- Authority’s Reading Box’ events to be held under the theme of ‘Read, Enjoy, Thrive’
- Dubai Mall to host first of a series of ‘Reading Box’ instalments taking place throughout October
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated entity for culture, arts and heritage, announced the launch of its ‘Reading Box’ initiative that hold its first event at The Dubai Mall. This interactive public initiative will run across Dubai from 11 – 24 October in support of the UAE Government’s Year of Reading – a national initiative which was announced by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and supported by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.
The ‘Reading Box’ initiative is organised under the theme of ‘Read, Enjoy, Thrive’ and aims to translate the Authority’s support of the national Month of Reading in October with a focus on promoting culture and reading to all communities in the UAE. The first event of this installation is being held at The Dubai Mall’s, and will later take place at locations across Dubai in collaboration with a number of other organisations.
Acting Director General of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, His Excellency Saeed Al Nabouda, said: “At Dubai Culture we are focused on supporting the UAE Government in achieving its objectives of promoting strong reading habits across all communities, and we are embarking on a number of initiatives that are not only dedicated to these Government objectives, but are also serving the overarching aims of the Dubai Plan 2021 to further establish Dubai credentials as a “ city of happy, creative and empowered people”. To contribute to this broader vision, Dubai Culture is focusing on supporting the UAE National Reading Strategy 2016-2026 and in particular for October as the National Month of Reading, will be delivering a number of activities to encourage everyone in the community to be motivated to pick up a book, draw inspiration from reading and be inspired to develop a life-long reading habit.”
A number of activities will be organised under the ‘Reading Box’ initiative, all of which are designed to promote and encourage strong reading habits across all community members, and with a core focus on children and youth. Highlights at the initiative include a book fair featuring an extensive collection of well-regarded books for all age groups, workshops and reading sessions for children, panel discussions featuring publishers, authors, language specialists, teachers and artists, in addition to organising book signings and engaging competitions.
‘Reading Box’ initiative will provide a unique experience to participants from all community members, especially young people in all public places, and link this habit to the individual life activities even while shopping in malls, by providing higher quality content on one hand, and attraction and entertainment on the other hand, and make reading as part of the society lifestyle.
About Dubai Culture & Arts Authority:
The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) was launched on March 8, 2008 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in order to drive the growth of the city’s artistic and cultural landscape.
The Authority has grown to play a major role in the realization of the Dubai Plan 2021, to highlight Dubai as a thriving capital for creative industries and further embed the Emirate’s credentials as a city of happy, creative and empowered people.As part of its mandate, Dubai Culture has several initiatives that are focused on strengthening both the historic and modern cultural fabric of Dubai, including Dubai Art Season – the city’s premier umbrella arts initiative which kicks off with Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and encompasses Art Week including Art Dubai, Design Days Dubai, and SIKKA Art Fair, Middle East Film & Comic Con, SIKKA Art Fair – an annual event aimed at promoting Emirati and local artists in the UAE and the wider GCC region, Dubai Festival for Youth Theatre – an annual festival that fosters the art of theatre in the UAE and that is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2016, and Dubai Next – a dynamic platform that aims to showcase the Emirate’s cultural ethos and its vibrant creative scene on the global stage.
The Authority’s other key initiatives include Creatopia – the nation’s first government empowered virtual community that guides and nurtures the creative culture of the nation and provides a platform of information and opportunities that lead to exposure and personal growth.Dubai Culture also plays a leading role in support of the UAE National Strategy for Reading 2026, in particular by undertaking a major refurbishment of all Dubai Public Library branches to transform them into state-of-art cultural and artistic hubs. Across all of its branches, Dubai Public Library also provides children and young adults with a range of educational and entertaining activities that encourage the use of its facilities.
The ‘Our Summer is Filled with Culture & Arts Programme’ is a Dubai Public Library initiative which complements the UAE National Reading Strategy, with its activities open to all age groups, and which revolve around four key themes: happiness, reading, family and the future. The Authority also manages more than 17 heritage sites across the Emirate, and is a key government stakeholder in the development of the Dubai Historical District.
As the custodian Authority of Dubai’s museum sector, Dubai Culture will officially launch Etihad Museum and in December 2016. The museum will provide platform to encourage cultural exchange and to connect Emirati youth with their culture and history. As part of the Authority mandate to support Dubai’s vision of becoming the focal point of diverse cultural exchange (regionally & globally), the museums will play a catalyst role in preserving Emirati Heritage.
