Ministry of Education launches ‘Dafra’ – an Interactive reading platform

His Highness Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, witnessed the launch of the digital interactive reading platform ‘Darfa’ by the Ministry of Education at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF). Inspired by the best programmes and advanced technologies in converting books and reading material into the digital format, the Darfa platform has been heralded as a quantum leap forward for educational syllabuses.

Darfa’s many features include the capability of identifying literacy rates among students and comparing them with the global scale, the offering of an integrated range of interactive services that facilitate access to scientific material and the provision of an array of digital and audio books. The platform is linked to systems in the Ministry of Education, with its feedback helping to establish and nurture learning and reading skills among students, as well as other segments of society.

Among those who were present at the Darfa launch ceremony at ADIBF 2016 were Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Founder and CEO of Kalimat Group; His Excellency Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education; Her Excellency Jamila bint Salem Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education and His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Belhoul, Minister of State for Higher Education Affairs. 

The ceremony saw the Ministry of Education signing a number of Memorandums of Understanding with strategic partners whose experience and global expertise in the field of education and advanced technologies contributed to the development of the Darfa platform. Included among the signatories were Kalimat Group, Wahat Alhekayat, Alomtahida Education Group, Abu Dhabi Education and Ibtikar Technologies.

During the Darfa launch ceremony, HE Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, highlighted that the project is in line with the strategies of the Ministry of Education, which focus on building a learned society. He stated that the government body works to provide the UAE education sector with the best practices and programmes that support the acquisition of knowledge. He pointed out that the Darfa platform’s valuable digital content provides students with school textbooks as well as cultural, scientific and heritage-related material. 

His Excellency stated that Darfa represents a set of integrated interactive services on the web available to students and other members of society. He highlighted how the platform enhances the acquisition of books and reading material via electronic devices connected to the Internet, such as computers, tablets and smart phones. He pointed out that the Ministry of Education seeks to adapt technology and employ it in the education sector to contribute to the advancement of learning, explaining how the platform aligns with the government’s policies to celebrate 2016 as the Year of Reading.

His Excellency summarised the platform’s goals as the following; developing reading and the acquisition of skills by facilitating access to books electronically from anywhere at any time; providing a reading environment that is interactive and competitive using optimisation mechanisms; providing an opportunity for teachers to learn about reading rates among their students and compare them to international standards; preserving books and updating them in an accurate and effective manner; organising books and printed material in a specific manner that facilitates speed and ease of access; strengthening and activating communication and cooperation among members of the educational community and reducing storage space. He also highlighted its challenges and contests that provide an environment of fun for readers, in particular students.

His Excellency pointed out that the platform includes interactive, digital and audio books, classification indices and the ability to arrange books and materials by titles, themes and target groups. He highlighted its evaluation system that allows readers to express their views on books and materials, with subscribers to the system who have special access rights - such as parents and teachers - also able to receive user information, including the details of what has been read and evaluated. He noted that linking the platform to the Ministry of Education had been taken into account when developing it in order to obtain valuable feedback that will help the ministry set up the best plans and programmes for finding solutions and for developing the overall educational system.

Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, said; “The agreement that was signed today with the Ministry of Education reflects the increasing interest to promote reading as a noble habit among children in the UAE. It is a worthy component of the cultural and educational initiatives that are being launched in line with the Year of Reading 2016 in the UAE, where it will contribute to facilitating the easy access of wider groups of readers to books, whether they are students, teachers or other members of the community across the UAE.”

Sheikha Bodour added; “We must ensure that we offer our children the best opportunities for learning and benefiting from technological developments in the sphere of books and reading. The Darfa platform provides books and other knowledge material to students anywhere at any time, so that they can read, share and interact with them. Teachers will have the opportunity to find out about the titles that have most interested their students and discuss these with them in the classroom. Ultimately, Darfa will enrich the educational process and enhance the students’ linguistic and cognitive outcomes by bringing them closer to reading.”