DOHA: Following the opening of Olympism: "More than a Dream" exhibition in Le Royal Monceau - Raffles Paris Hotel in Paris, France on July 30, and as a part of Team Qatar Reception by Qatar Olympic Committee held in Paris during the Summer Olympic Games opening in Paris, Qatar Museums presented yesterday for the first time Pierre De Coubertin: Textes Choisis, Volume 1, the first translation from French into Arabic of selected writings by Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic Games.
The reception was attended by Chairperson of Qatar Museums H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, President of Qatar Olympic Committee H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Foundation
H E Sheikha Hind bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and 321 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum Director Abdulla Yousuf Al Mulla among other notable dignities. During the lively reception, H E Sheikha Hind and H E Sheikh Joaan delivered speeches to the attendees, which were followed by a film presentation of Pierre De Coubertin, the visionary and founder of modern Olympic Games, followed by the introduction of Textes Choisis, Volume 1 by his great great granddaughter and President of Pierre de Coubertin Family Association, Alexandra de Navacelle de Coubertin, who officially launched the book.
The book was realized through a collaboration between Qatar Museums, 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, Qatar Olympic Committee, and the International Olympic Committee.
The book will become available to the public through In-Q’s website and Qatar Museums’ gift shops.
The publication, which draws on his voluminous archive of writings (totaling some 500,000 words) collects some of Coubertin’s most important essays on the power of sport to bring people together. With the Games opening in Paris, it serves as an introduction to Arabic-reading audiences of the values that undergird the modern Olympic movement.
