Raneem Al-Darwish wins the title of champion of the tenth session of the Arab Reading Challenge in Bahrain

Manama, June 19 / WAM / Student Raneem Murshid Al-Darwish won the title of champion of the Arab Reading Challenge in its tenth session in the Kingdom of Bahrain, at the conclusion of qualifiers in which 148,237 male and female students representing 250 schools participated, and under the supervision of 507 male and female supervisors.

The student, Raneem Murshid Al-Darwish, from the fifth grade at Al-Izdihar Primary School for Girls in the First District, was crowned with the title during the closing ceremony of the tenth session, which took place in the Bahraini capital, Manama, in the presence of His Excellency Fahd Mohammed bin Kardos Al-Ameri, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Nawal Ibrahim Al-Khater, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the participation of Dr. Fawzan Al-Khalidi, Director of Programs and Initiatives at the “Mohammed bin Rashid Initiatives” Foundation. Al Maktoum International, and a number of officials, educators, and families of students participating in the competitions.

The closing ceremony also witnessed the honoring of Aisha Al-Atawi, from the Special Education District, after she received the title of “Distinguished Supervisor,” and Saar Secondary School for Girls from the First District, which won the title of “Distinguished School.”

Student Batoul Al-Sayyed Reda Sharaf, from the twelfth grade at Saar Secondary School for Girls in the First District, won first place in the People of Determination category, at the conclusion of competitions in which 27 male and female students participated.

Ten male and female students advanced to the final qualifiers in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the list included, in addition to student Raneem Murshid Al-Darwish, Ahmed Hussein Abdullah, from the third year of middle school at the Hebron Bin Ahmed Preparatory School for Boys in the First District, Batoul Al-Sayyid Dhia Al-Sayyid Muhammad, from the third year at the National School (private education), Sarah Fawzi Abdul Aziz, from the third year of secondary school at the Sheikha Hessa School for Girls (special education), and Fatima Fadel Al-Muqahwi, from Third year of middle school at Al-Qairawan Preparatory School for Girls (1st), Lulwa Abdullah Al-Binali, from third year at Canadian School (special education), Zainab Muhammad Sadiq, from first year of secondary school at Saar Secondary School for Girls (1st), Fatima Hussein Ali Ahmed, from third year of secondary school at Al-Istiqlal Secondary School for Girls (4th), Maryam Issa Al-Thawadi, from second year of secondary school at West Riffa Secondary School for Girls (3rd), and Sing Ming Lee, from seventh grade at Al Rawabi Private School (Special Education).

His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak Juma, Minister of Education of the Kingdom of Bahrain, praised the many fruitful areas of cooperation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, under the wise leadership of the two brotherly countries.

His Excellency praised the Arab Reading Challenge project, which came as a generous and distinguished initiative from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, to encourage reading among the generation of children and youth, noting that the Ministry’s efforts to follow up on participation in this competition contributed to the participation of thousands of public and private school students annually, including students from the People of Determination category.

For his part, Dr. Fawzan Al-Khalidi stressed that the Arab Reading Challenge succeeded, over ten sessions, in bringing about major changes in the fields of knowledge, spreading the culture of reading, increasing the interest of new generations in the Arabic language, restoring respect to the book, and motivating Arab students to make more efforts to learn about cultural and scientific products in various parts of the world.

In this context, he referred to a study conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the impact of the Arab Reading Challenge on the reading habits of students participating in the challenge, which showed a tremendous improvement in Arabic language skills, reading rates and self-confidence.

He said: “Once again, the students of the sisterly Kingdom of Bahrain demonstrate a high awareness of the importance of reading, and great competition to reach advanced ranks in the journey of searching for knowledge. In the name of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation and the Arab Reading Challenge, I extend my congratulations to them, winners and participants. I also extend my thanks and appreciation to the Bahraini Ministry of Education and all that contributed to the success of these qualifiers.”

The Arab Reading Challenge recorded a record achievement, with the number of participants in the qualifiers for its tenth session reaching 40,286,428 students from 60 countries, including 74,062 students of people of determination, an increase of 24% over the ninth session, which witnessed the participation of 32 million, 231,000 students from 50 countries around the world. The tenth session also recorded the participation of 138,426. School, and 161,507 male and female supervisors.

The Arab Reading Challenge, which was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, “may God protect him,” in 2015 as the largest reading competition and project in the world, aims to consolidate the love of knowledge among male and female students and provide them with the necessary knowledge to contribute to building a better future, refining their abilities and personalities, developing creative thinking skills, and building the value system of young people by informing them of the values, customs and beliefs of other cultures.

The challenge also aims to produce a comprehensive reading and knowledge movement, spread the culture of reading in the Arabic language, a language capable of keeping pace with all forms of literature, science and knowledge, develop mechanisms for comprehension and self-expression in a sound Arabic language and encourage rising generations to use it in their daily dealings.

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