Dohaland, a real estate developer and subsidiary of Qatar Foundation, has announced that its first 'Flourish CSR initiative', a nationwide painting contest titled ‘Paint the Doha of Our Dreams’ was a great success.

Individual painting competitions were held in over 58 participating schools, which encouraged children across the country to unleash their imagination about what they would like Doha to look like in the future.

Supported by its mission to enrich lives and inspire people to flourish and realise their full potential, Dohaland launched this unique, countrywide contest inviting children between the ages of 8 and 14, to draw, sketch or paint their ideas for the city of their dreams.

Judged by a team of experts from the Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar (VCUQ), the five winners are Shubhra Bedi (DPS – Modern Indian School), Russell Mendonca (DPS – Modern Indian School), Manoj Thayalan (Ideal Indian School), Ahmad Farid Al-Ahmad (Al Ahnaf bin Qais School), and Aimy Shukla (DPS – Modern Indian School).

The judges selected the top five paintings that best correlated to Dohaland’s pillars -  Innovation, Heritage, Sustainability, Enrichment and Environment.

A cash prize of QR3000 ($824) and a certificate was awarded to each of the five winners; while their respective schools were each awarded a trophy and a prize of QR10,000 ($2746) in art supplies.

The top five ideas that came through the submitted paintings correlating to the five pillars were: Innovation – lifts in the house, gardens and beaches on top of the house; Heritage – community living, everything is next to their house; Sustainability – the potential for long-term improvements in wellbeing of people and the responsible use of natural resources; Enrichment – in terms of an improved and fulfilling life; and Environment – value of the natural environment in the form of greenery, water and a keen sense of recycling.

'With open eyes, I dream,' writes Shubhra Bedi on her painting, 'of Doha as an oasis in a desert, which is modern, safe, green, clean and the most beautiful city to live in.'

'All people and children live together as a close-knit family based upon love and respect. Use solar energy powered cars and vehicles to conserve energy and reduce pollution.'

Inspired by children’s originality and imagination, Dohaland selected three honorary winners - Maitha Al Tamimi from Al Wakra Independent School, Mohammed Ali Al-Obaidli from Omar Bin AL Katab Independent school, and Weshah Ahmed from Al Aqsa Impendent school.

These three will win QR1500 ($412) while their respective schools were each awarded a trophy and a prize of QR5000 ($1373) in art supplies.

“We would like to understand the dreams of the kids, how they see Doha in the future and try to translate these dreams to reality. Going through the drawings, I found that most of the drawings express the foundation of the Dohaland values,' said Jawaher Al Khuzaei, Sr public affairs officer, Dohaland.

'I saw a lot of children draw renewable energy devices, such as the wind turbines and the water aspect, and the green. I am impressed with the children’s imagination, and that’s part of our Flourish exercise - to find out what their dreams are for the future of Doha,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service