Arabic Language Day 2023; December 18th.

FORUM: “Arabic – the Language of Poetry and Arts.” Arabic Language Day 2023. This edition will highlight language's importance in reuniting for a constructive dialogue, shaping perceptions, and cultivating understanding in the current global landscape marked by uncertainties and turbulence. Through this year’s theme UNESCO will shed a light on the numerous contributions of Arabic to humanity’s cultural and linguistic diversity, as well as to knowledge production. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #ArabicLanguageDay, #18December, #Arabiclanguage, #Multilingualism.

Statement from the Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of World Arabic Language Day 2023, December 18th.

In this 11th World Arabic Language Day, and as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the inclusion of Arabic among the official languages of the United Nations, our Organization honours a language spoken by nearly 450 million people worldwide and which has an exceptional linguistic and cultural heritage.A link between continents, the Arabic language draws its depth, influence and diversity from a thousand-year-old history, at the crossroads of exchanges. Today, as in the past, it is enriched by the contributions of other cultures, thus conveying thinking of extraordinary historical significance.From this context conducive to the flourishing of words and ideas, over the centuries seminal works have been created, such as those of the poets Abū Nuwās and Omar Khayyam, the poetess al-Khansā', the philosopher and physician Avicenna, and the philosopher Averroës.This year, with the theme of the Day, “Arabic – the Language of Poetry and Arts”, UNESCO pays tribute to the women and men who perpetuate the poetic and artistic brilliance of this living language, helping to renew it.While working for cultural diversity in general, UNESCO is committed to promoting the Arabic language in particular. Through the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Programme to Strengthen the Arabic Language in UNESCO, for example, we encourage the use of Arabic within our Organization. More extensively, we seek to promote its practice and increase its dissemination, by supporting cultural exchanges and events, and by increasing the number of Arabic translations of UNESCO publications.In 2021, the inscription of Arabic calligraphy on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity was also a strong initiative of the Organization, enabling us to make better known the aesthetic splendour of this language which is also an art. On this World Arabic Language Day, UNESCO calls for a celebration of a language and the cultures that it enriches. More broadly, our Organization is keen to emphasize the extent to which we need plural ways of considering and reflecting the world, through linguistic diversity: this is an invaluable asset and a sustainable prerequisite for peace.

Ms Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General.

رسالة من المديرة العامة لليونسكو، السيدة أودري أزولاي، بمناسبة اليوم العالمي للغة العربية، 18 كانون الأول/ديسمبر2023

EVENTS: On December 18th; The celebration of World Arabic Language Day 2023 will be held from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.This year’s commemoration coincides with the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of Arabic as one of the six UN official languages. To pay tribute to the poetic and artistic brilliance of the Arabic language, UNESCO will bring together researchers, academics, youth, and heads of international institutions. The UNESCO organizes round table discussions and cultural performances. Applicants to the Prize for Arab culture must have contributed significantly towards the development, dissemination and the promotion of Arab culture in the world.The winners of the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture will be announced. The event will serve as a solid platform to delve into the discussions on the Arabic language's influence on shaping knowledge, societal transformations through poetry, and its impact on the arts, while fostering cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. The Roundtables within this initiative will center on:

• Philosophy and Poetry: The Contribution of Arabic Poetry to Knowledge Shaping and Social Transformations
• Arabic Language and Arts: Broadening Scopes of Cultural Diversity
• ‘Arab Latinos!’: The Arabic Imprint in Latin America and the Caribbean

Side Event: Additionally, as part of this initiative, a side event will be organized to reflect on the initial outcomes and highlights of the forthcoming publication focused on the role of Arabic in social inclusion and its preservation within the Arabic-speaking communities of Europe while promoting their integration into host societies. To register, please click here

EXHIBITION: Witness the exhibition showcasing the achievements in advancing the Arabic language under ‘Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Programme for the Arabic Language at UNESCO’ from the 18th to the 22nd December. The programme has fostered intercultural dialogue, enriched linguistic diversity through its projects and initiatives, promoted knowledge production and dissemination in Arabic, and, last but not least, endorsed the annual flagship event: World Arabic Language Day.