UAE Year of Reading

2016 is UAE’s Year of Reading and many initiatives are being launched to promote this habit to become a part of UAE’s identity

Two months into the UAE’s Year of Reading and the nation is getting behind it with a myriad of innovative initiatives

Following His Highness Sheikh Mohammed’s announcement that 2016 is the year of reading in the UAE, Vision compiles the most significant ideas submitted by the public to make reading a popular and societal habit. These ideas have been debated by the '100 retreat', which is a group of 100 most important UAE national figures

100 important national figures attend reading retreat

Reading is a fundamental pillar, says Gergawi

Libraries are more than the sum of the books they hold: at their best, they serve as community centres, seats of learning and knowledge foundations. This is why the announcement of the opening of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library next year in Al Jaddaf is so welcome.

As Sheikh Mohammed, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, noted: “The human mind is the centre of development and the book is the tool used to renew the mind. A nation can never grow without a renewed mind and lively, knowledgeable spirit.”

The library’s architecture will take its design cue from that of an open book, and it promises to contain a large collection of physical books as well as access to millions of e-books and audiobooks.

The open book analogy is apt. The challenge for any new library is how to stay relevant at a time when people prefer digital devices over the analogue pleasure of sitting down and devouring a good book. If you, dear reader, had an open book, what would you want to find in a library fit for the times we live in?