Sheikh Mohammed marks start of Month of Reading

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid launched the Month of Reading on Wednesday.

DUBAI // Reading plays a role in spreading hope, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said on Wednesday.

The Vice President and Ruler of Dubai was marking the start of the Month of Reading at UAE schools, universities and other entities.

“We wish all every success and reading will remain the cornerstone that we lay to establish a generation that leads the future,” Sheikh Mohammed said on Twitter.

Last year had been designated as the Year of Reading, involving the start of initiatives such as the Arab Reading Challenge.

Sheikh Mohammed said he was pleased with the results of the challenges, in which six million pupils in 40,000 schools across 15 Arab countries have participated.

“The Reading Challenge does create hope,” he said.

“We have 75,000 supervisors overseeing six million students so that we ensure that each one is going to read 50 books over the course of the academic year. Our civilisation’s resumption begins in schools.”

He thanked the Ministry of Education for doubling the number of participating UAE pupils from 160,000 last year to 303,000 this year.