Egyptian girl, 11, wins Dh500,000 Arab Reading Challenge

Show caption: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Duba…

Winner says prize money will go towards building a library in her school

The National

October 29, 2026

An 11-year-old Egyptian girl, Mayar Mohammed, was named as the winner of this year's Arab Reading Challenge at a ceremony in Dubai on Thursday.

Mayar, who read more than 60 books during the competition, won a prize of Dh500,000, while Gazal Teem 16, from Palestine, was named in second place, and the third place went to Rian Al Zakri,11 from Saudi Arabia.

The winner said she would use her winnings to help build a library for her school.

Launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, in 2015, the competition is the world’s largest Arabic literacy initiative. Its mission is to encourage a love of reading, strengthen language skills and nurture young Arabs’ knowledge and character.

The award ceremony in Dubai also saw a host of other winners being announced.

Fakhri Mayas from Jordan won Dh300,000 and the title of Outstanding Supervisor for her efforts in guiding and motivating pupils, while Seedy Amer Primary School in Tunisia won the Best School award which came with a prize of Dh1 million.

In the category for Arab pupils living abroad, Suhaib Maid from New Zealand was named champion, while Mahmoud Omran from Syria won Dh200,000 and the title of Reading Champion in the People of Determination category.

This year's edition of the challenge received entries from more than 40,286,000 students from 60 countries, including 74,062 in the People of Determination category, marking a 24 per cent increase over the previous edition. A total of 138,426 schools and 161,507 supervisors participated this year.

Since its inception, the initiative has attracted entries from more than 203 million students, more than 1.065 million school participations and more than 1.193 million supervisors.

Organisers say the event promotes cross-cultural understanding, tolerance and coexistence, and equips students with skills to build a better future while promoting Arabic as a vibrant, living language worldwide.

Updated:

October 29, 2026, 9:40 AM