11-Year-Old Egyptian Girl Wins Arab Reading Challenge

Egyptian student Mayar Mohammed, 11, has won this year’s Arab Reading Challenge at a ceremony in Dubai, receiving AED 500,000 after reading more than 60 books during the competition. GazaI Teem, 16, from Palestine placed second, while Saudi Arabia’s Rian Al Zakri, 11, finished third.

Mayar said she plans to use part of the prize money to build a small library at her school. She described reading as something that has shaped both her thinking and her daily routine, helping her organise her time between school and books.

Organisers said more than 40.2 million pupils from 60 countries entered this year’s edition, including 74,062 participants in the people of determination category. The competition also involved 138,426 schools and 161,507 supervisors.

Other awards included AED 300,000 for Outstanding Supervisor winner Fakhri Mayas from Jordan and AED 1 million for Best School, awarded to Seedy Amer Primary School in Tunisia. Suhaib Majd from New Zealand won the category for Arab pupils living abroad, while Mahmoud Omran from Syria received AED 200,000 as Reading Champion in the people of determination category.

Since its launch, the Arab Reading Challenge has attracted more than 203 million pupils, one million schools and 1.1 million supervisors, according to organisers.