More than 10 million students representing 44 countries from the Arab region and the world will participate in the 2018 Arab Reading Challenge, which is part of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives.
Participation has increased by 25 per cent compared to last year as Arab students not residing in Arab countries can now take part in the challenge.
On his Twitter page, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said: “There are 10 million students participating in the Arab Reading Challenge ... 10 million readers will bring about a change. Every student is like a candle, lighting their and our world through their knowledge.”
Meanwhile, online voting for the best participating school has opened to the public. The voting deadline is 9am on October 30. Votes can be cast by logging on to www.arabreadingchallenge.com.
Of the 52,000 schools that entered the third edition of the challenge, five were shortlisted to compete for the ‘Outstanding School’ title that carries a cash prize of Dh1 million.
Entrants include Mujama’a Al Salam School from Saudi Arabia, Al Ikhlas Al Ahlia School from Kuwait, Abdul Hamid Dar Obaid Sidi Ali Secondary School from Algeria, Al Wahda Secondary School from Morocco, and Banat Al Awda Primary School from Palestine.
In a statement, Najla Al Shamsi, secretary-general of the Arab Reading Challenge, said: “This year’s surge in participation of schools from around the Arab world is testament to the increased competitiveness of the Arab Reading Challenge.”
The number of competing schools has grown by more than 11,000 since the 2017 edition, with the majority showing a steady increase in student participation since the launch of the challenge three years ago.
The total value of cash prizes amounts to Dh11 million.
The Outstanding School will receive Dh1 million, while the Outstanding Supervisor walks away with Dh300,000. The Champion of the Arab Reading Challenge, to be announced at the award ceremony on October 30 in Dubai, will win Dh500,000.
Mujama’a Al Salam School made the shortlist owing to its ‘I Spend My Morning Reading’ programme that was also implemented in neighbouring schools. The school increased its participation by 100 per cent this year with 600 students reading 12,000 books.
Abdul Hamid Dar Obaid Sidi Ali Secondary School is participating with 762 students. Al Ikhlas Al Ahlia School has 7,871 participants.
Al Wahda Secondary School organised 60 reading classes in the library. Banat Al Awda Primary School with 860 participating students developed an action plan to enhance cooperation between students, teachers and parents, conduct brainstorming and training sessions, and reach out to the local community.
SOURCE : GULFNEWS