Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: An Omani children’s photography club which encourages others to care for their environment has been awarded the World Youth Cup at the 2019 Germany International Photography Competition.
The club, Team Sawarah, was established by Omani national Ahmed Al Hosni, himself a photographer, at the Child Welfare Centre in Al Khoudh.
58 countries participated in the competition, and Saeed Bait Abdullah, who, at 13 was the youngest member of the winning team, expressed his pleasure with the achievement by saying, “The event was very impressive, I did not expect that our team would win first place in a world competition like this. As well as the main award, five members of Sawarah team received Honorary Decorations. As Said Bait Abdullah, Wardah Bait Abdullah, Aziz Al Hakmani, Adnan Al Majini and Tariq Al Shibli celebrated, Saeed said “Winning the honorary medal is my first international achievement.”
The club was formed with the aim of not just promoting Oman’s beauty, but also with the intention of asking people to protect and care for it , by voluntarily organising and participating in activities such as beach clean-ups. One of the first places they did this was in Muhut in the Wusta Governorate, where they cleaned up Ras Al Ruwais beach.
On that day, there were about 60 children from the Child Care Centre and from the village itself, eager to volunteer and be a part of something bigger.
“Volunteering plays a significant role in helping the individual as well as the community,” said Warda Bait Abdullah, one of the volunteers on the day, adding, “It also develops the spirit of cooperation and works as an example for the younger generation. We as photographers are always taking pictures of beautiful areas, and at the same time, we protect our city from pollution and make it look beautiful, as well as leaving a great impression on visitors to Oman.”
Ahmed Al Hosni, who is often known as the Empty Quarter Photographer, because of his specialised photos of the region, also shared with Times of Oman how his passion for photos began to develop.
“I started taking pictures when I was in school; my friends and I used to rent film cameras,” Al Hosni said. “I stopped for a while and started taking pictures again when I got a mobile phone. A few years later, I was able to buy my first digital camera,” he added. “Social media has played a very important role in developing me as a photographer. In the beginning when I started posting my photos on Facebook, the reactions I received from viewers made me challenge myself.”
Photos by:
Nadir Al Fizari
Maysa Al Amri
Said Bait Abdullah
Mohsin Al Baluchi
Basma Al Kiyumi
