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UAE employees take break from work to read books

Dubai - Some departments chose to close off wifi for the hour so as not to distract employees from the pages of their book.

At 11am on Tuesday, federal government employees across the country took a step back from their normal work duties and instead, picked up a book as part of the newly-launched 'Reading Hour' initiative.
While some departments chose to close off wifi for the hour so as not to distract employees from the pages of their book, others chose to invite parents and children to read with them.
It was on Monday that the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) announced that employees observe one hour of reading on March 27 as part of the Month of Reading. And what followed was a show of dedication from all federal government departments.
Showcasing its commitment to 'Reading Hour', the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai chose to turn off their wifi connection throughout the building between 11am and 12pm. They also amended the wifi name to "It's Reading Hour at KHDA", in case staff were perplexed about the loss of connection. 
Hosting dedicated reading corners for all employees, the KHDA provided their staff with free books, both in English and Arabic, to keep them entertained during the 60-minute work phase-out.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Fatma Al Marri, CEO of KHDA said what better way to make people read than to switch off the entire office internet network.
"All of us automatically turned away from our laptop and meeting rooms as we picked up a book to celebrate the reading hour. It turned out to be a wonderful way to disconnect and experience something different from our daily routine. We even encouraged our visitors and guests to read from our collection of books."
Over at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), child patients staying within its hospital network were invited to join staff in taking time out to read too.
Tweeting a picture of a child and staff member holding a book about two of the UAE's founding fathers, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the DHA tweeted: "Two great leaders, a story that began in the United Arab Emirates and amazed the world. Read by one of our child patients during the hour of reading in Dubai Hospital #ReadingHour."
Over at Dubai Municipality (DM), its Director General Dawood Abdul Rahman Abdullah Al Hajiri joined employees to observe the hour of reading at its headquarters.
Wooden racks were arranged at the courtyard of the Municipality main building to display the books with topics ranging from poetry to short stories and personality development. And staff members were encouraged to take home the books for a period of one to two weeks in order to finish it off.
This is just one of the many reading initiatives DM has introduced into its workforce.
So far this month it has organised 20 events including a book exhibition at the Municipality headquarters for employees and school students, and an event called 'Me and My Mother Read', organised for the children of the Municipality Nursery and their mothers.
A spokesperson from FAHR said the Reading Hour initiative seeks to instill the habit of reading in the work environment.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

According to the National Law of Reading, government employees are to be given "dedicated time to read" during work hours to make reading a daily habit. It will allow government staff time to read at work although they must focus on reading matter about professional and personal development within the context of the workplace.