Arab Reading Challenge: Sheikh Mohammed crowns Egyptian girl,11, as Dh500,000 champion who beat 40m students

Dubai: Mayar Othman Al Shuorbagy, an 11-year-old Egyptian student who beat more than 40 million students from 60 countries, has been crowned the champion of the 10th Arab Reading Challenge, winning Dh500,000 at the grand finale in Dubai.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, honoured the winner at the event held at Dubai World Trade Centre on Thursday.

Sidi Ameur Primary School from Tunisia won the Dh1 million prize for the outstanding school in the challenge. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, honoured the school.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE honoured Mahmoud Omran from Syria, a visually challenged boy as the first-place winner in the People of Determination category. He won Dh200,000.

Record participation

The 10th edition attracted 40,286,428 students from 60 countries, including 74,062 People of Determination. A total of 138,426 schools and 161,507 supervisors participated, highlighting the initiative’s growing international reach.

The winners were recognised across the overall championship, People of Determination and community categories, alongside awards for Outstanding School and Outstanding Supervisor.

A decade of reading

Launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in 2015, the Arab Reading Challenge aims to promote reading, strengthen Arabic language skills, foster a love of knowledge and encourage cultural understanding among younger generations.

Across its 10 editions, the initiative has recorded more than 203 million student participations, over 1.065 million school participations and more than 1.193 million supervisor participations.

Participation has grown by approximately 1,019 per cent, from 3.6 million students in the inaugural edition to more than 40.28 million in the 10th edition. The ninth edition attracted 32.231 million students from 50 countries, while the eighth and seventh editions recorded 28.2 million and 24.8 million participants, respectively.

The challenge allocates Dh11 million annually in prizes across its categories, taking the total prize money across the 10 editions to Dh110 million.