Twin sisters crowned Arab Reading Challenge winners to donate half of Dh500,000 prize to Palestine

Twelve-year-old girls honoured at ceremony held in Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid with the joint winners of the Arab Reading Challenge, twin sisters Baisan and Baylsan Koka. Ruel Pableo for The National

Twin sisters who were crowned joint winners of the Arab Reading Challenge in Dubai on Thursday have pledged to give half of their shared Dh500,000 winnings to support people in Palestine.

Baisan and Baylsan Koka, 12-year-olds from Tunisia, were honoured by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, at a ceremony held at Dubai World Trade Centre after reading a remarkable 600 books each over the past year.

More than 32 million students drawn from 50 countries took part in this year's event, which aims to inspire a lifelong love of reading among future generations. “We will donate half of the prize to the people in Palestine and the second half we will give to our mother,” Baisan told The National.

The talented siblings hope the victory will be just the latest chapter in their success story. Baisan, who also enjoys playing the oud, dreams of being a doctor, and Baylsan, a violinist, has her sights set on becoming a software engineer. “Since I was young, I liked reading. I have a passion in reading books,” Baisan added.

Baisan and Baylsan Koka, pictured with Sheikh Mohammed, jump for joy after being named Arab Reading Challenge winners. Ruel Pableo for The National

Baylsan said family and friends have been a source of inspiration and helped them see off tough competition from across the region to win the accolade. "My parents were the main support behind me, especially my mother," she said. "My friends also were telling me that I can win this challenge."

The young literature lovers expressed pride in their accomplishments and dedicated the win to the people of Tunisia. They told of how immersing themselves in hundreds of books allowed them to explore new worlds and ideas, demonstrating the importance of acquiring knowledge.

“The challenge is an inspiring experience, through it we know the benefit is not in the number of books we read but in the fact that the books took us to different universes of knowledge and joy,” Baylsan added.

Baisan said they spent time discussing the books they read, which spurred them on to hit their goal. “I was motivated when I saw my sister reading and we were discussing and chatting. Reading is not my hobby but my identify,” she said.

Sheikh Mohammed congratulated the winners in a message on X.

What is the Arab Reading Challenge?

Launched by Sheikh Mohammed in 2015, the competition is the world’s largest Arabic literacy initiative. Its mission is to encourage a love for reading, strengthen language skills and nurture young Arabs’ knowledge and character.

Organisers say it promotes cross-cultural understanding, tolerance, and coexistence, and equips students with skills to build a better future while promoting Arabic as a vibrant, living language worldwide.

“More than 32 million students from 50 countries around the globe participated in the ninth edition of the Arab Reading Challenge. Warm congratulations to the twin sisters Baisan and Blaysan from Tunisia. Congratulations to the Tunisian people, their leadership and the youth in Tunisia for this remarkable achievement and success,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote in the post.

“We extend our congratulations to all students, to the more than 160,000 supervisors and to the 132,000 schools that took part in spreading the culture of reading among the new generations of the Arab world, a generation that brings promise, inspires hope, and will carry forward the legacy of civilisation,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote.

The Arab Reading Challenge winners shared the grand prize of Dh500,000, with Mariam Shamikh, 9, from Mauritania, taking home Dh100,000 for earning second place and Mohammed Jasim, 11, from Bahrain receiving Dh70,000 for finishing third.

Sahar Musbah, from Egypt, won Dh300,000 and the title of Outstanding Supervisor for her efforts in guiding and motivating pupils, while Khorfakkan’s Atika bint Zaid School and Tripoli Al-Haddadin from Lebanon jointly won the Dh1 million Best School award.

In the category for Arab pupils living abroad, Jihad Mohammed Murad from Italy was named champion, while Maria Hassan Ajeel from Iraq won Dh200,000 and the title of Reading Champion in the People of Determination category.