SustainableQATAR congratulates Marina Popova for her winning photo of a pearl oyster, which will represent Qatar in the “One Home: An Environmental Symphony” worldwide art project to be completed in 2021. The photo and its caption “For the love of Pearls,” in both Arabic and English, will be incorporated into the visuals and lyrics of the symphony, which the project organizers plan to perform in as many countries of the world as possible.

In May 2020 UK-based composer Charles Mauleverer reached out to SustainableQATAR to assist with his non-profit project. “We would like the symphony to be accompanied by photographic contributions from each country in the world to inspire climate action and to collectively reverse global warming,” Mr. Mauleverer said. “SustainableQATAR was the obvious partner.”

SustainableQATAR extended this unique opportunity to the community at large; throughout the month of June, residents of Qatar were invited to submit photos depicting something iconic about the country and its vulnerability to ongoing climate change.

“We urged photographers to visualize this important message,” said Katrin Scholz-Barth, President of SustainableQATAR, “and to carefully reflect the image through this lens.”

“We received 43 submissions from local photographers and we sincerely thank everyone for the artistry and expressions of concern for the environment in Qatar. We hope that this project offered a welcome and creative distraction despite the limited access around Qatar during COVID-19 lockdown,” Scholz-Barth said.

Of her winning photograph, Ms. Popova, originally from Russia and living in Qatar since 2013, says, “I chose this photo because it symbolises Qatar’s pride and tradition that continues to permeate throughout its modern history and expresses my love for Qatar.”

"It's an honour to have my photograph selected and take part in this photo competition organised by SustainableQATAR as photography is my passion and I care deeply about the environment."

Popova cleans up beaches and does her part to personally reduce her environmental impact. “Even though it feels like a drop in the ocean, in the end, together every drop makes the ocean,” she stated during the phone call when SustainableQATAR delivered the exciting news of her winning photography.

For the rigorous and careful evaluation of each photograph, SustainableQATAR sincerely thanks its expert panel of judges: Nigel Downes, a veteran photojournalist and advertising photographer; Sylvie van Roey, a professional photographic consultant for Qatar Museums; Billy Gene Gonzalez, a professional photographer born and raised in Qatar; Deepak Vijayvergiya, a Mechanical Engineer for QP by profession, and an enthusiast of nature photography; Dr. Kai-Henrik Barth, an academic dean at Georgetown University in Qatar and photographer who heads the University’s Photography Club; and SustainableQATAR Advisory Board members Mohammed Aljaidah, Dr. Reem Al Ansari and Dr. Ali Alrauf.

The winning photo and other entries can be seen on SustainableQATAR.com.

SustainableQATAR is an independent, action-based volunteer organization addressing environmental sustainability in Qatar.

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