Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) a member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives launches a new initiative titled Esteraht Sayedat the first book club dedicated to the women in the Arab world.

In line with directives from His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, the initiative is part of a series of activities whereby the Foundation strives to mark 2016 as the Year of Reading, complementing the National Strategy for Reading.

Esteraht Sayedat aims to promote reading on a daily basis among women of different social backgrounds. The idea is to create a reading club for women that holds regular meetings to discuss selected books in various fields and exchange the knowledge learned from these books.

His Excellency Jamal bin Huwaireb, Managing Director of MBRF, said: The goal of our efforts and projects is to develop a cultured and knowledgeable community. To that end, we launch a set of unique initiatives that focus on reading, and we support them with innovative practices, such as the Ladies Book Club, that catalyse the intellectual development of the female demographic in our society.

HE added, MBRF dedicates this initiative to the women of the Arab world, as directed by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Foundation, to support all segments of society especially women, given their vital role in building the future of the community. The Foundation strives to create an environment that facilitates acquiring and transferring knowledge to educate future generations.

Ladies Book Club aims to draw in female participant in large numbers and from various backgrounds and orientations, by organising regular meetings and holding literacy workshops for participants in the UAE.

MBRF leveraged its social media outreach to spread word regarding the initiative and communicate and engage with the target audience online, which facilitated the participation of Arab women from all around the world.

Members of the Ladies Book Club initiative will select books from a wide array of fields, written by UAE or Arab authors in addition to foreign books translated into Arabic to read and discuss during the meetings. Participants will vote on the books to read, as well as fix the dates for the sessions.

Moreover, the initiative will organise meetings with authors and experts in human and personal development to discuss the books, exchange points of view regarding their topics, and work to spread them to the widest possible audience.

The Book Club, which will include participants from both the UAE and Oman, is set to host 64 events and discuss 77 books. The initiative has managed to attract 1,500 members and as many as 8,900 followers on social media.