DUBAI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday crowned the winners of the second edition of the Arab Reading Challenge 2017 at the Opera House in Dubai.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday crowned the winners of the Arabic reading competition.
More than 7,400,000 students from 25 Arab and foreign countries participated in the challenge of reading Arabic, in addition to about 41,000 schools from the public and private sectors and 1,500 arbitrators from different Arab countries.
During the challenge period, students were required to read at least 50 books, covering various cultural and cognitive fields and interests, and summarize them in special books called "challenge passports" and discuss them with teachers before being tested and evaluated by the judging committees.
"We call upon the Arab communities in the diaspora and in every part of the world to join the process of reading and reviving the Arab book," said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at the end of the second session of the Arab Reading Challenge. "We want to bring all Arabs from all over the world to Challenge of Arab Reading," he said.
Afaf Sharif, a Palestinian, won the first place in the challenge among the five winners of the finals.
During the ceremony, the ruler of Dubai also honored the family of the Algerian student Fatima Goulam, 17, a martyr of reading, as described by her parents and the medal of honor.
The jury was composed of UAE writer Bilal Al-Badour, Saudi writer and journalist Badriya Al-Bishr and Hanan al-Harb, winner of the world's best teacher award in 2016.
Sheikh Mohammed launched the Challenge in 2015 with the aim of strengthening the culture of reading in the society and devoting the reading habit among the youth of the Arab world in particular.
He also wished to promote the Arabic language as a language of dialogue and creativity, as well as promote the values of openness and tolerance among new generations.
