UNESCO celebrates World Arabic Language Day

CAIRO – 18 December 2017: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is celebrating World Arabic Language Day at its headquarters in Paris on December 18 and 19, the organization said in a statement.

During the two-day event, UNESCO will organize roundtable discussions to explore the use of new technology in the teaching of Arabic language, UNESCO added.

The event aims to acknowledge the great contribution of the Arabic language in enriching science, international culture, philosophy, literature and art.

Arabic is one of the most widely circulated and spoken languages worldwide, with more than 290 million native speakers and millions of others with some level of fluency.

The event will also explore Arabic's relationship to science, language planning and its role in the dissemination of Arabic, and language engineering and the use of new technologies in the teaching of Arabic language, as well as the future of the language, UNESCO added.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and Prince Saud Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, deputy secretary-general of the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Foundation, will open the event.

The event is organized in cooperation with the Permanent Delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the support of the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Foundation.