Ambassador Hisham Badr in the middle with participants in the celebration of the World Arabic Language Day
World Arabic Language Day has been celebrated every year on 18 December since 2012. The date coincides with the day that the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Arabic as the sixth official language of the organisation in 1973.
Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem organised and oversaw the celebrations this year.
The celebrations included the participation of the ambassadors of Indonesia, Britain, Poland, Austria, South Korea, Japan, and Greece, who are all fluent in Arabic, and talked about their experience with the language of Dhad.
(L-r) Ambassador of Yemen Asmahan Al-Touqi, Egyptian Academy in director Rome Heba Youssef, Egypt's Ambassador to Vatican Mahmoud Samy, Ambassador Ihab Abou-Seriaa, Egypt's Ambassador to Italy Hisham Badr
On 19 December, the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome organised an event, from 10am to 7pm, titled A Day in Love of the Arabic Language that minister Abdel-Dayem followed up on online.
Abdel-Dayem disclosed that the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome, as part of its activities during the current season under the supervision of its Director Heba Youssef, held a miscellaneous event that reflected the richness of Arab civilisation and expressed its distinctive character, and its many tributaries. It also included an exhibition of Arab calligraphy and a documentary film about embellishing Islamic buildings throughout the ages with Arab calligraphy and motifs.
The event also included an Arab calligraphy show and online meetings with foreign professors and students who teach Arabic in Italian universities.
Arab calligraphy exhibition at the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome, Italy Photo credit of Culture Minister Media Office
The event was held in coordination with the Egyptian embassy in Italy and the Arab League mission in Rome, and was attended by Egypt's ambassador to Italy Hisham Badr, as well as a collection of Arab and African ambassadors and diplomats from various countries of the world.
The event was attended by Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman and Dean of Arab Diplomacy Ahmed Ba Omar, Head of the Arab League Mission in Rome Inas Mekkawi, Egypt's Ambassador to the Vatican Mahmoud Samy, Egyptian Consul General in Milan Ihab Abou-Seriaa, Ambassador of Yemen Asmahan Al-Touqi, together with the ambassadors of Algeria, Iraq, Somalia, and Mauritania to the Vatican, members of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Rome, and an array of Italian society elites.
As for the celebration of the National Centre for Translation, headed by professor Karma Samy, it included screenings of the achievements of Egyptian translators who translated foreign languages into the Arabic language, in addition to a musical performance by the Talent Development Centre’s Choir of the Cairo Opera House.
The Arabic language is a pillar of the cultural diversity of humanity. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world and is used daily by more than 290 million people.
In the diversity of its forms, classic or dialectal, from oral expression to poetic calligraphy, the Arabic language has given rise to a fascinating aesthetic in fields as varied as architecture, poetry, philosophy, and song.
It gives access to an incredible variety of identities and beliefs, and its history reveals the richness of its links with other languages. Arabic has played a catalytic role in knowledge, promoting the dissemination of Greek and Roman sciences and philosophies to Renaissance Europe.
It has enabled a dialogue of cultures along the silk roads, from the coast of India to the Horn of Africa.
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