DEWA launches ‘Reading is Positive Energy’ exhibition

Dubai / Emirates Business

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), in cooperation with the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF), launched the Reading is Positive Energy exhibition at Zabeel Park in Dubai. The move is part of DEWA’s efforts to support the directives of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan, President of the UAE, who declared 2016 as the Year of Reading and was approved by the UAE Cabinet under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The exhibition was opened Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, Jamal bin Huwaireb, Managing Director of the MBRF, Marwan Al Sawaleh, Undersecretary of Ministry of Education, Khalid Ali Bin Zayed, Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality, officials from DEWA and MBRF, government departments and organisations in Dubai and the UAE, a large number of students and teachers from the International School of Arts and Science in Dubai, Al Saada School, Al Baraa Kindergarten, and the media.
The Reading is Positive Energy exhibition will be open for whole year, to promote both reading and Emirati writers. The exhibition features different cultural and knowledge corners and sections. These include a permanent book exhibition, the Reading is Positive Energy’s Forum, Children’s Knowledge World, Smart Reading Corner, Reading Sensory Wall, Emirati Majlis, and a cultural caf?. During his inaugural speech, Al Tayer thanked the MBRF, Dubai Municipality and the Ministry of Education.
“It is our pleasure to cooperate in this vital project with the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, the leading organisation for disseminating, transferring and localising knowledge. The Foundation launches several initiatives to contribute to building a knowledge-based society to support the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to further reinforce Dubai’s position as a global city with a strong knowledge-based economy. This also supports the vision of our wise leadership to promote reading and establish the UAE as a capital of content, culture and knowledge, promote Arabic as a language, and encourage reading by making books available, to ensure a positive change in society. This is achieved by raising a cultured generation of readers who contribute to enhancing the country’s cultural development,” said Al Tayer.
“His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum once observed that, “A reading society embraces civilised values, is flexible and adaptable and has the intellectual capacity to drive development to take a role in our multicultural world.” These words summarise the vision of our wise leadership to build a reading society in the UAE. Our leadership realises the importance of reading to the lives of people and its effect in their progress and development. This vision is clearly reflected in the leading initiatives that enhance the value of knowledge, science and people development. These efforts include the directives of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to start the legislative procedure of drafting the National Reading Law, to institutionalise and sustain efforts and make reading an integral part of the work and responsibilities of government organisations. Efforts also include the National Policy for Reading in the UAE, which includes several programmes working in an integrated manner and in parallel to change the status of reading in UAE society by 2026 and make it a way of life. National targets for reading include raising reading rates to 80% among students and 50% among adults. The national reading strategy is backed by a AED100 million fund. The UAE has made significant achievements, developments, and growth in several areas in record time. The country is now at the corner of a new phase characterised by knowledge and innovation as part of its race to achieve the UAE Vision 2021 to make the UAE one of the best countries in the world when we celebrate the golden jubilee of our union. I would like to recall the words of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who said that Educating people is a great wealth that we cherish and education is a wealth as we build the future in a scientific manner,” added Al Tayer.
“DEWA not only provides electricity and water services according to the highest levels of excellence, reliability and efficiency, but is also a socially-responsible government organisation. It cooperates with the public and private sectors to establish a knowledge-based environment. This supports our objectives of raising a generation with a passion for culture, reading, and knowledge, across all society. DEWA’s knowledge centres contain thousands of paper and digital books and resources in different areas. DEWA opens its libraries to students to instil a habit of reading in the younger generation. DEWA also cooperates with Al Bayan newspaper in issuing the cultural weekly supplement. Reading opens the mind and is a habit shared by successful people around the world,” noted Al Tayer.