Palestinian student crowned Arab Reading Challenge champion

Afaf Sherif from Palestine was named the champion if the Arab Reading Challenge at a finale event at Dubai Opera, attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

Al Iman School in Bahrain won the best school title and Houriya Al Thil from Morocco was named most outstanding supervisor.

The Arab Reading Challenge (ARC), introduced last year as part of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, hopes to raise awareness of the importance of reading in Arabic and spreading the values of tolerance and acceptance through literature and education.

Over 7.4 million students from 41,000 schools in 25 countries around the world, supported by 75,000 supervisors and 1,500 arbitrators, participated in the challenge this year, reading over 200 million books altogether.

During the year, students were required to read a minimum of 50 books, covering various cultural and intellectual fields, and to summarise them in ARC passports, followed by discussing them with teachers and then final judges.

Afaf Sharif, who won the grand prize of $150,000, was among the top five ARC 2017 finalists. The other finalists in were Sherif Mustafa from Egypt in second place, Hafsa Al Dhanhani from the UAE in third, Shaza Al-Tuwairqi from Saudi Arabia in fourth and Bouchra Maysoum from Algeria in fifth.

Bahrain's Al Iman School – Girls won the best school award, and the $1 million prize. The runners-up were Al-Hassad Al-Tarbawi School in Jordan in second and Emirates National Schools in the UAE, which came in third place.

Throughout the year, Al Iman School organised several events to promote reading and literacy, involving its all-female students, teachers, parents and various sectors of the community. The school organised student trips, book fairs, held lectures on reading and invited writers and other creative people to speak.

The best school was elected by the public, who were invited to vote on the ARC website one week prior to the closing ceremony. Over four million people from around the world voted.

Houriya Al Thil from Morocco won the most distinguished supervisor award, along with a $100,000 prize. The award, which was introduced this year, seeks to honour the teachers and supervisors who dedicate their time to support and guide students in their endeavour to learn and expand their horizons.

Incentives and awards for ARC 2017 amounted to a total of over $3 million, dedicated to the winners as well as the competition finalists.