Emirati beats 700,000 students, crowned UAE Arab Reading Challenge champion

Left: Ahmed Faisal Ali celebrates with his mother. KT Photo: Neeraj Murali

Ahmed Faisal Ali has been declared the UAE champion of the Arab Reading Challenge.

The Emirati, based in Dubai, was among the 700,000 students who participated in the UAE challenge to qualify for the final round.

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Ali now stands the chance to win the Arab Reading Challenge title and receive the Dh500,000 prize.

Ahmed Faisal Ali with Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology. KT Photo: Neeraj Murali

The challenge is the largest reading challenge of its kind in the world. The eighth edition saw participation from 28.8 million students from 50 countries.

Reflecting on his achievement, Ahmed shared, “I read about 50 books in total. When I was on my way today, I was looking at the skyscrapers of Dubai while taking a break from my reading, and suddenly I felt that I wanted to make the leader of this great emirate proud of me.”

For this challenge, students read and summarised 50 books to compete in the qualifying rounds, moving from the class and school levels up to the national level.

The 15-year-old winner also expressed his admiration for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. “As you know, I love Sheikh Mohammed very much, and his book ‘My Story’ gave me a way to live. That’s why I will keep reading and learning,” he told KhaleejTimes.

The winner was awarded in the presence of Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology in a ceremony held in Dubai on Tuesday.

In her speech, the Minister, said, “The number of participants today proves the importance of this initiative in shaping a promising future for our generations.”

The Minister also highlighted how in the modern era, visual media often overshadows the written word, diminishing the scope for imagination and creativity. However, she emphasized, “Today we realize the importance of the word to create a promising and creative future.”

Initiated by Sheikh Mohammed, the challenge aims to foster a love for reading among students. It challenges them to read more than 50 books in an academic year. This challenge is open to Year 1 to Year 12 students hailing from different schools across the Arab world.