Lubna Naser Crowned Lebanon’s ARC Winner

Outperforming 10 finalists, Lubna Naser was crowned the Arab Reading Challenge, ARC, winner of Lebanon in a statewide competition that drew 11,440 participating students in its fourth edition

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 17th Apr, 2019) Outperforming 10 finalists, Lubna Naser was crowned the Arab Reading Challenge, ARC, winner of Lebanon in a statewide competition that drew 11,440 participating students in its fourth edition.

Adnan Mustafa Ghadar won the Outstanding Supervisor award, while the Haddadin Secondary School for Girls in Tripoli received the award for the Winning School of Lebanon during a ceremony held in Beirut in the presence of Akram Shahib, Lebanese Minister of Education and Higher Education; Hamad Saeed Al Shamsi, UAE ambassador to Lebanon, and Ayman Jarrah, Deputy Secretary General of ARC, among other delegates, academics and educators.

A total of 11,440 students and 390 supervisors from 260 public and private schools participated in the challenge’s fourth edition across Lebanon.

The country’s participation in the ARC, Shahib said, reaffirms the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. "We support his long-term vision to reignite Arab civilizations in all sectors and promote the use of Arabic language in expression and workplace, while remaining open to world cultures and languages," he added.

Jarrah said, "The challenge became an excellent unifying Arab project, thanks to the sincere determination of education leaders across the Arab world and the passion for healthy competition among Arab students in the region and in the diaspora.

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Lebanon’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education has dedicated efforts and resources to encourage students at all grade levels to join the challenge, providing educational districts and zones with the necessary modern libraries stocked with the latest books and publications. The ministry has also organised reading activities and events across schools to encourage the habit of reading among students.

The ARC’s final round of qualifications began last month across the participating Arab countries. Through several elimination stages, students start competing at class level, then school level, proceeding to the level of the educational district, directorate or governorate, leading up to selecting the top 10 students from each country before filtering down the national winners.

In the semi-finals held in Dubai, national winners represent their countries in a two-day evaluation before competing for the grand prize in the final ceremony scheduled to take place in October in Dubai.

Launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in 2015, the ARC aims to instil the culture of reading among Arab youth and promote the Arabic language status and its use in the region.