New Dawn Society: November 2010

Nov 29, 2010

Press Release- Qatar Trip.. Akhbar Alkhaleej newspaper, 30-Nov-2010

Nov 20, 2010

New Dawn Trip to Doha – November 2010

November 5 2010 marks the day New Dawners first embarked on a trip to explore a place outside of Bahrain.

We met at the airport’s Costa Coffee at 7 a.m. tired but excited. Some of us hadn't met each others before, I thought to myself: this is exactly the kind of change I needed. This trip is going to be interesting!

At the hotel in Doha, we decided to take a two hour break and then go for lunch at the Villagio. Paco drove our little rented Pathfinder as Manar delved into the 'famous' Doha map to provide directions. As we sat back and enjoyed the journey, Manar would describe some of the important landmarks, she was a cute guide!

At the Villagio mall, we met Paco's friend Manal, who's been living in Doha for four years and offered to show us around.

Lunch at Le Notre was outstanding, indeed we were all starving. We discussed some interesting topics including differences in personalities at work and the importance of knowing what each character type is capable of giving. We were inspired to bring such through future events.

Next, we went to Souq Waqif. This time we split in two groups with Paco and Manal driving each. I sat at the back and enjoyed the ride as I listened to Manal and Hind Al Sabbagh (Hind S) discuss the development of

Qatar

and the nowadays disciplined traffic system!

We arrived at Souq Waqif at the perfect time: an hour before sunset. Yasmine together with Paco and Manal needed to take some shots for Yasmine's upcoming photography exhibition, so the rest of us wandered around exploring the Souq's various corners. We were taken by the beauty of old minarets, traditional cafes combined with the modern looks of people and of course, a breathtaking view of the sun preparing to set in the background. The weather was just perfect.

We took a break and decided to load on sugar, ice cream with chocolate brownies and some yummy fruit smoothies. As we chatted about our careers and daily lives, I felt closer to each one of the girls and learned small lessons from their perspectives in life.

Our professional photographer arrived with Paco and Manal, just in time to witness the commission in front of us. A famous magician stood impressing people with his tricks as they chanted and clapped every now and then. One thing we all knew as we experienced this atmosphere. We want this in

Bahrain

It was time to leave. We stopped by one of the traditional shops to buy our favorite candies: cute mini jello packs and candy rings for Hind S and Yasmine, and a pack of dried fruit for me!!

The plan was to take a short break at the hotel, after which we can head to the Pearl for dinner. We were all impressed by the beauty of the Pearl. As a project, it was in many ways similar to Amwaj in Bahrain, but the vibrant retail space with the restaurants and the well known 'Walk' made the place more lively than ever. We stopped for dinner in a Mexican place called Pompano, which Manal recommended. And while we had our delicious Guacamole and salads, we were all anxious to get to the Chocolate Bar before it closes. Unfortunately we didn't make it on time, but dinner was worth the delay.

In the morning of the next day, and after enjoying a delicious waffles breakfast, Paco, Yasmine and I went for another photography session at the corniche and there we met an interesting Indonesian photographer who offered to take a picture of us and fix Yasmine's camera settings.

Our next station was the Museum of Islamic Arts, where we felt the greatness of our Arab and Muslim ancestors of Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Turkey and India as well. We walked proud past a group of Europeans as they stood listening carefully to a guide explaining the glories of these remarkable empires. The efforts our Qatari neighbors spent to not only put together a great building, but also display artifacts and jewelry from all over the Middle East to insure an appropriate foot traffic, inspired us all.

We had lunch at the Landmark Mall, after which we rushed to Lush to buy our favorite facial masks and creams.

Our plan was to get Yasmine to the Le Notre branch at New Busines District area, to get the Macaroons she ordered the previous day, and also take some photos next to the 'THINK' and 'REALIZE' signs at the corniche. It was probably thankless job, but we still thought it was a great idea to place such signs next to the sea, where people stare when they have problems or are for any reason confused.

We drove around for at least one hour before finding the Le Notre branch, Yasmine got het Macaroons and we all got cute chocolate gifts.

We fortunately made it on time at the corniche to 'pose' next to the 'THINK' sign before heading to the airport. It was evening by then, but we still took the shot.

As I said goodbye and 'see ya soon' to my New Dawner friends, I couldn't believe I had only met some of them for the first time on the previous day. After hanging out together for two full days and chatting nonstop about every possible subject, I felt like I knew these girls for years! We had fun together, laughed, complained, but most importantly… got inspired together.

We all agreed this trip, despite its simplicity and shortness was a great success and should be repeated every year, or maybe every few months as some of us dreamed!

Nov 15, 2010

An e-mail that New Dawn Society created in celebration of Bahrain's National Day. 16 December 2009

In the heart of the Arabian Gulf lies a Kingdom of beauty. A small island in which tradition meets civilization and form a country with a rich past, a glorious present and a promising future. It’s the Kingdom of Bahrain, where we all have grown up as one family.

By spreading this e-mail, New Dawn Society is hoping to show the world a clear picture of our beloved kingdom through the eyes of talented Bahraini photographers. Your participation will be appreciated by forwarding it.

The Capital - Manama City

Traditional Gown (Thoab Nashel), Traditional Scent (Bukhoor)

Old House

Traditional Coffee

Traditional Sweets (Zalabia)

Bahrain Fort

When the past meets the future

Muharraq- Al Ghoas Corniche

Bahrain Financial Harbour

World Trade Center

Seef District

Amwaj Islands

Ritz Carlton

The Lost Paradise of Dilmun Water Park

Al Areen Wildlife Park and Reserve

Adari Park

Al Fateh Mosque

Al Fateh Mosque

Tree of Life

Sakeer

Adliya Alley

Taxis

The Royal Golf Club, Riffa Views

City Center

Fashion Show by a Bahraini Designer

Arabian Beauty Horse Show

Water Sports- King Hamad Causway

Ganas

Formula 1 Tower

National Day Celebrations

New Dawn approached young & talented Bahraini photographers and encouraged them to participate in this project and display their talent to the world.

Nov 14, 2010

New Dawn Football Tournament, March 7th 2009

New Dawn Society organized a charity football tournament titled "Kora, Shabak, Mal'ab" for male individuals and groups. The tournament took place at Batelco Stadium in Janabiya on March 7th 2009 starting from 3pm till 8:30pm. The tournament consisted of 10 teams with duration of 20 minutes per game. Fun activities and sales of food were on going during the games and members from the National Team were present.

Nazli Tawfeeqi, President of New Dawn Society commented,”One of our goals as a Ladies Society is to organize sports activities and involve all people from all ages at it. We include at least one sports activity in our annual plan, and based on the high demand it had to be football this year”

The winning team:

Nov 3, 2010

Lawwen Ramadan/ Paint Ramadan

Hundreds of colorful light bulbs, hundreds of paintings that speak out of the joyful Ramadan moments that were about to begin. We organized this painting competition for kids to bring back that blessed old spirit that we used to live when we were young. The outcome was absolutely worth the effort. We’ll let the pictures speak for themselves...

The competition titled "Lawen Ramadan" was held for two days in City Center Bahrain for kids between 5 and 12 years old.

Three winners were selected from each age group (5-6, 7-9 and 10-12).