Mohammed Ali Al Yamahi from Fujairah was announced as the UAE winner of the Arab Reading Challenge on Monday.
The Emirati pupil came first among 355,000 participants from across the UAE and will represent the country in the global competition later this year.
Al Nouf Elementary School in Sharjah was announced as the best school in the UAE while Mona Shaheen, a teacher in Sharjah, was named as the best teacher in the country.
“We will win and will make sure the flag of the UAE flies high,” said Mohammed, 17, speaking about the final in October.
“I joined this competition to gain experience and to read more books and show people that reading is beautiful.
“From every book, I learn something such as how I can manage my time or how I can be a better pupil.”
Mohammed, a pupil at Hamad bin Abdullah Al Sharqi School in Fujairah, read more than 200 books to prepare for the competition.
“I read all kinds of books that I could find in my school library and learnt a lot about how to deal with people and how I can use languages,” he said.
“I spent 4-5 hours reading every day. In the Covid-19 pandemic, I spent many hours reading and this was the best thing that I could do in my free time.
“My teachers supported me by telling me how I could reach my goals even with the difficulties we faced.”
Asked if he has a target of how many books he would like to read before the main challenge, Mohammad said he has not restricted himself to a number and would like to read as many books as possible.
The Arab Reading Challenge was launched in 2015 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to encourage a million young people to read at least 50 books in a year.
The Arab Reading Challenge has a total prize money of Dh11 million.
The Arab Reading champion is selected based on the pupil's ability to articulate general knowledge, their critical thinking and communication skills, plus the diversity of books they have selected.
Sabiha Khalifa Dalmouk, principal of Al Nouf Elementary School in Sharjah, said her school implemented specific reading activities after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“With pupils coming back after distance learning, they missed skills so we concentrated on these skills. We focused on reading in all subjects, not just in Arabic,” said Ms Dalmouk.
Sara Al Nuaimi, director of Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Initiatives, said the challenge attracted 22.5 million participants from 44 countries around the world this year.
The challenge usually starts at the beginning of the academic year, around September and continues until the end of the academic year.
Sheikh Mohammed will crown the global winner at a ceremony in Dubai in October.
Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Future Technology, said: “The Arab reading challenge is a very important element of the UAE’s education process and the progression of education within the country.”
In 2021, Jordanian teenager Abdullah Abu Khalaf saw off competition from 21 million school pupils to be crowned Arab Reading Challenge champion and secure a Dh500,000 top prize.
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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