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His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, crowned Mayar Mohammed Ragab Othman from Egypt as the 10th Arab Reading Challenge Champion.
The 10th Arab Reading Challenge closing ceremony, held today at the Dubai World Trade Centre, also recognised winners in the ‘Outstanding Supervisor,’ ‘Best School,’ ‘Community Champion,’ and ‘People of Determination Champion’ categories, in addition to country-level winners of the world’s largest reading competition and initiative.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stated: “The Arab Reading Challenge is an inspiring cultural movement, in which we placed our trust in our students and in the quest for knowledge, aiming to foster a culturally conscious generation that excels in areas of science and intellect.”
His Highness added: “More than 40 million students participating in this tenth edition have proven that an educated human being is the true force in a changing world. We take immense pride in this promising generation. Our commitment to empowering human potential remains limitless and boundless.”
The closing ceremony was attended by His Highness Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Olympic Committee; and His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, alongside ministers and senior officials.
Record participation
This year’s edition of the Arab Reading Challenge, organised by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), recorded the largest participation in its history, drawing 40,286,428 students across 60 countries, including 74,062 students in the People of Determination category. This massive participation marks a 24% increase compared to the Challenge’s 9th edition and represents 48% of all school students across the Arab World. The 10th edition also engaged 138,426 schools and 161,507 supervisors.
With AED11 million awarded annually to winners and top participants, the total value of prizes awarded over the initiative’s ten editions amounts to AED110 million.
The 2026 Arab Reading Challenge Champion, Mayar Othman, received an award of AED500,000 after prevailing in the final qualifying round which brought together country-level winners in Dubai. Ghazal Rashad Adel Tayyem from Palestine secured second place, receiving AED100,000, while Rayan bin Adeeb Ali Al Zakeri from Saudi Arabia claimed third place and received AED70,000.
Country-level champions who made it to the final round of the 10th Arab Reading Challenge are: Khadija Bumelik (Morocco), Bana Omar Abdullah (Syria), Omar Mohammed Al Ameri (Qatar), Nour Osama Al Kandari (Kuwait), Lujain Ahmed Abed (Iraq), Mayar Mohammed Ragab Othman (Egypt), Sondos Mohammed Al Sayyed Rehab (Al Azhar Al Sharif), Ghazal Rashad Adel Tayyem (Palestine), Raneem Murshid Al Darweesh (Bahrain), Rayan bin Adeeb Ali Al Zakeri (KSA), Aya Mahmoud Mansour Al Tahat (Jordan), Di Shaikhen Al Zamraki (Mauritania), Danah Adel Al Zarouni (UAE), Yasmin Abdulhamid Al Butti (Libya), Baha Maymouni (Tunisia), Manissa Bilal Abu Mahmoud (Lebanon), and Mejalli Abdulrahman Ali Abdullah (Yemen).
Outstanding Supervisor
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum awarded the ‘Outstanding Supervisor’ title to Fakhri Mahmoud Mayyas from Jordan, who also received a prize of AED300,000. Budoor Faleh Meteb Al Asqa from Kuwait came second and received AED100,000 while Aysha Al Atawi from Bahrain came in third place and received AED50,000.
Country-level winning supervisors included Ezzeddine Al Muwansi (Morocco), Alaa Nasser Sharookh (Syria), Hisham Badreddine Al Sayyed (Qatar), Budoor Faleh Meteb Al Asqa (Kuwait), Dalia Hassanin Ahmed (Egypt), Bani Suwaif area (Al Azhar Al Sharif), Ahed Saleh Aburrob (Palestine), Aysha Al Atawi (Bahrain), Hanan Ali Al Hazemi (KSA), Fakhri Mahmoud Mayyas (Jordan), Mohammedo Mohammed Al Amin Mohammed Al Sheikh (Mauritania), Naima Al Amiri (UAE), Awatef Ali Al Shaheyye (Libya), Munir Al Furaiji (Tunisia), Haidar Mushawrab (Lebanon), and Intisar Hassan Amer Al Awadi (Yemen).
Community Champion
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum awarded the title of ‘Community Champion’ to Sohaib Majd Mohammed from New Zealand, who received a prize of AED100,000. Hala Adib Al Rzouq from Malaysia won second place and received AED70,000 while Mohammed Shahinshah Nadamurikkal from India won third place and received a prize of AED30,000.
Finalists for this category included: Omar Mohammed Abdulkhaleq Mohammed (Australia), Rayhan Mohammed Al Mohammed Al Sheikh (Brazil), Mais Saed Hassan Abu Ajwa (China), Massa Abdein (Germany), Suad Al Miqdad (Norway), Sarah Al Ali (Austria), Aline Al Asad (USA), Nousa Al Sherbini Ibrahim (Greece), Yara Ali Abu Farah (Italy), Yousef Abdullatif Deeb (UK), Lana Mohaimeed (Belgium), Omar Erdogan (Türkiye), Owais Al Haidari (Russia), Massa Jandal Al Refai (Scotland), Ali Aked Saeed Mohammed Ali (Switzerland), Neyan Al Maleki (Finland), Omar Mohammed Essam Mohammed Al Sheikh (Canada), Sondos Al Khateeb (Luxembourg), Hala Adib Al Rzouq (Malaysia), Sohaib Majd Mohammed (New Zealand), Nadeem Al Omar (France), Renad Raed Shalar (The Netherlands), Mohammed Shahinshah Nadamurikkal (India), Hiba Basel Saleh Abbas (Ireland), Mohammed Reda Eid (Sweden), Julina Feras Hamza (Denmark), Hashem Mohsen Mohammed Mohsen Al Haddar (Indonesia), Ramadan Hajji Nebbo (Ethiopia), Yasmin Nour Abdi Abdeulrahman (Somalia), Kholoud Khalil Mubarak (Niger), Ishaq Al Sheikh Farid (Benin), Meryah Salem Dawoud (Tanzania), Kwitonda Dhahab (Rwanda), Juwaida Abbas Mohammed (Zanzibar), Alhaj Falo Sisi (Senegal), Zaid Abdulmalik Kenkale (Kenya), Nakayiwa Khansaa Qassim (Uganda), and Ahmed Mohammed Mousa Wassef Hussein (Colombia).
Introduced at the conclusion of the Challenge's second edition, the ‘Community Champion’ category allows students from Arab communities abroad, as well as non-Arabs learning Arabic, to participate.
Over the course of the tenth edition and during the finals, students underwent an oral examination in which they summarised the key themes of the 25 books they had read, demonstrating their command of Standard Arabic.
The judging panel evaluated each student's vocabulary and ability to articulate ideas in their own words.
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