Watch: Tunisian twin sisters win 2025 Arab Reading Challenge in Dubai
Schools, supervisors, and community contributors receive top honours and prizes by Sheikh Mohammed
DUBAI – His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Thursday honoured the winners of the 2025 Arab Reading Challenge.
The ceremony at Dubai World Trade Centre marked record-breaking participation, highlighting the importance of Arabic literacy, knowledge, and cultural exchange across the Arab world. Twelve-year-old twins Baisan and Baylsan Koka from Tunisia emerged as the champions, each reading more than 600 books.
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Baisan enjoys playing the oud and hopes to become a doctor, while Baylsan plays the violin and aspires to be a robotics engineer. Tunisia had 128,666 students participating in this year’s competition. HH Sheikh Mohammed personally presented the Dh500,000 first-place prize to the talented twins.
Arab Reading Challenge
The Arab Reading Challenge, launched by Sheikh Mohammed in 2015, is the world’s largest Arabic literacy initiative. Its mission is to encourage reading, strengthen language skills, and nurture young Arabs’ knowledge and character. More than 32 million students from 50 countries, representing over 132,000 schools and guided by 161,004 supervisors, took part in the ninth edition.
The top three winners received Dh500,000, Dh100,000, and Dh70,000 respectively, while other categories rewarded schools, supervisors, and community contributors. For example, Jihad Mohammed Murad from Italy was named Community Champion for Arabic speakers in non-Arab countries, earning Dh100,000, and Maria Hassan Ajeel from Iraq won the People of Determination category with Dh200,000.
Second place went to 11-year-old Mohammed Jassim Ibrahim from Bahrain, who read around 200 books and received Dh100,000. Mohammed competed against 137,375 students from 241 schools, supervised by 489 educators.
Third place was claimed by nine-year-old Maryam Shamikh from Mauritania, who read 100 books and earned Dh70,000. Maryam credited her success to her family, highlighting the support that allowed her to achieve her dreams of becoming a doctor. She encouraged other children to embrace reading as a tool for personal growth.
Students advanced through class, school, and national levels by reading and summarising 50 books during the qualifying rounds.
Schools and Supervisors
In the schools category, Atika bint Zaid School from the UAE and Tripoli Al-Haddadin School from Lebanon were jointly awarded Best School titles, winning Dh1 million. Sahar Mesbah from Egypt was recognised as the Outstanding Supervisor from 161,004 supervisors, receiving Dh300,000. She highlighted the creative solutions found to overcome challenges such as limited internet access and shortages of paper books in her governorate.
Mohammad Al Gergawi, Secretary-General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), emphasised the initiative’s long-term vision, stating that it aims to institutionalise reading and literacy across generations. A scientific study with UNESCO revealed that students’ reading habits improved dramatically: the average number of books read annually increased from eight to over 40, and weekly reading time outside school rose from less than one hour to more than four.
Al Gergawi also announced a Dh500 million endowment to ensure the sustainability of the Arab Reading Challenge for future generations.