Sheikh Mohammed gifted her his badge: Meet 11-year-old Mayar who beat 40 million students and won hearts

Dubai: Overwhelmed with joy, 11-year-old Mayar Othman Al Shourbagy jumped up when her name was announced as the winner of the 10th Arab Reading Challenge in Dubai on Thursday. She then knelt down and kissed the floor in gratitude, almost as if performing sujood. When she got back to her feet, she was overcome with emotion and broke down in tears.

Tears were still streaming down her cheeks as she received the champion's trophy from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. In a touching gesture, Sheikh Mohammed kissed her on her head and held her close affectionately.

He then removed the badge he was wearing and pinned it onto the young champion, making an already unforgettable moment even more special. The spontaneous gesture, at the grand finale held at Dubai World Trade Centre, is one the young Egyptian is unlikely to forget.

This is not the first time Gulf News has reported on Sheikh Mohammed gifting his badge to a young student.

In October 2024, during a visit to Al Ibda’a Model School in Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed was impressed when six-year-old student Rayyan Badr Mohammed confidently said the Ruler's full name.

He took off the badge he was wearing, a special-edition Expo 2020 Dubai keepsake, and pinned it onto the young boy. Coincidentally, that visit was also linked to the Arab Reading Challenge, as the school had won the competition’s Dh1 million top prize in its eighth edition.

One-minute test before a live audience

Mayar was the fourth of the six finalists in the grand finale of the record-breaking edition of the Challenge this time. The six competed in a final assessment before a live audience. Each finalist had one minute to answer a direct question, after which the audience voted live to help select the winner.

The Egyptian student took the title and the Dh500,000 prize money after competing against more than 40 million students from 60 countries.

In an interview with Gulf News following her victory, she spoke about her passion for Arabic, her gratitude to Sheikh Mohammed, the support she received from her family and school, and her ambition to protect and promote the language and eventually become Egypt’s Minister of Information.

Her journey in the Challenge

Mayar read 60 books and was selected from among 17,616,289 contestants in Egypt. Explaining how she started participating, she said: “My journey began at school, when my supervisor noticed that I could speak Arabic confidently and had an enlightened outlook.”

She said she started by reading poetry, before moving on to reading books and summarising them with wisdom, intelligence and precision.

“My mother, father and entire family supported me. My school also provided the right environment that enabled me to win this title.”

Unquenchable passion for books

Talking about her historic victory over more than 40 million students, she said: “Thank God, I won, and I feel a sense of pride that no human being could possibly describe. Even the words of the Arabic language, the greatest language in this world and the hereafter, cannot express how I feel.”

She took the opportunity to express her gratitude to Sheikh Mohammed.

“I would like to thank the maker of hope and the champion of the Arab Reading Challenge, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, because he did not merely place books in our hands. He planted in our minds a love of knowledge and an unquenchable passion for books.”

Minister in the making

Her dreams are also rooted in her love for the mother tongue.

“I want to become the Minister of Information in my country because I love the Arabic language. I love the music and beauty of its words, and I want to become a guardian of the language,” the young winner said.

She has already taken it upon herself to be an ambassador of the language.

“I love reading and appreciating poetry, and I believe it is my duty to protect and promote Arabic, especially after winning this title.”

Read to save nations

Her message to other children was inspiring. She highlighted how the young generation should read and get educated to fight the perils facing the world.

“I say to you with all my love and passion that reading is the key to saving nations from destruction and wars.

“There are children who continue reading even in times of war, despite everything they are going through.

“Today, I have been crowned champion of the Arab world in reading, and I hope you will all strive to become number one, as His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has always encouraged us to do,” she added.