The Corporate Communication Department of Dubai Customs (DC) has launched a new project aiming to further promote the culture of reading and research amongst DC community. “Reading is Life” is the name chosen for this project which consists in establishing an online library accessible to all booklovers via Dubai Customs’ intranet website. Employees will have the convenience of exploring – at the click of a button – detailed summaries of selected Arabic and international books in many scientific and practical areas.
The initiative goes in line with the United Arab Emirates’ Year of Reading announced by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, and the ambitious “Arab Reading Challenge”, the largest Arab project to encourage students in the Arab world to read, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
To make the best use of “Reading is Life” library, smart tools have been incorporated in the design and build-up of the online library to offer optimum look & feel features and ease of surfing of available classified book items.
The platform will publish on a weekly basis digests of books authored by world-renowned thinkers and writers in various fields such as business, economics, trade science, customs, security, communication and modern technologies. The in-house online library will later expand to also offer for reading e-books that serve the ultimate objectives of the project.
“The initiative is impelled by the directives of our wise leadership to spread knowledge and encourage reading among the members of our community as a daily practice,” said director of Corporate Communication Department Khalil Saqer bin Gharib.
“The newly-developed smart library provides DC employees with an invaluable resource of information and learning to keep them abreast of the latest publications worldwide and help them build their scientific and professional capabilities to improve performance and therefore contribute to the nation’s sustainable development drive.”
Bin Gharib further explained that the project was baptised “Reading is Life” because the reading activity nurtures the mind as well as the spirit.
He added: “The project’s first phase is being implemented in collaboration with the Mohammed bin Rashid Foundation to benefit from their efforts and expertise, especially with regards to “Book in Minutes” initiative. This joint venture will allow us access to a huge number of valuable electronic books and book summaries for our employees to read and share, with a view to meeting the objectives of the UAE’s Year of Reading drive and ongoing shift to knowledge economy.”