Dubai Culture Concludes Third Edition of ‘Reading Box’ Initiative

Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated entity for culture, arts and heritage, has concluded the third edition of its ‘Reading Box’ initiative through the Dubai Public Library under ‘A generation reads…A civilisation rises’ theme, which took place in Dubai Festival City Mall during the National Month of Reading. The event welcomed 8,030 people of all ages, with 10 schools also organising school trips for their students to attend and take part in the activities.  

The ‘Reading Box’ aims to make reading an integral part of the lives of UAE residents, and spread a passion for knowledge and reading across the community. The initiative 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 third edition of the ‘Reading Box’, we involved more 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 a one hour book reading from the ‘Reading Box’ 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 from schools and other organisations. The second session, which was the first of its kind, was ‘Reading Heroes’ attended by students. 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, which was held in Cairo.

Dubai Culture aims to enhance Dubai’s cultural scene and draw attention to the Emirate’s rich heritage with a variety of initiatives that take place throughout the year. The Authority’s mandate is to build bridges of constructive dialogue between different civilisations and cultures through enriching initiatives that benefit the Emirate’s citizens, residents and visitors.