ABU DHABI // By declaring 2016 the Year of Reading, the country’s Rulers are leading the way in promoting literacy and establishing a foundation for building a strong knowledge economy, experts say.
“The UAE leaders have been in the forefront in the Arab world for stressing the importance of literacy, both in their own language and in English,” said Mary Pittman-Jones, elementary school principal at the American International School.
“We know that our UAE students hold their Rulers in high esteem, and so we feel that this initiative is important for our school.”
President Sheikh Khalifa last week issued a directive declaring 2016 as the Year of Reading.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has voiced his support for the initiative.
“No nation, people or country rises without reading,” he said on Twitter. “We have a literacy crisis in the Arab world and changing course to knowledge-based development means getting our youth reading. Our goal is for the UAE to be a beacon of science and knowledge, as Andalusia, Granada, Baghdad and others were sources of enlightenment.”
Emad Eid, head of libraries at Abu Dhabi Municipality, praised the country’s leaders for promoting literacy.
“This will be a very good celebration year to support reading everywhere,” said Mr Eid, adding that the UAE must lead by example in reversing the “literacy crisis” across the Arab world.
“There are so many indicators that show that the reading habit is minimal in Arab countries if we compare it to the West.”
The publishing industry in the Arab world, he added, was “almost nothing” when compared to other parts of the world.
“If you look to the new research, the contribution of Arab countries is very low also,” said Mr Eid. “Even borrowing books from public libraries is also minimal if you compare it to the western countries.”
When it came to reading, the UAE ranked 44th out of 65 countries that took part in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which measures 15-year-old students’ reading, mathematics, and science literacy every three years.
The UAE has a high literacy rate – 93.8 per cent of the population between 15 and 64 years of age is literate, according to Unesco Institute for Statistics. But it is often a challenge to get people to read books, according to Zeyna Al Jabri, owner of Buzoor, a Dubai-based distributor of Arabic books.
“In terms of reading – as in pleasure reading, just holding a book and reading – it is very challenging here,” she said.
“Then, in my case, you add to the challenge of getting them to read in Arabic. Literacy, or the reading habits in Arabic, the numbers are even [worse] than just reading in general, I think.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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Grand Slam Los Angeles results
Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos
Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sukuk
An Islamic bond structured in a way to generate returns without violating Sharia strictures on prohibition of interest.
Mountain%20Boy
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Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
