NMC announces events supporting National Reading Strategy

National Media Council, NMC, has announced a series of events to support the National Reading Strategy, which is scheduled to go on until the year 2026.

This is in tune with the Council’s strategic role as a federal authority mandated to support national events in terms of media and content.

The NMC’s mandate includes setting media policies that support reading, as well as a national plan to support publishing. These activities serve to promote reading in UAE society and to establish it as a lifestyle – especially among the youth.

Mansour Al Mansouri, Director-General of the NMC stressed that the Month of Reading is essential to achieving the UAE’s national objectives, which prioritise human resources. He added that the directives of the UAE’s wise leaders underlined reading as an indispensable to the country’s culture of openness and tolerance.

Al Mansouri reiterated the NMC's resolve to support the National Reading Strategy with several initiatives to be rolled out in the near future, including classifying films and publications based on their age, in a bid to help people select the content that most suits them.

The Council will also be collaborating with the Abu Dhabi Education Council to organise workshops titled "How to Choose Your Book" that target students, teachers, and school administration staff, as well as to distribute books to schools and government departments, he added.

Al Mansouri revealed the initiatives also include weekend book readings for children in public parks, and the "Reading Radar" competition to promote reading among UAE students.

Besides, Emirates News Agency, WAM, will launch several media initiatives and continue to provide thorough coverage of all events that federal and local authorities take part in during the Month of Reading in the UAE.

The agency will also produce documentaries about knowledge economy, the passion and enthusiasm of Their Highnesses the Rulers of the emirates, and the history of the UAE, going all the way back to the days of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founding Father of the UAE.

WAM’s activities also include interviews with a number of ministers and officials regarding the books they read, their favourite authors, and their reading patterns. In addition to that, the events include readings from the most notable publications included in the libraries of the National Archives, as well as translations from the "Kalima" project.

The agency will publish reports, investigations, news, interviews, and surveys that address the reading patterns of UAE citizens, residents, and visitors.

Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi, Executive Director of WAM, said, "The Month of Reading cements the UAE’s status as a major international hub for culture and knowledge, and a role model for tolerance and openness." WAM will shed light on the events marking the Month of Reading, which are being organised by federal and local government institutions – as well as the private sector – all across the UAE, Al Rayssi added.

He promised readers and strategic partners to provide comprehensive coverage of these events, calling on the wider UAE community to interact positively with the Month of Reading initiative to reflect a positive image of the UAE, and realise the visions of its wise leaders and build a knowledge-centred society.