CELEBRATING WORLD ARABIC LANGUAGE DAY

The UNESCO declared December 18 as the World Arabic Language Day. The organizing ceremonies were attended by specialists of international repute, researchers and representatives of UNESCO member states. The core theme of the year 2014 was Arabic calligraphy and its impact on human history. The decision was made by the International Advisory Board of the Plan for the Development of Arab Culture ‘Arabia Plan’, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

The Consultative Committee of UNESCO’s Arabia Plan initiated World Arabic Language Day on October 23rd, inculcating the core idea to make understand the Arab culture globally. Moreover, this specific day was celebrated for the first time in 2012 and was declared by UNESCO’s Executive Board on its 190th session. The initiative seeks to promote multilingualism and cultural diversity, as well as celebrate Arabic language’s role in and contribution to the safeguarding and dissemination of human civilization and culture.

On this occasion, H.E. Ziad Al – Dress, the Chairman of the Consultative Committee of UNESCO’s Arabia Plan and Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to UNESCO expressed in a press release that, the celebration of such a day by UNESCO is indeed a vital gesture towards various aspects of Arabic language. He further added that the main focus of World Arabic Language Day this year will be “the role of the media in strengthening the Arabic language”. Top media professionals, experts, linguists, diplomats and researchers, hailing from the Arab region and also globally, will attend a series of seminars devoted to this subject at UNESCO headquarters on 18 December.

In 2012, it was mentioned that the World Arabic Language Day is an opportunity to celebrate the language of 22 Member States of UNESCO, a language with more than 422 million speakers in the Arab world and used by more than 1.5 billion Muslims. 18th December is selected on the basis of Arabic language being nominated by the UN General Assembly as the sixth official language of the United Nations organization in 1973. Later, Arabic was included in works of executive council of UNESCO and translations of all documents whilst providing Arabic interpreting services and further encouraging on translating documents and works of different genres from Arabic to other languages and vice versa.