On December 18th of each year, the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization celebrates, along with States and relevant international and regional organizations and bodies, the World Arabic Language Day. The theme chosen for this year is “The Contribution of the Arabic Language to Human Civilization and Culture”.
This celebration is a renewed opportunity for individuals, institutions, and States to consider ways for better serving the Arabic language which has, across the ages, assumed significant, scientific, and cultural roles among nations, has served as a channel of communication among cultures and peoples, and has been present in all areas of public life, in the economic and cultural fields, as well as in arts, sciences and literature.
The users of the Arabic language, be they Arabs, Muslims or others, in all educational, scientific, media and religious fields, in schools and universities, in mosques and churches, in markets and factories, should be aware of the power of this language, and work for its development and protection. This involves promoting its use, conducting research on its distinctive characteristics, facilitating its learning and teaching, and leveraging scientific and technological advances to promote the computerization of Arabic, the automatic translation from and into Arabic, and the production of open knowledge resources in Arabic.
In view of the foregoing, ALECSO calls for pooling efforts, at the legislative, educational, technological and economic levels, to promote the Arabic language, and to shift from the stage of expressing commitments to that of practical actions and concrete measures, in order to empower the Arabic language and ensure its sustainability. In this regard, ALECSO commends the cooperation agreement it has recently signed with the Islamic Development Bank for developing a Framework of Reference for the Arabic Language.
