UAE residents have noticed that their mobile phones displayed a new message alongside their network carrier names.
The change in network name “UAE Reads” is the networks’ nod to the 2017 decree stating that the month of March in the UAE will be the annual ‘Month of Reading’ henceforth, following 2016’s ‘Year of Reading’.
القراءة هي اللبنة التي تبنى بها الحضارات وهمزة الوصل التي تربط بين الثقافات المتعددة.#شهر_القراءة #الإمارات_تقرأ pic.twitter.com/aLjgJY1YkP
— اتصالات (@etisalat) March 1, 2020
This, according to the UAE’s Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development (MCKD), which has developed this year’s theme as “Joy of Reading”, with preparations dating back from January of this year.
Objectives for this year’s Month of Reading include promoting the Arabic language, support to further the literary skills of talented Emiratis, launching initiatives in neighborhoods, penal institutions, government service centers and more to promote reading, enhancement of school libraries in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, and promotion of creativity and innovation in reading.
