The first international conference on the use of emerging technologies in Arabic language learning and teaching, which was held by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in partnership with the Open University of Libya, concluded its proceedings in Tripoli, Libya.

Held under the theme “Creative Ideas – Constructive Vision – Proposals” on October 29-30, 2022, the conference brought together a host of Libyan university rectors and researchers in scientific centers and universities in the fields of artificial intelligence, natural language processing and the application of virtual reality in Arabic language learning and teaching.

The opening session began with an address by Dr. Omran Al-Qeeb, Libyan Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, followed by the address of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), delivered on his behalf by Dr. Omar Halli, Advisor to ICESCO DG for the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW), then an address by Dr. Masouda Al-Aswad, Undersecretary of the Libyan Ministry of Education.A delegation comprised of Dr. Omar Halli, Dr. Majdi Bin Haji Ibrahim, Head of the ICESCO Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers, and Dr. Adel Smeda, Expert at ICESCO’s Science and Technology Sector, represented the Organization at the conference.

The participants reviewed a range of scientific studies on the optical recognition of Arabic printed characters and its use in teaching the language to people with special needs, Arabic text classification, and the application of virtual reality in Arabic language learning and teaching, as well as ICESCO’s contributions to the development of new technologies in the service of the Arabic language.

On the sidelines of the conference, the ICESCO delegation held a meeting with Mr. Ramadan Almadani, President of the Libyan Academy for Post-Graduate Studies, and members of his team, in the presence of Dr. Said Mhamed Al-Dabib, Libya’s permanent delegate to ICESCO, and together they discussed means to foster cooperation between the Organization and the Academy and expand its scope to include humanities, languages and scientific research.

During the meeting, the two parties stressed the need to adopt practical projects and programmes, after completing the procedures for signing cooperation agreements, and facilitating communication between FUIW and Libyan universities to launch student exchange programmes.