São Paulo – Arabic is the mother language of more than 290 million people and the liturgical language of around 1.5 billion Muslims around the world. The World Arabic Language Day is celebrated on December 18 and praises the official language of at least 22 countries composing the Arab League. For the date, the director-general of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Audrey Azoulay, published a message celebrating the importance of the langue. ‘Arabic has great contributions through arts and sciences and continues making an important contribution via its large youth population that is highly connected through technology,’ said Azoulay on the text published this Tuesday (18).
The director commented on the language contributions for human civilization. ‘The Arabic language is a symbol of identity,’ she said, comprising areas such as arts, architecture, calligraphy and literature, among other unique manifestations. ‘The language has also been a conduit, channeling knowledge in science, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy and history,’ added the UNESCO’s highest authority.
Youth
This year, the theme of the World Arabic Language Day is Youth. Azoulay said about the choice, ‘Arabic continues making an important contribution in the current digital era, particularly via its large youth population that is highly connected through technology. Young people are among the most influential messengers today and key players in shaping the future’, explained the director.
In order to celebrate the date, UNESCO is discussing themes about culture, language, identity and social media in events in France and in the internet. ‘Through these discussions, we hope to stimulate dialogue with young Arabic speakers to mobilize them to build on their extraordinarily rich and diverse intellectual heritage for a better world,’ Azoulay concludes.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
