Young Arab readers to be celebrated on October 29: H.H. Sheikh Mohammed

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has announced that young Arab readers from around the world will be "celebrated" on October 29 for the crowning ceremony of the Arab Reading Challenge.

"Next Thursday, we will celebrate more than 40 million students from 160,000 schools around the world who have taken part in the Arab Reading Challenge, the world’s largest reading competition," he wrote on his official handle on social media platform X.

"Reading will always be one of humanity’s noblest pursuits, one of the finest exercise for the mind and and the swiftest path toward the advancement of nations and people. We shall continue to support it and uphold its mission."

نحتفي الخميس القادم بإذن الله بأكثر من 40 مليون طالب من 160 ألف مدرسة حول العالم شاركوا معنا في أكبر مسابقة دولية للقراءة ..تحدي القراءة العربي.

ستبقى القراءة أنبل رسالة من السماء .. وأجمل رياضة للعقل .. وأسرع طريقة لنهضة الأمم والشعوب … وسنبقى داعمين لها ومحافظين على رسالتها… pic.twitter.com/kTYkSeaUK0

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) October 24, 2026

The 10th Arab Reading Challenge closing ceremony will feature the crowning of the Arab Reading Challenge 2026 Champion, the People of Determination Champion and winners of the Best School, the Outstanding Supervisor and the Communities Champion titles.

This year’s edition of the Arabic Reading Challenge, organised by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), recorded the largest participation in its history, drawing 40,286,428 students across 60 countries, including 74,062 students in the People of Determination category, and 161,507 supervisors.

This massive participation marks a 24 per cent increase from its 9th edition and represents 48 per cent of all school students across the Arab World. 

The ultimate Arab Reading Challenge Champion will receive an award of AED500,000, while the 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive prizes worth AED100,000 and AED70,000, respectively.

Winners in the People of Determination category receive cash prizes of AED200,000 for 1st place, AED100,000 for 2nd place and AED50,000 for 3rd place. 

Meanwhile, winners in the Community Champion category receive a total of AED200,000, of which AED100,000 goes to the 1st place winner, AED70,000 for the 2nd place winner and AED30,000 for the 3rd place winner. This category is open to students living outside the Arab world, non-native Arabic speakers and those learning Arabic as a second language.

The school receiving the Best School title will receive a prize of AED1 million, while the schools in 2nd and 3rd place will receive AED500,000 and AED300,000, respectively.

Awards for the Outstanding Supervisor category are AED300,000 for 1st place, AED100,000 for 2nd place and AED50,000 for 3rd place.

This brings the total amount of prizes awarded since the launch of the Challenge to its current edition to AED110 million, with 11 million awarded to the winners annually.