The Third International Forum of the Teachers of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers in Southeast Asia, which is being held by the Building the Future Foundation in Indonesia, in partnership with the Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with MS Asia Foundation for Educational Services and Human Development in Malaysia, kicked off on Monday (March 13, 2023), in Bakassi, Indonesia, in the presence of more than 100 teachers and specialized researchers representing 16 Asian and African countries.

The opening session included addresses delivered by Sheikh Aslam Mohsen Abdeen, Director of the Association of Indonesian Islamic Da’wah and Educational Bodies, Director of the Building the Future Foundation; Dr. Mutawakil Abdul Latif Al-Fadni, Director of MS Asia Training Foundation in Kuala Lumpur; and Dr. Yasser Muhammad Ali, Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan in Indonesia.

Dr. Majdi Haj Ibrahim, Head of Arabic Language Center for Non-Native Speakers, represents ICESCO in the four-day forum. In his speech, he reviewed ICESCO’s efforts and experiences in supporting national projects and international initiatives in the field of serving the Arabic language and its dissemination in Member and non-Member States, including the project to establish specialized national educational centers and poles, and the project to launch “Mishkat Al-Arabiya” platform for training in the field of Arabic for non-Arabic speakers.

The forum includes a range of programs and activities, including training sessions on the skills of teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers, panel discussions for curricula experts to discuss the challenges of designing curricula for teaching Arabic, and a symposium on the major efforts and successful experiences of institutions and individuals in teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers in Southeast Asia.