Arab Reading Challenge to honour winners tomorrow
- Last updated: June 30, 2025 | 11:00
Gulf Today, Staff Reporter
The Arab Reading Challenge is going to hold a mega celebration at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Tuesday to honour the winners of its ninth edition in the UAE.
The competition saw unparalleled levels of engagement, with 810,838 students. The winners will be announced in a ceremony to be attended by Sarah Al Amiri, the Minister of Education, along with other government officials and educators involved in the initiative, as well as individuals with a keen interest in knowledge and education.
The event will also draw a large crowd of UAE school students and their parents, who will be present to support the students participating in the qualifying rounds.
The ninth edition of the Arab Reading Challenge, which is part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, had the most ever participants, with 32 million and 231,000 students from 50 countries, representing 132,112 schools, all supervised by 161,004 supervisors.
The winner of the ninth edition in the UAE will be announced during the ceremony, in addition to the first-place winner in the People of Determination category.
The distinguished supervisor and the distinguished school will be honoured as well during the ceremony.
The Arab Reading Challenge crowned Ahmed Faisal Ali from Dubai as the champion of its eighth edition in the UAE.
The event saw the participation of approximately 700,000 students representing 1,174 schools, overseen by 1,897 supervisors.
Assem Abara, from Abu Dhabi, was bestowed the “Distinguished Supervisor” title, while Al Ebdaa Cycle 1 School, located in Dubai, received the “Distinguished School” titles.
In the People of Determination category, Suleiman Khamis Al Khadim from Fujairah was awarded first place.
The Arab Reading Challenge, the world’s largest Arabic-language reading event, was inaugurated during the 2015-2016 academic year under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The Challenge aims to promote the importance of reading among participating students in the Arab world and beyond, as well as to develop creative thinking skills. The challenge is also oriented towards the generation of a substantial reading and knowledge movement and the consolidation of the cultural paradigm of reading in the Arabic language.