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What the challenge is

The Arab Reading Challenge is a reading competition run from Dubai across the Arab world, and its scale is its most striking feature. In its third edition more than 10.5 million students from 44 countries took part and read over 250 million books between them.

The judging is not a matter of counting pages. Amjoun was selected on her comprehension of 50 books she had read, her ability to communicate in Arabic, her critical and creative thinking, and her general knowledge. That is an oral examination conducted in front of judges, which is why the final is staged as a broadcast event rather than a results announcement.

The moment on stage

What made the 2018 final memorable was not the result but the thirty seconds after it. Amjoun, nine, broke down in tears when she was declared champion. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, stepped forward and wiped her tears away using his ghutra, the headwear worn with Gulf national dress, before the crowd applauded and he gave her the trophy.

The image travelled across the Arab world. For a competition whose purpose is to make reading a mass public event rather than a private school exercise, it was the single most effective piece of publicity the challenge has produced.

What she said

Amjoun's own account of her preparation is precise and unromantic. “I have been preparing for the challenge by reading, summarising and analysing books since 2017,” she said, describing a year of structured work rather than a gift.

Her explanation of why it matters was less measured and is the line most quoted from her. “Reading will save nations drowning in illiteracy and poverty,” she said. “Reading is a hospital to the mind.” Both of her parents are teachers who read to her as a child, and her stated ambition is to become an architect, like the Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.

What is documented, and what is not

Firm: her age, nine; her country, Morocco; the third edition of the Arab Reading Challenge and its Dh500,000 prize; the scale of the field, more than 10.5 million students from 44 countries and more than 250 million books; the judging criteria, including comprehension of 50 books; the scene on stage with Sheikh Mohammed; her two quotations; her parents' profession; and her ambition to become an architect.

Not documented in these sources: her exact date of birth, so the birth year here is derived from her reported age; her home town in Morocco; her school; her parents' names; and anything about her since 2018. She was a child when this happened and is a young adult now, and nothing in the material used here follows her.

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Why the prize is that large

Dh500,000, roughly the price of a flat, is an extraordinary sum to hand a nine-year-old for reading, and the size is the point. The challenge was created to change the status of reading in Arabic among school-age children, and a prize on that scale converts reading from a school obligation into a public contest with a visible winner.

Whether that works is a separate question from whether it is memorable. What can be said from the record is that a girl from Morocco, prepared by two teacher parents and a year of summarising and analysing fifty books, out-argued a field drawn from 44 countries, and that the sentence she produced about it, reading is a hospital to the mind, has outlived the coverage of the prize itself.

업적 연대표

Mariam Amjoun — every milestone on this page, placed by age.

2017

준비 시작: 독서, 요약, 분석독서, 요약, 분석을 통해 준비를 시작함

2018

44개국 1,050만 명 이상의 학생 참가44개국에서 1,050만 명 이상의 학생들이 제3회 아랍 리딩 챌린지에 참가하여 2억 5,000만 권 이상의 책을 읽음

30 October 2018

9세의 나이로 두바이 결승 우승; 셰이크9세의 나이로 두바이 결승 우승; 셰이크 무함마드 빈 라시드 알 막툼이 구트라로 그녀의 눈물을 닦아주고 트로피와 50만 디르함을 전달함

Watch: Mariam Amjoun on camera

Mariam Amjoun - King Mohammed VI surprises herInsight

역사적 비교

인물	국가	이정표	나이 / 기록
Sham Al Bakour	시리아	두바이에서 열린 아랍 리딩 챌린지 7세 우승	나이 0
Mariam Amjoun	모로코	천오십만 명의 학생이 읽다; 모로코의 아홉 살 소녀가 가장 잘 읽었다	나이 8
Abdullah Abu Khalaf	요르단	52개국 2,100만 명의 학생 중 요르단의 10대 우승	나이 14
Amnah Al Mansoori	아랍에미리트	46개국 2,480만 명의 학생 중에서 선발되어 우승 타이틀 획득	—
Abdullah Al Berri	카타르	아랍권 최대 독서 상금을 카타르 챔피언이 함께 차지함	—

What is documented — and what is not

✓ Documented

Won the third Arab Reading Challenge in Dubai at nine, taking Dh500,000
Field of more than 10.5 million students from 44 countries, reading over 250 million books
Judged on comprehension of 50 books, Arabic communication, critical and creative thinking and general knowledge
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum wiped her tears with his ghutra on stage before presenting the trophy

? Unverified, disputed or wrong

Her date of birth is not published; the birth year here is inferred
Her home town in Morocco, her school and her parents' names are not stated
Nothing documents her studies or life after 2018
Whether she has pursued architecture is unknown in this material

Questions people ask about Mariam Amjoun

How old is Mariam Amjoun?

She was nine when she won in October 2018. No source used here gives her date of birth, so the birth year on this page is approximate.

What did Mariam Amjoun win?

The third Arab Reading Challenge, held in Dubai, and its Dh500,000 prize.

How many students competed?

More than 10.5 million, from 44 countries, reading over 250 million books between them.

How was the winner chosen?

On comprehension of 50 books read, ability to communicate in Arabic, critical and creative thinking, and general knowledge.

What happened on stage?

She broke down in tears when declared champion, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum wiped them away with his ghutra before presenting the trophy.