His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, spoke of his enormous pride in the youth of the region for their preservation and celebration of their Arabic heritage. This was in light of **more than 32 million students** from 50 nations taking part in the **9th edition of the Arab Reading Challenge**, the world’s largest Arabic language literacy program.
Sheikh Mohammed commended the younger generations for their strong affinity with the Arabic language, pointing out that reading is central to upholding culture, identity, and knowledge in an ever-evolving world. “We are proud of our generations which have clung to their language, for it is the carrier of our values, our history, and our future,” he stated.
The Arab Reading Challenge continues to fuel a reading revolution throughout the Arab world and the wider world, motivating millions of young people and children to adopt reading in Arabic. It is an expression of the UAE’s historic commitment to developing a knowledge-based society through education, language, and culture.
Winners of this year’s competition will be honored in a grand ceremony that celebrates the strength of language to bring people together, educate, and empower. The initiative, which was started in 2015, has now become a global movement, reaffirming Arabic as a living, vibrant language for generations to come.
