Doha, Qatar – August 09, 2021:  Three exceptional young winners have been announced – in a graphic design and storytelling competition held by ACS Doha for their 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. 

Launched to celebrate World Book Day, and with prizes donated by ALIF Stores – home to Qatar’s largest range of books, electronics and stationery – the Comic Book Challenge invited students to create and submit illustrated comic books, using the Book Creator app on their school iPads.
Third-graders Widad Laws, Jessica Sleem and Alura Jumawan were awarded top honours, with the quality of their comic book entries demonstrating high levels of creative talent and imagination.

Under the rules of the competition, the adventure stories submitted were required to be set in Qatar and to feature at least three well-known Qatari landmarks or locations – inspiring students to explore and reflect Qatar’s traditions, geography and modern cityscapes.

The action took place in a range of locations, including Al Zubarah Fort, The Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar National Library and Doha Festival City.
The judging panel expressed their admiration for the students’ imaginative responses to the challenge. In commenting on the winning entries, the judges mentioned “interesting adventure storylines, humorous dialogue, the creative use of images – incorporating photographs of teachers, fellow students and local landmarks – and even the clever use of emojis!”

Noting the high standard of the comic books submitted, ACS Doha’s Acting Lower School Principal, Jonathan Rawlinson, said: “The panel carefully reviewed all the entries, which ranged from the dramatic and exciting to the smart and highly amusing. It was pleasing that so many creative solutions shone through – given the school’s commitment to preparing students for the unpredictable challenges of tomorrow’s world.”

“With so much excellent work to consider,” he added, “the choice of winners was a very difficult one indeed.”
For ALIF Stores, Mohamad Tarraf, Marketing Manager, said: “ALIF is very pleased to have supported the Comic Book Challenge, through which we hoped to inspire students and introduce them to the world of commercial art. The standard of entries served to reveal some outstanding hidden talents at ACS Doha.”
ACS Doha and ALIF Stores have extended their congratulations to the three prizewinners – and a ‘well done’ to all the other entrants.