An 11-year-old Egyptian student, Mayar Othman Al Shuorbagy, was named the winner of the 10th Arab Reading Challenge, which concluded at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Saturday. Al Shuorbagy was selected from over 40 million students representing 138,000 schools across 60 countries. He received a prize of 500,000 UAE dirhams (approximately $136,000) in recognition of his achievement.

The event was attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. Sheikh Mohammed praised the vast participation, stating that the competition is the world’s largest reading challenge. He extended congratulations to the top three winners, including Ghazal Rashad from Palestine, who secured second place and was awarded 100,000 dirhams, and Rayan Al Zikri from Saudi Arabia, who took third place, earning 70,000 dirhams.

The challenge also recognized contributions beyond the students themselves. Fakhri Mahmoud Mayyas from Jordan received the ‘Outstanding Supervisor’ award and a prize of 300,000 dirhams. The ‘Community Champion’ title went to Sohaib Majd Mohammed from New Zealand, who was awarded 100,000 dirhams. Sidi Ameur Primary School from Tunisia was named the outstanding school of the challenge, receiving a 1 million dirham prize presented by Lt. General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. Additionally, Mahmoud Imran, a visually impaired student from Syria, was honored as the ‘People of Determination Champion’ and received 200,000 dirhams.

This edition of the Arab Reading Challenge marked a significant increase in participation, with 40,286,428 students involved, including 74,062 categorized as People of Determination. The competition also included 161,507 supervisors, whose role is to encourage and guide student participation.

Launched by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid in 2015, the initiative aims to foster a culture of reading, enhance Arabic language proficiency, and encourage knowledge and cultural understanding among Arab youth. Over its 10 editions, the challenge has engaged more than 203 million students, with participation growing by over 1,000% from 3.6 million students in 2016 to more than 40 million in the latest edition.

The competition’s steady expansion is reflected in its increasing global reach, having attracted participants from 50 countries in its ninth edition and 60 countries in the current one. The awards encompass several categories, including overall winners, People of Determination, supervisors, schools, and community champions, highlighting the broad scope of the initiative’s impact.