Families - mothers in particular - have a vital role to play in instilling a love of reading in their children, according to Dr Ahmed Belhoul Al Falasi, UAE cabinet member and Minister of State for Higher Education.
Speaking at the Knowledge Summit in Dubai, Al Falasi said he believes that passion for books begins at home.
"The mother is the first school. A child looks up to his parents as role models. If the father and mother are passionate about reading and provide an environment that motivates them to read, you'll find (the child) a reader by nature," he said.
Additionally, Al Falasi encouraged parents to create an environment in their household that encourages children to read books other than those which are required by their schools, and to cut down on distractions.
"Having a library that includes a variety of topics and titles is an enhancing factor," he noted. "We have to provide books that are extracurricular that encourage children to read outside the scope of their formal curricula."
"In addition to this, you have to provide an environment that stimulates reading," he added. "We don't have a TV in the children's room or the living room of my house, for example, only in my bedroom, so that there are no other activities to distract them."
Several experts at the Knowledge Summit also noted that instilling an interest in reading at a young age helps foster a since of national identity, and in the case of the Middle East can help promote understanding of the Arabic language.
Elias Bou Saab, Lebanon's Minister of Education and Higher Education, said he believed that many young Arabs are lacking mastery of their own language.
"We are starting to lose our grasp of our classical Arabic language, since most information in the Arab World is available in English," he noted.
"There is a link between identity, social culture and the future, and this link is reading, learning and language skills," added Professor Noureddine Selmi, Tunisia's Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. "Reading has a cultural role, especially if you read in your own mother tongue. It roots our national identity and gives us opportunity to be open minded when dealing with different civilisations and cultures."
"Reading is the water that makes languages grow," Selmi added. "If a child is not able to master his own language, he'll shy away from that language, his culture, his society, and go towards alternatives."
Bernd Debusmann Jr. Originally from Mexico City, I've been in Dubai since January 2015. Before arriving in in the UAE I worked as a general news reporter in TV and print in Mexico City, NYC and Washington DC. I'm interested in defence issues, politics, technology, aviation and history. In my spare time i enjoy traveling and football - I'm a keen fan of Chelsea FC. I developed an interest in the Middle East traveling through Jordan and the West Bank. I have a BA in Political Science from Dickinson College in the USA and an MA in International Journalism from City University London.