Cairo: The National Reading Programme (NRP), affiliated to the Emirate's Research Science Institute, announced names of the 40 winners, participating in three pillars of the second season of the annual competition. The announcement came in a video posted on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and TikTok, where the winners were mainly from 23 out of the 27 Egyptian governorates.

“It’s a source of pleasure for us to reach the final phase of the competition. Holding the event for the second consecutive year, we worked on emphasizing the importance of acquiring and applying knowledge through reviving awareness of the importance of reading among school and university students and teachers,” Hisham El-Sangary, Director of Educational Projects at the Scientific Research Foundation, Egypt, and North Africa Branch, said. “We would not have reached this without full transparency and impartial arbitration based on precise criteria, topped by critical thinking and analysis,” he added, praising the fruitful cooperation with partners in the educational and cultural sector.

Twenty students were announced as winners in the Intellectual Student pillar (Azhar institutes and school students), while twenty other winners were equally divided among the Diamond Reader pillar (university students) and Intellectual Teacher (school teachers). Winners of each pillar will obtain awards estimated at EGP 5 million.

In an enthusiastic atmosphere, nine hundred competitors from across the governorates participated in the final qualifiers, which took place in August at Al-Massa Hotel, situated in the New Administrative Capital.

Ranks of the 40 winners are scheduled to be declared during the qualifiers, set to take place by mid-September. Names of winning students and beginning of the new season will be announced during the closing ceremony in October.

The National Reading Programme kicked off in March 2020 with the aim of developing awareness of the importance of reading and supporting the generations’ national and human values through making it a priority for all the categories of the society to achieve renaissance in reading. Through a 10-year project, the programme targets offering sustainable model cultural projects that help enrich libraries, enhance the produced content and hence enrich the cultural environment, which aligns with Egypt’s 2030 Vision.

About National Reading Programme:

It’s a sustainable competing project that aims at encouraging Egyptian kids and youths to embrace critical creative functional reading, enabling them to acquire, apply and produce new knowledge towards a community that learns, thinks and innovates. The programme also targets thriving with Arabic language. NRP is sponsored by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Culture, Egyptian Knowledge Bank and Al Azhar Al Sharif.

About Emirate's Research Science Institute

It is a cultural educational institution that invests in developing generations through innovative evidence-based programs. Since its inception in 1998, the institute has prioritized encouraging reading supported by decades of hands-on experience in establishing standards, planning, organizing, coordinating, training and judging. Building on its esteemed expertise in the management of such projects, Research Science Institute strives to enrich national reading programs and educational projects.