UAE Leader Honors Champions of the 2025 Arab Reading Challenge

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will honor the winners of the 2025 Arabic Reading Challenge tomorrow. The ninth edition of this competition has become the world's largest Arabic reading initiative, drawing over 32 million students from 50 countries.

The ceremony at Dubai World Trade Centre will crown winners across multiple categories. The main champion receives 500,000 dirhams, while second place gets 100,000 dirhams and third place takes 70,000 dirhams. Special categories include students with disabilities, expatriate communities, outstanding schools, and exceptional supervisors - each with their own prize structure.

This year's numbers tell a remarkable growth story. The competition started in 2015 with 3.6 million participants from 19 countries. Now it reaches 32 million students across 132,112 schools, supervised by 161,004 teachers and coordinators. That's a 795% increase from the first edition.

The winning school earns the biggest prize - one million dirhams. Second place schools get 500,000 dirhams, and third place receives 300,000 dirhams. These substantial rewards reflect the initiative's commitment to promoting Arabic literacy across educational institutions.

Past winners show the competition's regional reach. Last year's champions included students from Syria, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and Egypt. The diaspora category has crowned winners from Sweden, Belgium, Italy, and France - highlighting how Arabic reading extends far beyond traditional Arab borders.

The challenge operates under the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives foundation. Students must read and summarize 50 books during the academic year, progressing through five stages of competition. Local eliminations lead to national finals, then regional competitions, before reaching the grand finale.

Beyond the prizes, the initiative aims to strengthen Arabic language skills among young people worldwide. It encourages proper Arabic expression, builds love for the language, and exposes participants to different cultures through diverse reading materials.

The program has created a significant educational movement across the Arab world and diaspora communities. With nearly 163 million total participants over nine years and 927,000 school participations, it has established itself as a major force in Arabic education and cultural preservation.

The competition's expansion reflects growing interest in maintaining Arabic literacy in an increasingly digital world. By connecting students across continents through reading, it builds bridges between traditional Arabic culture and modern global education.