Egypt’s Academy of Arts in Rome celebrates International Day of Arabic Language

CAIRO – 16 December 2021: The Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome held a grand celebration on the occasion of the International Day of the Arabic Language and the Day of the Arab Expatriate.

This came in coordination with the Egyptian Embassy in Italy, the Council of Arab Ambassadors and the Arab League mission in Rome.

The celebration was attended by Egypt’s Ambassador to Italy Alaa Rushdy, and a large number of ambassadors from Arab and European countries.

Head of the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome Heba Youssef said that the celebration presented a diversified program that began with the inauguration of an Arabic calligraphy exhibition.

For the first time in the academy's history, the exhibition included works by artists from nine Arab countries, namely Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Iraq, Morocco and Oman.

Youssef stated that four Arab doctors, who reside in Italy and have made outstanding contributions during the last 2 years in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic, were honored on the occasion of the Arab Expatriate Day.

Moreover, Youssef noted that the celebration witnessed the screening of a documentary prepared by the academy that dealt with examples of Egyptian architecture and arts masterpieces from the Islamic eras, which were beautified with Arabic calligraphy and motifs.

For her part, Egypt’s Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem said that the celebration coincides with the inclusion of Arabic calligraphy on UNESCO’s urgent safeguarding lists of the intangible cultural heritage.

Abdel Dayem added that the Arabic language has contributed to shaping the features of human history, and that it is one of the effective means of expressing the richness of Arab civilization.