Hada News
Arab Reading Challenge names its 10th-edition champions in Dubai on Thursday 29 October 2026
More than 40 million students from 60 countries took part this year; the closing ceremony at Dubai World Trade Centre awards cash prizes to pupils, schools and supervisors.
The Arab Reading Challenge, an MBRGI programme (Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives), will crown the winners of its 10th edition at a closing ceremony at Dubai World Trade Centre on Thursday 29 October 2026, according to Gulf News, Khaleej Times and Sharjah24.
**Who took part.** The organisers count 40,286,428 students in 60 countries, 24% more than in the 9th edition, which Gulf News reports is the largest turnout so far. Of these, 74,062 entered in the People of Determination category. Schools taking part numbered 138,426, with 161,507 supervisors. Country-level champions will also be honoured at the ceremony.
**Prizes announced (AED)** - **Best School:** 1,000,000; second 500,000; third 300,000. - **Outstanding Supervisor:** 300,000; second 100,000; third 50,000. - **Overall student champion:** 500,000; second 100,000; third 70,000. - **People of Determination:** 200,000; second 100,000; third 50,000. Added in the 7th edition, this category asks participants to read 25 books in total. - **Community Champion:** 200,000 in all (100,000, 70,000 and 30,000). Eligible: pupils based outside the Arab world, and non-native speakers or second-language learners of Arabic.
Gulf News and Khaleej Times put annual prize money at AED 11m and the total since launch at AED 110m.
**What is not stated.** The reports do not say whether the ceremony will be broadcast or streamed, or give its start time. Gulf News and Sharjah24 have published the shortlisted country champions, supervisors and schools.
**Why it matters:** The challenge reaches about 48% of school students in the Arab world, by the organisers' estimate quoted in Gulf News. For families and schools taking part, the 29 October ceremony is the point at which a year of reading logs turns into named results and prize money.
Sources: - [Gulf News (English), Oct 2026: participation, prizes by category, AED 110m total](https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/dubai-to-crown-arab-reading-challenge-winners-from-record-40-million-students-1.500722103) - [Khaleej Times (English), Oct 2026: 29 October, DWTC, schools, supervisors, prizes](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/dh11million-prizes-arab-reading-challenge-winner-oct-29) - [Sharjah24 (English), 24 Oct 2026: People of Determination category rules](https://sharjah24.ae/en/Articles/2026/10/24/Arab-Reading-Challenge-to-crown-winners-among-40-million-students-across-60-countries-on-October-29)