Dubai Culture Wraps Up ‘Reading Box' Initiative for National Month of Reading

Activities and workshops enjoy high attendance from students at Dubai Mall

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 21 November, 2016:  Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated entity for culture, arts and heritage, announced that it has wrapped up its ‘Reading Box’ initiative at Dubai Mall.

This interactive public programme, which was held under the theme of ‘Read, Enjoy, Thrive’, ran between 11th–24th October in support of the UAE Government’s Year of Reading that was announced by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and supported by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.

His Excellency Saeed Al Nabouda, Acting Director General of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority said: “We are delighted with the success of the ‘Reading Box’ initiative, which has gone a long way towards achieving one of our core objectives of supporting the UAE National Reading Strategy. The initiative included many activities geared towards instilling strong reading habits across all ages in Dubai’s communities, and was the forerunner to many more editions which will be held in different locations all across Dubai in the months to come.”

The Reading Box activities targeted different segments of the community, with a principal focus on families, who made up the largest share of attendees, followed by students, 300 of which participated in the morning sessions with a 100% attendance rate. Additionally, 54 activities were hosted at the two weeks event which welcomed a total of more than 2,000 visitors. Workshops and storytelling sessions were delivered by many well-known poets and writers, who also carried out book-signing sessions that attracted large audiences. 

Al Nabouda added: “The ‘Reading Box’ initiative is rooted in our commitment to support the National Month of Reading, through a number of rich and interactive activities and workshops. This series of activities received widespread positive feedback from attendees, and will be sure to inspire future generations to pick up a book, draw inspiration from the written words, and develop a life-long reading habit.”

The initiative hosted a number of activities in which hundreds of students took part from different schools all across Dubai. These events serve to complement the student’s studies in Arabic reading and writing, drawing, painting and acting.

Dr. Hissa bin Masood, Director of Studies and Research Centre at Dubai Culture, said: “we have witnessed a wide participation during the Reading Box initiative from all community segments including families and youth. Our aim was to encourage the participants to read and be able to choose books that suit their age group and interests. Moreover, the workshops organized as part of the initiative helped students in their academic life and served as an important platform to develop their personal skills. The reading Box interactive activities provided a role model for schools to inspire from and motivate children to adopt reading as a sustainable habit as outlined in the UAE National Reading Strategy 2016-2026 guidelines.”

The ‘Reading Box’ initiative provided a unique experience to participants from all communities and will be rolled out all across Dubai, in locations including malls and public places.