The UAE government has launched Aqdar, a key initiative to promote the literacy skills and creating national awareness and preventive efforts related to the youth in various fields.

The Khalifa Student Empowerment Program launched the initiative under the auspices of Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

It is a part of the efforts to mark 2016 as a year for reading, and embody the UAE’s directives aimed at reinforcing its international stature in the areas of creativity and innovation.

Major General Dr Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, the secretary general of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and chairman of the Higher Committee for Aqdar pointed out that these initiatives were being implemented upon the directives of the higher leadership to declare 2016 as the “Year of Reading”.

“They also come in implementation of the strategy of Khalifa Student Empowerment Program ‘Aqdar’ aimed at unifying national awareness and preventive efforts related to the youth in various fields,” he said.

The ministry will be launching the ‘Aqdar’ reading initiative to encourage reading across the various state schools.

"Under this initiative, 1,000 libraries will be set up in schools at the countrywide level. The libraries include diverse publications from federal and local government agencies and institutions in order to raise awareness among students and acquaint them with the activities and efforts of these agencies," stated Major General Al Nuaimi.

Also under the scheme, as many as 100 touch screens will be distributed to students in the first stage.

The devices feature a wide array of electronic games, books and movies that are currently being compiled in agreement with the relevant entities and will be distributed to the various state schools.

Colonel Dr Ibrahim Al Dabal, the general co-ordinator of the Khalifa Student Empowerment Program, pointed out that the program operates based on its strategy to unify the existing national efforts implemented by federal and local governmental authorities, as well as the efforts and initiatives of the private sector and the public good institutions.

It currently seeks to launch a number of initiatives to collect and compile these efforts and restructure them.-TradeArabia News Service