Dubai Culture concludes ‘Reading Box’ initiative

DUBAI, 17th April, 2018 (WAM) -- Dubai Culture on Tuesday concluded the third edition of its "Reading Box" initiative, organised in association with the Dubai Public Library under the theme 'A Generation Reads, A Civilisation Rises'. The event took place at the Dubai Festival City Mall during the National Month of Reading with the participation of some 8,030 people of all ages, as well as students of 10 schools. The initiative aims to make reading an integral part of the lives of UAE residents and spread a passion for knowledge and reading across the community. It encourages people to learn and read more through various activities designed to appeal to people of all ages. The event featured 63 activities for adults and children including culture and reading workshops, creative sections, discussion sessions and seminars, along with book signings and poetry nights that attracted many visitors. Dr. Hissa bin Masood, Director of the Dubai Public Library, said, "During the 3rd edition of the Reading Box, we involved more people of our society in reading and heightened their commitment to achieving our leadership’s vision of spreading a reading habit across the UAE in line with the National Month of Reading. This year’s Reading Box was particularly special because it coincided with the Year of Zayed, which made educating younger generations about the late founding father’s achievements and values a strong focus. Through the initiative, participants learnt important lessons about how he built the foundations for a strong and sustainable country through knowledge." The event also included a number of activities around national and international celebrations including Emirati Children’s Day, World Happiness Day and Mother’s Day, and concluded with one-hour book reading that was attended by employees from Dubai Culture and the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. During the event, creative labs were held to discuss challenges and solutions, and develop innovative campaigns. The first session was 'The competition between public and school libraries', which was attended by a number of librarians. The second session, which was the first of its kind, was 'Reading Heroes'. The third and last session was 'Creative Writing', which included discussions about key challenges and led to solutions around creative initiatives with Emirati authors and representatives from UAE publications. The Reading Box initiative won the Arab Library and Information Award in the 'Best Project' category at the 28th Annual Conference of the Arab Federation of Library and Information.