Final round of qualifiers launched for Community Champion of Arab Reading Challenge

The final round of qualifiers launched on Monday at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library to select the Community Champion of the 7th edition of the Arab Reading Challenge.

The winner will be announced out of 26 Arab students participating from foreign countries on Oct.31 at Dubai Opera.

The finalists underwent several qualification stages to demonstrate their Arabic fluency in speech and writing despite living in non-Arabic speaking countries.

The specialised jury will select the winner based on the comprehension of text, ability to communicate accurately in Arabic, overall language skills, as well as critical and creative thinking. Participants are also evaluated based on the diverse selection of books and ability to demonstrate an analytical understanding of the texts.  

The Arab Reading Challenge has allocated Dhs200,000 for the Community Champion award with aims to encourage participants to continue expanding their knowledge in the Arabic language. The first place winner walks away with Dhs100,000, second place winner receives Dhs70,000, and third place winner gets Dhs30,000.

Strengthening Arab identity

Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Secretary-General of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, said the significant additions to the 7th Arab Reading Challenge, and the Challenge itself, reflect the visions of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum of promoting knowledge and highlighting the importance of the Arabic language.

"The success of the Challenge in its 7th edition is testament to its importance and role across the Arab world. Not only does it reinforce the status and presence of the Arabic language among the young generation in the region, but the Reading Challenge also seeks to bolster the sense of belonging among Arab communities abroad, encouraging them to hone their Arabic language skills and solidify their cultural identity,” he said.

Participants from foreign countries demonstrated an active reading and understanding of books, despite the difficulties that faced some students Arabic articulation.

The finalists competing for the Community Champion category are: Bilal Al Turkmani (Brazil), Mousa Al Ibrahim (Canada), Ahmed Salah Sabah Al Naqeeb (China), and Mohannad Ashraf Hassan Al Basyouni Hassan (Greece), Haneen Elaf Tahsin (Iraq, Kurdistan), Mohammad Abd al-Raqib Ali Ahmed Al Kawkabani (Malaysia), AbdulRahman Ahad Rayhan (United Kingdom), Fawzia Musalman (Saudi School - India), Maria Rayhana Al Rahman Lopez (Indonesia), Ruqaya Saleh Hassan Al Hassan (Finland), Ratel Ahmed (Switzerland), Malak Al Aqla (Germany), Nour El-Din Ahmed Hawa (New Zealand), Sana Fadi Amroush (Spain), Lilas Hamad (Denmark), Zaid Mohammed Sarmini (Netherlands), Retaj Orwa (Norway), Maram Saddouki (France), Abdulqader Debbas (Sweden), Inam Kurdi (Austria), Omar Yaqoub Agha (United States of America), Wafa Jihad Musa AbulRab (Italy), Fatima Abdulatif (Australia), Omar Rashid Al Ibrahim (Belgium), Hala Younis (Russia), and Hussain Mustafa Ihsan (Turkey).

The Community Champion category comes under the Arab Reading Challenge’s mission to promote the Arabic language and culture across different parts of the world. The challenge aims to connect Arab students living in foreign countries and encourage them to learn the language.

The 7th edition of the Arab Reading Challenge witnessed a record participation of 24.8 million students, including over 22,506 people of determination, from 46 countries, representing more than 188,000 schools under the guidance of around 150,000 supervisors.

WAM