A charity auction will be held on June 21 to support the Reading Nation Ramadan campaign featuring items from the official collection of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The humanitarian campaign was launched by Shaikh Mohammad on the first day of Ramadan, and aims to provide five million books to underprivileged children in refugee camps and around the world, in addition to establishing 2,000 libraries in schools globally.

The campaign collection is currently approaching three million books.

To be held at Madinat Jumeirah, the charity auction will be curated and conducted by Emirates Auction. In a gesture of solidarity and support to the charity auction, Shaikh Mohammad is donating items from his official collection that includes a 106-year-old piece of the Kaaba cover (Kiswa), embroidered with gold and silver threads. This is part of the cover presented by Abbas II Hilmi Bey, Khedive (viceroy) of Egypt in 1331 Hijri. The Vice-President is also donating a collection of art pieces from his office to the auction.

Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs and the Future, secretary-general of Mohammad Bin Rashid Global Initiatives, and chairman of the Executive Office, said: “The support of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to spreading the reading habit and to knowledge sharing is truly limitless. This support is not exclusive to the Ramadan campaign or to this charity auction, but has included establishing knowledge-advancing institutions that have benefited millions of students, such as Dubai Cares and the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation.

“He has also launched large-scale initiatives and contests, such as the Arab Reading Challenge in which over 3.5 million students participated. Under his directive, the UAE has also presented Arabic Language awards and launched the largest library in the Arab world. Such initiatives certainly reinforce His Highness’s role as one of the most influential leaders in the Arab world today in the cultural and knowledge fronts. Over 17 million students have benefited from these initiatives in the last 10 years.”

Source: gulfnews.com