The Arab Reading Challenge has crowned student Ghofrane Al Jelassi as the champion of its eighth edition at the Tunisian level, at the conclusion of competitions in which 117,235 students from 1,009 schools participated, under the supervision of 5,200 male and female reading supervisors.
Ghofrane Al Jelassi, a 10th-grade student at the Al Nahda Institute in Zaghouan, was crowned during the closing ceremony of the eighth edition of the Arab Reading Challenge, hosted by Tunis in the presence of Dr. Salwa Al Abbasi, Minister of Education in Tunisia, Dr. Iman Ahmed Al Salami, UAE Ambassador to Tunisia, and Dr. Fawzan Al Khalidi, Director of Programs and Initiatives at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, as well as a number of officials and educators in charge of the Arab Reading Challenge initiative, parents of the competitors, and a large number of male and female students from Tunisia.
During the closing ceremony of the eighth session, Sanaa Al-Zarrad from Monastir was honored after winning the title of “Distinguished Supervisor”, and “Manzel Salem Preparatory School” from El Kef was honored after winning the title of “Distinguished School”, while the Reading Challenge crowned Louay Al-Sharif, a tenth-grade student at “Al-Noor Institute for the Blind, Bir Al-Qassaa” affiliated with the Ben Arous region, as the champion of Tunisia in the category of people of determination.
The eighth session of the Arab Reading Challenge, the largest reading event of its kind in the Arabic language in the world, achieved record numbers, as participation in the current session reached 28.2 million male and female students from 50 countries representing 229,620 schools, under the supervision of 154,643 supervisors.
10 students advanced to the final rounds at the Tunisian level, including student Ghofrane Al-Jelassi, winner of the challenge title, “Aya Babou from the eleventh grade at the Sakiet Ezzit Model Institute in the Sfax 2 region, Mohamed Amr Al-Badawi from the sixth grade at the Imam Ibn Arafa School “Tunis 2”, Anas Al-Nawali from the eleventh grade at the Manzel Jemil Institute “Bizerte”, Hanin Al-Kouki from the eleventh grade at the Model Institute “Beja”, Baraa Ben Jalila from the eleventh grade at the Tozeur Institute “Qebli”, Nourssine Belaid from the eighth grade at the Model Preparatory School “Sfax 1”, Youssef Salmi from the fifth grade at the “02 March 1934” School – Ariana -, Amina Bint Sami Halas from the eleventh grade at the Saleh Bin Youssef Institute in Al-Qasr “Al-Kaf”, and Arej Hamouda from the seventh grade at the Model Preparatory School “Monastir”.
Her Excellency Dr. Salwa Al-Abassi, Minister of Education in the Republic of Tunisia, said: “The Arab Reading Challenge is a major civilizational project and a very important initiative in consolidating the status of the Arabic language and enhancing its presence in the daily use of rising generations, and in enriching Arab cultural life, which we witnessed during the eighth session in terms of the great turnout and interaction from Tunisian students and participating countries in general. This is a new achievement for the initiative, which has become, in a short period, a prominent mark in the Arab cultural and educational scene, and in strengthening communication between students in Arab countries.”
Her Excellency added: “I congratulate everyone who won and participated in the Arab Reading Challenge in the country, and I especially congratulate the fathers and mothers of students who had the greatest impact in encouraging their children to participate. I also extend my thanks to every Tunisian man and woman who contributes and supports the promotion of cultural activities within our educational institutions at the national level.”
She appreciated the great efforts made by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation to make the qualifiers for the eighth round in the Tunisian Republic a success, and the level of coordination and cooperation between the Foundation, the Ministry of Education, and all parties and bodies concerned with educational and cultural affairs in Tunisia.
For his part, Dr. Abdul Karim Sultan Al Olama, CEO of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, stressed that the Arab Reading Challenge continues to move steadily towards achieving its mission of creating a renaissance in reading by reaching all male and female students in Arab countries, as well as members of Arab communities in foreign countries and non-native learners of Arabic, and by constantly working to create a generation of distinguished and creative individuals capable of innovation in all fields, which will positively reflect on the present and future of the Arab world.
He said, “Once again, the Arab Reading Challenge proves that it is a unique platform for discovering promising Arab talents and inspiring millions of Arab students to exert more efforts in reading, learning and honing their skills. This is what we witnessed during the qualifiers for the eighth round of the challenge at the level of participating countries, including the sisterly Republic of Tunisia, where its students showed great interaction during the competitions and insisted on presenting an honorable image of the cultural and educational reality in Tunisia.”
Dr. Abdul Karim Sultan Al-Ulama congratulated the winners at the conclusion of the eighth round of qualifiers at the level of the Tunisian Republic, their families and schools, the Ministry of Education and all educational cadres.
The Arab Reading Challenge, organized by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, and launched in its first session in the 2015-2016 academic year under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, aims to enhance the importance of reading among participating students across the Arab world and the world, develop mechanisms for comprehension and self-expression in correct Arabic, and develop creative thinking skills, with the aim of enriching the cognitive content available in Arabic.
The challenge also aims to enhance the importance of cognitive reading in building self-learning skills and building the value system for young people by exposing them to the values, customs and beliefs of other cultures, which instills the principles of tolerance and coexistence.
source/content: wam.ae (headline edited)
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