The third annual Arab Reading Challenge, ARC, the Arab World’s biggest reading initiative, has kicked off for 2018.

Launched by the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ARC intends to reignite the passion for reading in Arabic among youth throughout the Arab world. Used to chronicle the progress of students, the ARC passports will be printed in two rounds and in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Media's United Printing and Publishing.

ARC Coordinator, Abdulla Al Nuaimi, commented, "We are printing millions of ARC passports to address demand from the growing and enthusiastic audience from across the region as schools flock to join the challenge. We have also received great encouragement from various government agencies that seek to support knowledge-based projects to spread the culture of reading among all members of society. This is in line with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed’s vision to empower a generation of Arab intellectuals who are filled with hope and armed with the learning and intellectual tools necessary to meet the challenges of the future."

In its second year, the ARC saw over seven million students from 15 Arab countries read over 200 million books in total as they aimed to be crowned winner of the challenge and be honoured at the award ceremony held in Dubai in October. As the third year of the challenge kicks off, preparations are underway to meet another hike in demand for children to join in the challenge and compete by reading fifty books each.

Ali Al Nuaimi, General Manager of United Printing and Publishing, the printing arm of Abu Dhabi Media, said, "We are proud to be part of this important initiative, which seeks to spread the spirit of hope and competitiveness among young Arabs throughout the region.

"Our partnership with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives’ Arab Reading Challenge is special to us because it helps us contribute to a turning point in the lives of many students in the Arab world," he added.

All students participating in the ARC will receive several participation passports, which will be an integral part of their journey through to the finals. There are five differently coloured passports, each containing 10 pages. Each student is required to summarise the books they read in the passports in order to proceed to the next round of the competition.