meeting with the Minister were covered by the Qatari daily press.
Tomasz Skirecki
