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Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched a series of events and initiatives to mark the Reading Month celebrated in March each year. The event, which is part of the UAE National Agenda for the next ten years, aims at mustering all government efforts towards embedding & promoting the culture of reading across the UAE.
“The strategy charted by RTA in support of the UAE initiative declaring March as the Month of Reading, covered an array of initiatives at external and internal levels,” said Ms Rowdah Al Mehrizi, Director of Marketing & Corporate Communication, Corporate Administrative Support Services Sector, RTA.
“At the external level, events included supporting the 11th Emirates Airline Festival of Literature through deploying buses to commute the festival guests comprising prominent global writers and artists and acquainting them with Dubai urban landmarks. Guests were also offered Ferry rides to enjoy the picturesque landscape of Dubai. RTA’s stand at the festival promoted the Dubai Audiobook Library in a bid to entice writers and publishers to supply the Library with digital books; which will be transformed into audio books and uploaded through to the website (Dubaiaudiobooklibrary.ae). At the stand, RTA provided an iPad for registering volunteers to upload selected books to the library in support of the visually-impaired.
“Read with RTA app enables all community members, especially bus riders and visitors of the customers happiness centres, to upload the books available in the app (about 150 books in Arabic & English) free of charge. The app is available in Android and iOS App Stores. Clients and beneficiaries can download the app by scanning the QR Code on posters across the metro, tram, bus, taxi, marine transport and abra stations. The app displays the latest Arabic and English books, and the user can scan the QR code to enable the display of the selected book for reading. More than three thousand station visitors download this app every month,” she added.
Internally, RTA held several initiatives such as ‘Help me to Read’ where some RTA leaders volunteered to enhance the reading skills of 25 children from limited income families who weren’t able to join schools. Volunteers devoted their time to educate students selected in coordination with the Red Crescent Society. Reading Carnival is another event highlighted by Hakawati (narrator) to narrate traditional stories, anecdote and desert-inspired tales to promote the reading passion amongst RTA employees and cement their link with our oral heritage. “Festivities of the Reading Month also included the Reading Walk. It is a corridor in RTA Head Office featuring a design of two pages of a book displaying historical stories in celebration of the Reading Month. There was also the Reading Advisor; an initiative released by RTA several years ago where each selected individual from RTA agencies or sectors reviews the contents of the best books he or she has read to employees to motivate them to read those books.
“RTA spares no effort in supporting the policies of the UAE in general and Dubai Government in particular. It promises to make every endeavour to carry on with initiatives that will raise the value of reading and encourage people to develop the habit of reading. Reading is shaping into a cultural means to be reckoned with in nurturing educated generations to lead the ongoing development,” concluded RTA Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications.
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