The Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi has launched the 'Books in the City' initiative, which aims to integrate reading into everyday life by transforming public spaces into interactive cultural environments, reinforcing Abu Dhabi's status as a centre of knowledge and culture.
The initiative seeks to activate approximately 45 reading locations across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain as part of a year-round sustainable programme, offering reading experiences and activities for all age groups by making books available in cafés, parks, heritage and cultural sites, shopping centres, and other public facilities.
The initiative encompasses a number of programmes, most notably: 'Miaad', which offers a reading experience based on selecting wrapped books at cultural and heritage sites; 'Naufal Pro', which provides a café-based reading experience that integrates literature into everyday social spaces through specially themed coffee concepts, alongside access to the digital library via QR code; the 'Take a Book, Leave a Book' initiative for book exchange at a number of community locations; and the 'Offline Reading Club', which organises weekly sessions encouraging reading away from digital devices.