Lana Al-Tawil is the champion of the Arab Reading Challenge in Syria for the eighth season

The Arab Reading Challenge initiative recently announced the names of the top ten students and the top three with disabilities, the best school and the best coordinator at the level of Syria in the eighth session, during a closing ceremony organized by the Ministry of Education at the al-Assad House for Culture and Arts in Damascus.

Student Lana Al-Tawil from Aleppo province was crowned at first place.She will represent Syria in the competition for the title of Champion of the Arab Reading Challenge in the United Arab Emirates.

As for the people with disabilities, student Yusuf Ibrahim from Homs Governorate won the first place, and he will also represent Syria in the competition for the people with disabilities Challenge Award at the Arab world level. Student Hamza Daqaq from Aleppo Governorate won the second place and student Hanin Shawkat Rahal from Latakia Governorate won the third place.

The AL-Kamit Blidi School for the Outstanding in Latakia Governorate was awarded the Best Outstanding School in Syria, and the coordinator Rabie Ahmed, the coordinator of the outstanding schools, was the Best Coordinator of the competition.

The Education Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amer Al-Mardini, pointed out that the participation of more than half a million student readers in this year’s Reading Challenge Competition reflects the real passion of this generation for knowledge and love of learning.

Al-Mardini stressed the Ministry’s commitment to developing the educational system and promoting the Arabic language through educational curricula, initiatives and classroom and non-classroom activities, pointing out that the Ministry has found in the project of the National House of Reading and Writing, which was announced recently, a great chance for the exchange of national experiences in partnership and integration with a number of government and private institutions, mainly to encourage reading from early childhood and unite efforts in this field.

Fawzan al-Khalidi, Director of Programs and Initiatives Department at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, praised the intensive attendance of Syrian students at the eighth session .

Al-Khalidi expressed pleasure to be in Damascus as a representative of the initiative to celebrate the coronation of the challenge champion in Syria, pointing out that Syrian students showed great ability to perseverance and diligence and provided inspiring stories in all categories of the challenge.

The ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Damascus, Hassan Ahmed Al-Shehhi, praised Syria’s great and distinguished role in enriching the Arab and international cultural, scientific and knowledge librarythrough the ages, stressing the closebrotherly relations between Syria and his country, which embodies an example to follow in international relations based on mutual respect and strengthening Arab solidarity.

Al-Shehhi explained that this competitive, cognitive and cultural initiative was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to encourage reading in students, consolidate the culture of reading in the Arabic language, expand their thinking horizons, in addition to fortifying them with awareness, science and culture to have the ability to evaluate the received ideas and knowledge values to choose the best and most appropriate, pointing out that the number of participants in the eighth session reached 28.2 million students from 50 countries.

Amal Farhat