
Closing ceremony at Dubai World Trade Centre to honor record-breaking participation of over 40 million students
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum will preside over the 10th Arab Reading Challenge awards in Dubai, celebrating a record 40.28 million student participants from 60 countries across various competitive categories.
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The Arab Reading Challenge was launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in 2015 to promote literacy among students. It has grown from 3.6 million participants in its first year to over 40 million today.
Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, will crown the winners of the 10th Arab Reading Challenge on Thursday at the closing ceremony at Dubai World Trade Centre.
The 10th edition has attracted a record 40,286,428 students from 60 countries, including 74,062 People of Determination, marking a 24% increase over the previous edition. A total of 138,426 schools and 161,507 supervisors participated.
The ceremony will honour the 2025 Arab Reading Challenge champion, alongside the winners of the People of Determination and community categories, the Outstanding School and the Outstanding Supervisor.
The overall champion will receive Dh500,000, with Dh00,000 and Dh0,000 awarded to the second- and third-place winners, respectively.
In the People of Determination category, the first-place winner will receive Dh200,000, followed by Dh00,000 and Dh0,000 for second and third places. The community category offers Dh00,000, Dh0,000 and Dh30,000 for the top three places, respectively.
The Outstanding School will receive Dh1 million, with Dh500,000 and Dh300,000 awarded to the runners-up. The Outstanding Supervisor will receive Dh300,000, followed by Dh100,000 and Dh50,000 for second and third places.
The Challenge allocates Dh11 million annually in prizes across its categories, bringing the total prize money over 10 editions to Dh110 million.
Since its launch by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in 2015, the initiative has attracted more than 203 million student participations, over 1.065 million school participations and more than 1.193 million supervisor participations.
Participation has risen by approximately 1,019% 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.
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Winners will be announced at the ceremony on Thursday.
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