Dubai: Meet the Arab Reading Challenge finalists vying for Dh2.1 million prize money

Participants from around the globe gathered in Dubai over the weekend for the 7th Arab Reading Challenge, an annual competition aiming to “instil a culture of reading and boosting communication, dialogue and openness among different cultures.”

They are the national champions from 46 countries – out of 24.8 million students from 188,338 schools who took part in this year’s challenge.

On Monday, they hurdled one final screening before the grand Arab Reading Champion is crowned on Tuesday by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who launched the largest pan-Arab reading project back in September 2015.

The winner of the newly introduced People of Determination category, Best School, Outstanding Supervisor and Community Champion, will also be declared.

The Arab Reading Champion will receive Dh500,000 cash prize; the winner in the People of Determination will take home Dh200,000; the Outstanding Supervisor will get Dh300,000; Community Champion (from non-Arab countries) will walk away with Dh100,000 prize; and the Best School will receive Dh1 million to boost its ability to encourage reading among students and expand their knowledge.

But the young Arab reading advocates – aged between seven and 18 years old – were already winners in their own right. They topped the competitions in their respective countries of residence, and they have championed their mother tongue and highlighted its richness across science, literature and other areas of study.

Khaleej Times caught up with some of them at the Mohammed bin Rashid Library during the final interview, and they shared their motivations in joining the competition as well as their mission of inspiring more students to take up reading “not only to gain skills and knowledge but also to create a better society.”

Confident and graceful

Seven-year old Malak AlOklat, who is of Syrian origin but now resides in Germany, wants to follow in the footsteps of fellow Syrian girl Sham Al Bakour, who was declared Arab Reading Champion last year.

Malak read over 100 books for the competition. She displayed confidence and grace at such a young age when interviewed by the panelists. She said reading made her confident in sharing her thoughts and she is determined to win because she wants to share half of the prize money to less-fortunate children in Syria.

Her parents escaped the conflict in Syria. Malak was born in Turkey but grew up in Germany. She learned how to speak, read and write Arabic from her parents, who motivated her to read as many Arabic books she can. It is her dream to visit her parents’ homeland someday.

Inspired by older brother

Canadian student Musa Al Ibraheem, 10, meanwhile, was inspired by his older brother – a former contestant – to join the reading challenge. He finished over 25 books in just six months. He summarised them for the competition and he said this helped him to communicate better in Arabic whilst gaining general knowledge and improving his analytical skills.

Science, new inventions and religious stories about the lives of prophets are his favourite to read. He joined the Arab Reading Challenge to motivate more young kids like him to become voracious readers.

Wish for more Arabic books

Thirteen-year old Sana Amroush wished there were more printed Arabic books available in Spain. For the competition, she mostly got her materials online and she said it would have been better if they were more printed manuscripts.

Sana can speak and write in four languages, including Arabic, Spanish, English, and French. She wants to become a scientist at US space agency Nasa or the National Centre for Space Studies in France someday.

She bested hundreds of students in Spain who joined this year, including her 10-year old sister, Aya, who placed second in the national round.

It is also the wish by Lilas Hamad, 12, from Denmark to have more books in Arabic at her country of residence. Originally from Syria, her parents moved to Denmark when she was six years old.

Her favourite books are stories for young adults with family relationship as the central theme.

Nothing is impossible

Belal AlTurkmani, 17, from Brazil, meanwhile, proved that nothing is impossible “when you put your mind into something.” He told Khaleej Times: “When I first heard about the Arab Reading Challenge a couple of years ago, I thought it was an impossible task. I found it daunting to finish so many books in such a short time.”

“But look at me, I’m here in Dubai now as the national champion from Brazil,” he added, noting: “I became inspired by the stories I read about former reading champions so I decided to also become an avid reader.”

Belad said he finished 50 books in half a year but was only required to submit a summary for 25 books. His favourite are crime and mystery thrillers written by the iconic Agatha Christie and translated into Arabic. Belal wants to become a surgeon someday.

Mohammed Abudulraqeeb, 18, from Yemen who lives in Malaysia, is also interested to be in the medical profession. He loves to read books about health and medical sciences.

Who will win?

Winners will be announced at a special ceremony at Dubai Opera on Tuesday. Organised by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, the 7th edition of the Arab Reading Challenge for 2023 witnessed an 11 per cent increase in participation as compared to last year. Around 24.8 million students, including over 22,506 people of determination, from 46 countries took part in this year’s challenge, representing more than 188,000 schools under the guidance of around 150,000 supervisors.

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