Youth on board to change urban face
Manama : A new initiative that aims to involve the youth of Bahrain in urban development was launched yesterday. Known as “Dar,” the photography and architectural engineering contest is being organised to rebuild ramshackle buildings in the Kingdom.
It’s organised by the Art of Life Society, a group of volunteers, and supported by Capital Governorate and a group of private establishments, under the patronage of Capital Governorate Governor Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa.
Deputy Capital Governor Hassan Al Madani, during a press conference yesterday, said, “The contest sheds light on the issue of dilapidated buildings in all four governorates of Bahrain, by utilising the talents of the youth in engineering and photography.”
“The patronage and support of the governorate to the contest is to resolve this issue. However, there are many obstacles involved in the matter. But, through such innovative solutions, we insist on eliminating it and involving the youth is a positive step,” Al Madani added.
5,000 ramshackle houses
Elaborating the project, the society’s Media Committee Head Bader Al Nuaimi said that “the recent studies conducted by the group revealed that there are currently 5,000 ramshackle buildings in the Kingdom and the numbers are annually increasing.”
“According to statistics provided by the four governorates and the concerned authorities, the number of dilapidated buildings in Bahrain has increased by 1,000 since 2015. Many of these buildings only needed to be revamped initially. But as time progresses, many of the houses need to be demolished and rebuilt owing to deteriorating conditions,” he explained.
BD3,600 cash prizes
The Project Head Reem Mearaj announced that a total of BD3,600 cash prizes have been allocated for six winners in both categories of the contest- engineering and photography. “We aim to utilise the talents of the youth in photography and engineering to shed light on this issue,” she said.
Applicants for the architectural engineering contest should be professionals or third year students. For the photography contest, amateurs and professionals, who are above the age of 18 can apply.
Registration has already begun and will close on August 4. An exhibition of the artworks and announcement of the winners will be held in September. The winning designs will be considered in rebuilding 20 ramshackle houses in the different areas of the country.
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