Abu Dhabi: The UAE successfully concluded the Year of Reading with a number of achievements and projects.
Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future and Chairman of the Higher Committee for the Year of Reading, said that the announcement of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of 2016 being the Year of Reading brought about a permanent change in the process of building the character of Emiratis and new generations.
He pointed out that the direct attention given by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will help consolidate the UAE as an active and sustainable knowledge capital.
Al Gergawi indicated that thanks to Shaikh Mohammad, the results and the impact of the Year of Reading transcended the UAE and became a comprehensive Arab world activity that was received exceptionally well.
He said that the Arab Reading Challenge project, which transformed into the largest knowledge-related Olympiad to promote reading in the Arab world, saw the participation of more than 3.5 million students from different schools in the Arab world who read more than 150 million books.
Al Gergawi added that the Year of Reading saw the organisation of diverse activities that transformed the UAE into a lively hub that worked on a daily basis to spread knowledge and bolster reading. He indicated that more than 1,500 reading activities were organised that saw the participation of different segments of Emirati society.
“At the end of last year, while the UAE was reaping the fruits of the Year of Innovation, Shaikh Khalifa announced 2016 as the Year of Reading, a step towards completing the UAE’s plans that strive to establish a culture of knowledge, innovation and creativity.
Prominent achievements during the Year of Reading involved the launch of the National Reading Policy (2016–2026) that is based on the vision of making reading a daily habit in Emirati scoeity by 2026. The policy comprises 28 national initiatives that will be implemented in education, health, culture, community development, media and content. National targets for reading until 2016 include raising reading rates to 80 per cent among students and 50 per cent among adults, and raising the national output of content from the current 400 books per year to 4,000 books in 2026.
Perhaps the most prominent feature of the policy was the National Reading Law, issued in November 2016. The law, the first of its kind in the country and region, introduces a legislative framework that aims to support the development of human capital and building knowledgeable communities in the UAE.
Each emirate also contributed with unique initiatives to encourage reading. Abu Dhabi’s Education Council launched the Abu Dhabi Reads initiative to promote a culture of reading.
Dubai’s exceptional Reading Nation initiative was launched during Ramadan under the orders of Shaikh Mohammad as part of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Global Initiatives. More than Dh80 million in donations was collected for printing and distributing more than 8 million books in refugee camps and needy schools around the world.
Meanwhile, Sharjah supported the Year of Reading with events like Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, organisedby the emirate’s government, in addition to the mobile library initiative for distributing 1.5 million books for free in different parts of the UAE as part of the Knowledge Without Borders initiative.
