The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is marking the ‘Month of Reading’ in March, with a number of initiatives and events including smart app and audio books for visually impaired people.

The initiative, which is part of implementation of the upcoming ten-year national reading policy adopted by the UAE, aims to incorporate reading into the business practices of public entities and reflects RTA’s efforts to keep pace with the UAE’s successful drive.

Moaza Al Marri, Director of Marketing and Corporate Communication, RTA’s Corporate Administrative Support Services Sector, said: "The strategy developed by the RTA to promote the UAE’s initiative designating March as a month of reading, includes sponsoring Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, which started a few days ago. This support reflects in deploying buses to pick up authors and artists hailing from all parts of the world, organising cruises to Dubai Water Canal, and running a promotional campaign for this edition of the Festival by displaying posters on public transport means.

The strategy features two main components, first targets the local community through the launch of ‘Read More with RTA’ app targeting public transport users and visitors of customer happiness centres who can download scores of Arab, foreign and specialised books free. "In cooperation with the Emirates Association for the Blind, we will be targeting people with visual disabilities by establishing a smart audio booth at RTA’s Head Office. RTA staff volunteers from and community members can make audio recordings of book extracts for donating to the association, and other visually impaired welfare centres across the UAE," she added.

This also includes offering specialised books on transport and mobility to university libraries to convey such a stream of knowledge to college students.

"The second component includes developing a strategic plan for corporate knowledge to entice employees and encourage them to have more exposure to RTA’s transit systems in line with the drive of Dubai Government. The RTA will host international speakers who will share rich experiences to support this objective. ‘Together We Read, Together We Excel’ is another event to be rolled out to instill and promote reading amongst employees to broaden their cognitive and intellectual faculties," continued Al Marri.