Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: MAKTABA, the Library Management Department within the Culture Sector at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), held an honouring ceremony for the winners and participants in the 11th Creative Reader Competition at the Cultural Foundation theatre. The ceremony was attended by senior DCT Abu Dhabi officials, parents and cultural experts from the emirate.

The 11th edition of the competition attracted some 3,100 participants, marking a massive 40% increase from last year, and the ceremony recognised 100 winners from across the UAE.

The Creative Reader Competition aims to promote knowledge within society and encourage regular visits to public libraries. For over a decade, it has attracted young reading enthusiasts from public and private schools, from kindergarten to Cycle 2, to read books in Arabic and English, gain knowledge and enrich their cultural identity. Over its past editions, the competition has seen more than 13,000 participants.

The judging panel this edition included writers, educators and librarians. They assessed entries based on criteria such as booklet completion, the number of books borrowed from public libraries, reading comprehension, linguistic and critical analysis and creative thinking skills.

The 11th Creative Reader Competition ran from early December 2023 to late February 2024 across all library branches in Abu Dhabi.

For more information, please contact:
Maher Al Bash
Weber Shandwick
E: MAlbash@webershandwick.com

Sara Abuhassira
Weber Shandwick
E: SAbuhassira@webershandwick.com