Shaikh Mohammed lauds progress of Arab reading challenge

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Shaikh Mohammed lauds progress of Arab reading challenge

Shaikh Mohammed said that the reading challenge has far surpassed its initial goals. The objective was to read 50 million books but partcipants managed to read 100 million books so far. - File photo

Dubai - "I'm glad today to know that the number of participants in the Arab Reading Challenge has reached nearly 30,000 Arabic schools, which managed to read as many as 100 million books so far."

By Staff Reporter

Published: Thu 17 Mar 2016, 10:43 PM

Last updated: Fri 18 Mar 2016, 9:05 AM

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has praised the success and scope of the Arab Reading Challenge, which has so far reached nearly 30,000 Arab schools across the Middle East and North Africa.
"I'm glad today to know that the number of participants in the Arab Reading Challenge has reached nearly 30,000 Arabic schools, which managed to read as many as 100 million books so far," Shaikh Mohammed tweeted on Wednesday.
Additionally, Shaikh Mohammed said that the Arab Region Challenge has far surpassed its initial goals and is to be expanded.
"When we launched the Arab Reading Challenge, the objective was to read a total of 50 million books," he noted.
"But today and by the end of the year, as many as 175 million books will be targeted."
Shaikh Mohammed added that the intellectual and cultural reconstruction of the region through knowledge will begin by forming a generation that loves learning, glo-rifies books and is fond of exploring their ancestry.
"We see a good omen in the millions of students who are coming to read, and we are optimising the enthusiasm of 60,000 supervisors," he tweeted.
"We are optimistic about the Arab education officials and see a good omen in the future of knowledge for our Arab nation."

We have more than doubled our original goal of having 50 million Arabic books read in our region. pic.twitter.com/fJFdiWoWty
- HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) March 16, 2016

What is the Arab Reading Challenge?
The Arab Reading Challenge, launched in September 2015, was originally designed to encourage more than a million students to read 50 million extracurricular books during every academic year.Monetary and motivational incentives worth of Dh11.2 million ($3million) are also offered to participating schools, students, their families, and supervisors from various parts of the Arab world.

I am pleased to see over 30,000 schools taking part in the Arab Reading Challenge, with over 100 million books read. pic.twitter.com/cUGDFHoews
- HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) March 16, 2016

The challenge includes several rounds of evaluation and qualification at various levels - school, educational zone, country, and finally the Arab world. The book challenge contains five stages, each of which entails the reading and summary of 10 books by participating students.
This will be followed by qualification stages at the level of schools, educational districts, Arab countries, and the final qualifications for winners on the Arab world level.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com