10.5M take part in Arab Reading Challenge

dubai — Over 10.5 million students took part in the 2018 edition of the Arab Reading Challenge. This marks a 25 per cent increase in the number of participants as compared to last year.

Emirati teenager Shamsa Al Naqbi, who read 300 books over the last six years, was announced the winner of the UAE leg of the contest last month. She will represent the UAE as 10 contestants vie for the ‘Champion of the Arab Reading Challenge’ title on October 28-29 in Dubai.

In addition to naming the most prolific reader, the third edition of the competition will include awards for outstanding school and outstanding supervisor, with cash prizes totaling Dh11 million. The number of participating nations increased to 44 Arab and non-Arab countries, as compared to 16 Arab countries in 2017. The number of supervisors participating this year reached 86,000, while the number of competing schools rose to 52,000.

Najla Al Shamsi, secretarygeneral of the challenge, said: “The directive of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to open participation to students from outside the Arab world received wideranging appreciation. It encouraged hundreds of thousands of Arab students in non-Arab countries to follow the example of their peers in the Arab world and join the competition.”

Last year, Afaf Raed, a student from Palestine, beat 7.4 million others to be crowned the champion.