Five vie for Arab Reading Challenge’s grand prize
CHAMPION TO BE REVEALED AT DUBAI OPERA CEREMONY ON NOVEMBER 13
The Arab Reading Champion 2019 will be declared on Wednesday, November 13, at a ceremony at Dubai Opera, it was announced yesterday.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, revealed the winner announcement date for the 4th edition of the Arab Reading Challenge. On his social media platforms, he said: “We celebrate more than 13 million students in the Arab Reading Challenge, the largest Arab knowledge initiative. We are stronger with Arab youth who believe in the power of words.”
Five contestants, shortlisted from 16 semi-finalists, are running up for the grand prize after several elimination stages marked through the challenge’s reality TV show.
Hadeel Anwar from Sudan, Jumana Al Malki from Saudi Arabia, Fatima Al Zahra Akhyar from Morocco, Aya Boutreea from Tunisia, Abdul Aziz Al Khaldi from Kuwait were shortlisted after the elimination of UAE’s Mezna Najeeb and Algeria’s Naima Kabir.
This year’s Arab Reading Champion will take home Dh500,000 after outperforming 13.5 million students who received support from 99,000 supervisors from 67,000
■ schools across 49 countries. Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Secretary General of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), said: “The Arab Reading Challenge reflects the vision of [Shaikh Mohammad] to build future enlightened generations capable of improving their lives through knowledge and contributing to achieving sustainable development of their societies.”
Strategic goals
Jameela Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education, said: “Among the strategic goals of the challenge is to develop public awareness about the importance of reading and enrich the school environment with tools necessary to create constructive dialogue and a generation of innovative thinkers.”
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Education ministers across the Arab world commended the participants.
Hamed Al Azmi, Kuwait’s Minister of Education, said: “In a short period of time, the challenge attracted millions of students to practice reading as a daily habit, creating a positive and effective impact on the knowledge scene in the Arab world. We have seen this impact through the constant increase of participations year after year.”
Dr Tahani
Al
Beiz,
Undersecretary
for Educational Programmes in Saudi Arabia, said: “The challenge was launched with the firm belief that young Arabs are driven to gain knowledge and improve their skills to work harder for a better future for the country. And our young people did not disappoint. They actually exceeded our expectations.”