Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is set to attend the award ceremony of second edition of the Arab Reading Challenge, which will take place on 18th October at Dubai Opera.

The Arab Reading Challenge was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in September 2015.

The ceremony will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, who will crown the challenge winner, the most outstanding supervisor and the best school.

In attendance will be 27 Arab dignitaries and representatives from the 25 Arab and non Arab countries that participated in the challenge, among others.

The semifinal two-day round of qualifiers before the closing ceremony also started yesterday at the School of Scientific Research in Dubai. A selected jury of specialists will assess the 16 country finalists and narrow them down to three before the final ceremony on Wednesday.

More than 7,400,000 students from 41,000 schools in 15 Arab countries competed in the second round of the Reading Challenge; six schools made it to the finals where $3 million worth of prizes will be awarded to finalists and winners.

Representing the largest pan-Arab reading project, the challenge aims to promote a sustainable reading model through an integrated system of student-supervisor follow-ups and support, as well as monetary incentives for students, supervisors and schools.