Dana Adel Al Zarooni has been crowned the UAE champion of the 10th Arab Reading Challenge. The title was awarded to her during a ceremony held at the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City Dubai.

The 12-year-old Emirati student secured first place among more than 830,000 participants from schools across the UAE, marking the highest national participation rate in the history of the initiative.

The ceremony was attended by Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, and Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of Education.

Second place was awarded to Hamad Mohammed Ibrahim Al Hashmi from Al Mahmoud School in Sharjah, while Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan from Khalifa bin Zayed Al Awal School in Abu Dhabi took third place.

Following her victory, Dana said: "When a person begins and charts their own path, everything first takes shape as an idea in the mind. When we see ourselves and dream of winning the title, we are, without even realizing it, taking the first steps. I dedicate this success to words, to the Arabic language, and to the letters that built our character."

She added: "My message to the next generation is: for every pain, there is a novel that heals it, and for every suffering, there is a book that treats it."

During the ceremony, Yousef Mohammed Hamid from Al Qudwa School in Sharjah was also honored as the winner in the People of Determination category.

Naeema Al Ameri from Dubai received the Best Supervisor award at the national level, while Waheeda Abdulaziz was recognized as the National Coordinator of the Arab Reading Challenge. Hamad bin Abdullah Al Sharqi School for Boys (Cycle 3) in Fujairah was named the Best School.

This competition is the largest reading challenge of its kind in the world. Its 10th edition features the participation of more than 40 million students from 138,426 schools across 60 countries.

Launched as an initiative by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Arab Reading Challenge encourages students to read as many books as possible during the academic year, with a target of more than 50 books.