Winners of Arab Literacy Challenge take centre stage

Success stories from winners of the first ever Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation’s Literacy Challenge were celebrated at the close of the Literacy Challenge Forum, which concluded on Tuesday at the Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City.

In the challenge’s ‘government’ category, Egypt’s Al Wadi Al Jadid governorate was honoured, with Mohammed Salman Ibrahim, governor of the province, receiving the accolade. The Al Wadi Al Jadid governorate gave hope to those struggling with reading and writing with effective programmes that resulted in a decrease in illiteracy rates in the governate to two per cent — the lowest in Egypt. Among the initiatives was one that saw each graduate student from the governorate meeting the literacy needs of 10 citizens in their village — a scheme that promoted community cohesiveness. Financial rewards in the form of infrastructure and development programmes were also given to villages in the governorate that had high rates of illiteracy, in cooperation with sustainable partners and institutions.

In the category of ‘institutions,’ the Vodafone Egypt Foundation for Community Development was honoured, with Engineer Mohamed Henna, Chairman of the Vodafone Egypt Foundation, accepting the affirmation. The foundation was recognised for implementing activities and events that covered 100 villages in Egypt, including 100 schools being built, 419,000 people benefiting from literacy programmes, 100,000 benefiting from medical services, 50,000 students being educated, and nearly 2,500 teachers being trained.

First of the Literacy Challenge’s winners in the ‘individual’ category was Mahmoud Abbas, Founder & Director of the Children & Youth Association, Lebanon. He spoke about how in 1979 a first meeting in Beirut established the Higher Council of Literacy to aid Palestinian refugees. He also highlighted how his organisation was the first aimed at preserving Palestinian children’s rights in Lebanon and how he discovered that the most prominent challenge facing children in the region was education, because, he said, this was not only about children’s academic growth, it was about their protection, with young people likely to be out on the streets facing danger if they are not in school.

Finally, Omani housewife Zahra Bint Salem Al-ofi — the second winner in the challenge’s ‘individual’ category — took to the stage to reveal the humble beginnings of her literacy project. Started in 2008 with 22 children, the programme spoke of great personal sacrifice, as she personally funded books and notebooks to the students under her care. Four years later, Zahra’s project was widened to educate women in Oman’s remote mountainous areas and saw her aiding the opening of 22 small village schools, and set up pre-school education programmes. Zahra was awarded the Sultan Qaboos Award for Voluntary work in 2017 and was honoured by the Lebanese Republic as one of the 10 best leading and influential personalities in the Arab World in 2018.

The first ever Literacy Challenge Forum was organised by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation. With its theme ‘Challenges and Solutions,’ the twoday forum ran from Feb. 24-25, its aim being to set a roadmap for the total eradication of illiteracy in the Arab world.

Lifelong learning is now a necessity, asserted panellists on day one of the inaugural Literacy Challenge Forum, in a session that explored ‘Adult Education from the Perspective of Continuous and Lifelong Learning’.

The Forum is organised under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, and with directives from MBRF Chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It was held in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

Moderated by Dr Lana Mamkegh, former Jordanian Minister of Culture, the session brought together Dr Sami Nassar, Professor of Education at Cairo University’s School of Graduate Studies of Education; Dr Najoua Fezzaa Ghriss, Professor of Higher Institute of Education and Continuous Training at the University of Tunis; Dr Latifa Al Falasi, Arabic Language Expert at the UAE Ministry of Education; and Dr Amal Al Habdan, Consultant at King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre.