Earlier this month the UAE made serious strides toward becoming a literary world leader, passing the region’s first reading law.
And this week it’s taken another step toward realising its goal of becoming a knowledge powerhouse. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Dubai’s Vice President and Ruler, has issued a decree to build a Dh 1 billion library, housing 1.5 million books, 1 million audiobooks and 2 million ebooks, the National reported. Those numbers will make the library the largest in the region, and the largest electronic collection in the world.
‘We want this library to serve as a cultural forum, an incubator for knowledge and a civilisation centre in the region,’’ Sheikh Mohammed said in the National. "The knowledge provided by the library will encourage the movement of authoring and translation, bring intellectuals and thinkers closer, and spread the culture of dialogue, tolerance and acceptance of others.”
On Twitter the plans for the Library received a warm welcome.
The #Mohammed_bin_Rashid_Library is yet another pioneering #UAE initiative revitaliseing the passion for #knowledge
— د. ثاني الزيودي (@ThaniAlZeyoudi) 19 November 2016
The #Mohammed_bin_Rashid_Library is yet another pioneering #UAE initiative revitaliseing the passion for #knowledge
— د. ثاني الزيودي (@ThaniAlZeyoudi) 19 November 2016
The UAE reading law, which was passed at the beginning of November, will allow employees in the UAE to take time off work in order to read, and encourages the provision of reading materials in cafes and malls.
In another apparent step toward becoming an oasis of equanimity and progressiveness, Dubai recently celebrated International Day of Tolerance with a freshly designed hand sign.
BS
