Dubai: The importance of reading and promoting knowledge as a strong foundation for cultural development and advancing nations was the highlight of a meeting between the UAE Vice-President and media leaders.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stressed the role of the media in cultivating reading as a lifetime habit in the community, especially in the minds of youngsters, who are the hope of the future.
He emphasised the importance of consolidating a culture of reading, which is key to knowledge and a bridge towards innovation in various domains.
Addressing journalists, Shaikh Mohammad said: “Your media institutions must serve as platforms for promoting knowledge and encouraging people to read. You have to nurture the young minds and inspire them to read more and have a passion for knowledge, which is the backbone for developing nations.”
Shaikh Mohammad referred to the great attention given to reading by the UAE under the leadership of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who issued the first law on reading. The law provides for a legal framework, executive programmes and specific government roles to firmly establish the value of reading in society in a sustainable manner.
Shaikh Mohammad praised the Arab Reading Challenge and its role in encouraging more than one million students to read 50 million books in one school year. He expressed his satisfaction with the initiative’s achievements and the widespread response that included 3.5 million participants in this first-of-its-kind initiative.
The meeting was attended by Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the Federal National Council, Mona Ganem Al Merri, director-general of Dubai Government’s Media Office, and a host of elite media leaders.
