On Thursday, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, visited Al Ebdaa Model School in Dubai, which emerged as the top winner in this year’s Arab Reading Challenge.
Al Ebdaa Model School triumphed over 229,000 schools from 50 countries participating in the challenge. The initiative was led by school principal Laila Al Mannai, with Amna Al Shehhi serving as the reading supervisor.
The school implemented 48 projects aimed at fostering a reading culture among students. Remarkably, in just one year, students collectively read 25,000 books, with many completing an average of 50 books each during the academic year.
During his visit, Sheikh Mohammed engaged with the students and celebrated their achievement. In a heartwarming gesture, he commended the students for their hard work and dedication.
“This is what we want in all our schools… We want to create aware, well-read, cultured students, capable of continuous learning and constant reading. A generation capable of keeping up with the world culturally and cognitively… and capable of creating a better future for all,” Sheikh Mohammed stated in a post on X.
In a notable highlight, three students were awarded the Arab Reading Challenge title on Wednesday, surpassing 28 million participants to share the honor. This marked the first instance where three participants won the award simultaneously.
Now in its eighth season, the Arab Reading Challenge has seen unprecedented engagement, with over 28.2 million students from 50 countries representing 229,620 schools, guided by 154,643 supervisors.
Over the past eight editions, a total of 131 million students from 795,000 schools have participated, supported by 716,000 supervisors, highlighting a strong commitment to enhancing reading and literacy across the Arab world and beyond.
