The headquarters of the Arab Reading Challenge has hosted an international meeting of delegates from countries participating in the ground-breaking scheme, which aims to have 50 million books read by children in the Middle East in the coming year. A multi-million dollar initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,the Challenge aims to tackle the significantly low reading levels in the Arab World.
45 representatives from 20 countries, including Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Malaysia, Indonesia, Denmark, China and the UK, were received by Najlaa Al Shamsi, Secretary General of the Arab Reading Challenge, whose opening statement outlined the challenge’s aim to reverse the Arab World’s cultural decline by making reading a top priority on the agendas of Arab countries. “Reading gives students the tools to forge a better future”, she said. “It pushes them to assess their role in society and ultimately choose to become leaders rather than followers. In short, the challenge’s goal is to help shape a new generation with excellent reading skills and a thirst for knowledge to drive cultural progress. We want to open the door to a brighter future for our children, bring a renewed hope and support in narrowing the cultural gap between Arabs and the rest of the world.”
The Arab Reading Challenge was launched in response to worryingly low reading levels in the Arab World. The average reading time for an Arab child is six minutes a year compared to 12,000 minutes in the West, according to the Arab Thought Foundation’s Arab Report for Cultural Development. Meanwhile, the reading rate of an Arab individual is a quarter of a page a year compared with 11 books in the US and seven books in the UK, according to a study conducted by the Supreme Council of Culture in Egypt.
As part of the visit, the Arab Reading Challenge team provided a detailed presentation on how to implement the various stages of the initiative and shared best practice with the delegation to ensure maximum success. “We wanted to invite everyone here to the UAE to brief them on the initiative, and help them to fully understand what we are trying to achieve and how best to implement our vision,” added Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Executive Coordinator of the Arab Reading Challenge. “We are delighted that so many countries, from the Arab World and beyond,took part in this visit. It is testament tothe strength of the campaign and its purpose, and to the countries’ enthusiasm to make its goals a reality.”
The largest initiative of its kind with more than a million students committing to read 50 million books every academic year, the Arab Reading Challenge comprises a comprehensive system of motivational and monetary incentives worth $3million (AED 11.2 million) and follow-up mechanisms.
It includes five stages, each of which entails the reading and summary of 10 books by participating students. This will be followed by qualification stages at various levels – school, educational districts, Arab countries and finally, the Arab World.
The award ceremony will be held in Dubai in June 2016, where the winning student will get a $150,000 reward, of which $100,000 will be in the form of a university scholarship and $50,000 in the form of a cash reward to the student’s family for their encouragement. The school with the highest level of participation in the Arab World will be rewarded $1 million. The challenge also grants rewards worth $300,000 to excellent teacher supervisors involved in the project, in addition to prizes worth $1 million to participating schools.
