Champion Readers Crowned At Emirates Airline Festival Of Literature

The triumphant winners of the Chevron Readers’ Cup, were honoured today in a live ceremony at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (3-13 February 2022) following a hotly contested ‘read-off’, which was held virtually. The hugely popular competition for schools is held to find out who is top of the class when it comes to mastery of reading skills with students competing against other schools in a series of heats, answering questions from a list of books by a variety of international authors. The team with the best knowledge of the selected books is crowned winner.

More than 3,400 students entered this year’s reading quiz with 86teams competing in the finals, which were held in Arabic and English online in two age groups – Primary and Secondary. The winners were awarded trophies, certificates and book vouchers.

The prizes were presented by Muhammad Al Sadek,Commercial & Government Relations Manager, Chevron,and festival director, Ahlam Bolooki.

This year marks the eleventh year Chevron has sponsored the competition, which has become a popular fixture in the academic calendar. Renu Sharma, General Manager & Country Chair -UAE- Chevron Middle East JV’s & Aviation,Chevron, said:“We have been proud of our continued sponsorship of The Chevron Readers’ Cup. This lively quiz shows that reading can be fun and entertaining as a group activity, engaging with books in such a dynamic way. At the same time it imparts the benefits of reading, so important for academic success across the board. It is our hope it will kindle in those taking part a love of reading that will continue throughout the contestants’ lives.”

Winners:

English Winners

Primary Age Group:

1. Team Marauders from St. Mary’s Catholic High School, Oud Metha, Dubai
2. Team Between the Covers from Gems United Indian School, Abu Dhabi
3. Team Gryffindor Readers from The Indian International School, DSO, Dubai

Secondary Age Group:

1. Team Modern 2 from Gems Modern Academy, Dubai
2. Team Secondary from Gems Winchester School, Dubailand, Dubai
3. Team Case Closed from Sharjah American International School, Dubai

Arabic Winners

Primary Age Group:

1. Al Hikmah Private School, Alnaemiya, Hikmat Al Khamseen
2. Al Mawakeb Private School, Al Barsha, Zahrat Al Mawakeb
3. Deira International School, Fareeq Al Arab

Secondary Age Group:

1. Al Isteklal Private School, Orob Al Hawaiya
2. Dubai National School, Al Twar, Al FaezatInshAllah
3. Cambridge International School, FareeqIqra’a

The Festival programme is brimming with sessions to engage, entertain and inform, with topics encompassing fiction, history, current affairs, food, health, travel, biography, business and more.  There are opportunities to appreciate poetry, take part in creative writing workshops and generally indulge in intelligent and articulate discussion on a wide range of topics. Sessions appeal to all ages and nationalities, featuring outstanding authors, thinkers and opinion formers.

Other initiatives celebrated at the Festival includes the Voices of Future Generations, which launches its second anthology of winning stories; the School Librarian of the Year; OUP Story Writing Competition; RGS Guildford Dubai Children’s Letter Writing Competition; ENBD Poetry For All; Emirates LitFest Writing Prize; and the announcement of the first 10 fellows for the First Chapter: ELF Seddiqi Writers’ Fellowship.

The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature Festival is held with Founding Partners Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated authority for heritage, arts, and culture. It is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.

To buy tickets and for the full list of authors, visit http://www.emirateslitfest.com/shop

More information about the Emirates Literature Foundation can be found online and year-round news of #EmiratesLitFest on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The Foundation also has two podcasts; the Best of the Emirates LitFest, and the Boundless Book Club.