[email protected] WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2015 • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 DINNER IN 20 MINUTES: THAI CRAB AND CUCUMBER ON TOAST P | 7 QATARI SOY FOODS HELP TIME TO ADMIT THAT CARTOONIST REDUCE BREAST KRISTEN STEWART DREAMS BIG CANCER RECURRENCE IS A GOOD ACTRESS P | 3 P | 9 P | 10 It is important to maintain and enrich a country’s cultural heritage for the future generations. The fourth Senyar traditional fishing and diving competition will see 73 teams setting sail from the Katara Beach today, which will last three days. P | 2 | WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2015 | 02 CULTURE Senyar sets sail today with 73 teams Pic: Kammutty VP BY RAYNALD C RIVERA spirit of competing and winning, and as a captain it is my job to encourage my team to be the best mid the progress the country enjoys, it is they can.” equally essential to continue to maintain With hundreds of competitors, most of whom and enrich its cultural heritage. “Even if have gained experience in the past three editions Ayou become prosperous, you should of the contest, it would take a lot of hardwork for not forget how your ancestors lived long ago and the team to win the prize. children should be educated how their forefathers “We saw some participants are several years survived before. It is for this reason that I think ahead of us. Each one has a strategy to win; some Senyar is very important; for the youth to under- put more fishing lines when trolling while others use stand and continue their ancestors’ legacy,” Ali different baits. Hopefully we can win some of the Mohammed Al Naimi (pictured), captain of team prizes with more prayers.” Lesha, told Doha Today on the eve of the fourth Although their aim is to win, Al Naimi said, more Senyar traditional fishing and diving competition. important than the prize is the spirit of the compe- Lesha is one of the 73 teams setting sail from tition and maintaining Qatar’s maritime heritage. the Katara Beach early this morning for the annual “The prize is not important. We may win or lose Senyar which lasts for three days. The team with but what is more significant is the spirit of competi- 11 members derived its name from a place located tion. I’m sure we will have some faults but we will up north of Qatar. there wasn’t any problem getting team members use them to be better next year. What is important This is the first time Al Naimi has joined Senyar who can fish.” is to give our best, show that we are up to the chal- though he has considerable experience in fishing As part of the preparations for the competition, lenge and gain experience from the competition.” he acquired from a very young age. the team sought advice from those who have Senyar is getting bigger and bigger each year “I started very young. I began to go fishing with joined before. Ensuring safety in the dhow, check- in terms of participation. From around 150 com- my father when I was about ten years old. I had a ing the health condition of the crew and having petitors in the inaugural edition, the number of feeling then that one day I would own a boat and enough supply and equipment were also essential participants increased to 350 in the second year take my children as my father used to do for me,” aspects of the team’s preparation and the rules of while last year saw about 600 participants. This he recalls. the organisers. edition is the biggest yet with 730 competitors. Three of his sons, including his ten-year-old son, “Katara’s rules especially on safety are para- “More participants are joining because they see are members of the team because “having my mount. It’s good to have strict rules on safety. You the competition as a very good opportunity to relive children are important just for them to see how cannot let people venture into the sea for three the old life of our ancestors and I think Qataris still my father and grandfather used to live.” days without safety. This also reflects a good have the desire to maintain their heritage so they Team Lesha is composed members who are image on the reputation of the competition.” do not forget how people who came before them skilled in fishing that’s why Al Naimi is upbeat they Staying on the sea for three days for the 730 used to live.” can win the competition. The team is competing in participants is no easy task and comes with many “Senyar is very good initiative for the country and two categories of the competition namely heaviest challenges Katara itself because this is recognized in other catch and biggest fish. “The main challenge is for everybody not to get Gulf states and this is a good publicity for Katara “We live in a peninsula. We are surrounded by bored for three days on the sea. The team must that it can hold such cultural event that can be water and most of our trips are on the sea so be an enthusiastic lot — people who have the traced back long time in the past.” The Peninsula | WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2015 | ART 03 Qatari cartoonist dreams big Cartoon Network, one of the leading players in the field globally, broadcasts to 248 million homes in 22 languages, including Arabic, across 166 countries, including Qatar. Neighbouring countries like the UAE and Kuwait have already produced their own local cartoon TV series like ‘Freej’, which is produced in the UAE, and ‘Bo Qotada wa Bo Nabeel’, which is produced in Kuwait. ‘Freej’ (old neighbourhood) is an Emirati show that centres on four traditional Emirati grand- mothers who live in the same old neighbour- hood in modern-day Dubai, and was created by Mohammed Saeed Harib. Jaber taps into his talent to do cartoons, At his home in though he has no formal training. He is a student Maamoura, Jaber of marketing at the College of the North Atlantic showed Doha Today Qatar and is awaiting his graduation this year. He has showcased his cartoon collections in arts thousands of his exhibitions in Qatar and other GCC countries, cartoons, which reflect including Kuwait. “It’s something that I love doing and I’m not the colours, stories, just doing the same thing over and over again, rich history and I’m learning something new. I don’t have a problem just staying in all day and sketching, humour of Qatar. because sketching is one of the very few things I really enjoy.” His advice to other young people interested Pic: Baher Amin in art is to always practice and take inspiration BY YASIN ABU TAQIU “Qatar today needs a company that special- from the good work of other artists. ises in cartoons and TV animation,” he said. “Our “There is no shortcut to success. Effort is he dream of building Qatar’s Walt Disney neighbouring countries, like the UAE, already essential and only practise makes you perfect,” Company or reproducing the likes of have similar companies doing cartoons and ani- he said. “Arts need daily practice, every day, to UAE’s ‘Freej Grandmother’ TV series mation and it’s my dream to contribute to found- look at your work and try to modify or improve Tstarts in Ali Jaber’s home. ing such a company in Qatar.” it.” The 27-year-old Qatari started drawing when According to Jaber, demand for cartoons in As a freelance cartoonist, Jaber has in the he was four years old, and he says his mother’s Qatar is high, like elsewhere in the world, and past taken on several projects from private interest in his childhood drawings encouraged he dreams of publishing a comic book or start- companies and government departments. The him to develop his talent in art. At his home in ing the first Qatari company producing cartoons Ministry of Information Technology (IctQatar) Maamoura, Jaber showed Doha Today thou- or animation. was among the government departments that sands of his cartoons, which reflect the colours, “The first thing people do when they read the regularly gave him work. stories, rich history and humour of Qatar. paper is go to the cartoon of the day,” he said. THE PENINSULA | WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2015 | 04 CAMPUS Academic Bridge Program honours school counsellors atar Foundation’s Academic Bridge Program (ABP) recently invited high school counsellors from independent, private, and Qinternational schools in Qatar to attend an event in recognition and appreciation of their instru- mental work with young people throughout the region. ABP Director, Dr Bryan Lewallen, hosted over 40 high school counselors in ABP’s Liberal Arts and Science (LAS) building in Education City. “Nothing can replace a caring and dedicated coun- selor,” Dr Lewallen said. “You know your students in a way that no one else does. You have been there to celebrate with them during their happiest moments and comfort them when they were sad.” Dr Lewallen also acknowledged the contribution of counselors in the success of the ABP’s new Outreach Program. The six-week English Enrichment Program was established this school year and is available to Qatari high school students who have an 80 percent average or above. Registered participants attend after- the counselors for their support. In his comments to the school sessions twice a week and are taught by ABP counselors, the ABP’s Assistant Director for Academic teachers in the LAS building.