Dubai: Top officials from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Ministry of Education participated in a reading circle with many young pupils from Al Mawakeb School in Garhoud.
The audience listened attentively to the cheerful voice of Maitha Al Khayat, an Emirati story writer who specialises in children's books, as she read pages from her new book I love my dad's long beard.
The reading session was soon followed with the distribution of hundreds of story books to the children which signified the launch of the "Read More" campaign organised by the RTA in association with the Ministry of Education.
Hamid Al Qatami, Minister of Education, stressed the importance of these initiatives in order to encourage the younger generations to read more.
"It is the Ministry's responsibility to provide proper education in order to sufficiently prepare younger generations for their future roles, but education doesn't stop there.
Connecting cultures
"With the assistance of the RTA, that [has] proved throughout the years that it doesn't just connect our community through its services, but connects us through these cultural contributions that give birth to openness, this initiative will hopefully be the beginning of the meeting of minds, especially among pupils." Al Qatami said.
Books will be distributed to over 10,000 pupils from around 20 private and public schools. This campaign will continue until the next academic year 2010-11. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA, said that this campaign began in order to realise the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who emphasises that one must develop human beings as a priority over other development.
"This campaign will hopefully encourage the culture of reading amongst pupils between the ages of seven and 14 in order to expand their knowledge and invest their time in useful activities. We wish to also encourage parents to assist us in order for this campaign to succeed. Studies show that children who grow up watching their parents read as a pastime are more likely to take up the habit as well.
Better skills
"Other studies also revealed that reading from a young age can grant a child better leadership skills for the future."
The books that were distributed to the children were written and illustrated by Maitha Al Khayat. She pointed out that the culture of reading in the local community is weak.
"Parents shouldn't just make their children read without getting involved personally. It would be better if families organised reading circles...
"Parents should ensure that reading to their children becomes a daily habit, and not just an occasional activity." Maitha said.
