In observance of World Arabic Language Day, celebrated annually on December 18, ICESCO Centers, Training Poles and University Chairs organized a large number of activities to celebrate the Arabic language, highlight its educational and cultural roles and promote its international presence. These institutions included ICESCO’s Regional Educational Center in Chad, ICESCO’s Educational Center in Malaysia, ICESCO’s Training Poles for Excellence in the Arabic Language in Nigeria and Benin, ICESCO Chair for Research and Pedagogical Innovation in the Arabic Language in Guinea and ICESCO’s Chair for Arabic in Service of Coexistence in the Russian Federation.

On this occasion, ICESCO’s Regional Educational Center of Chad, in cooperation with the country’s International Federation of Arabic Support Institutions, organized a number of activities as part of the 12th National Week of the Arabic Language, notably those held at the Center’s headquarters in N’djamena. These included the “International Scientific Conference: Arabic Language Challenges in Africa and Prospects of Civilizational Communication”, on 19-20 December, and two training sessions on “Academic Leadership” and “Teaching and Academic Guidance Skills”, on 21-23 December.

Similar activities were held at General Lansana Conté University in Conakry, where ICESCO Chair for Research and Pedagogical Innovation in the Arabic Language in Guinea held the Arabic Language Week, on 11-18 December, under the theme, “Contributions of the Arabic Language in Human Civilization and Culture”. The activities were organized in cooperation with Julius Nyerere University in Kankan, the University of Labé, the International University of Guinea, Al-Eamar University, the National Bureau of Arab-French Pre-University Education.

The Arabic Language Week featured a number of workshops and training sessions for Arabic teachers in Guinea, along with lectures, a poetry contest and a symposium on Arabic manuscripts and local languages manuscripts written in Arabic script. It also featured a ceremony to present the first issue of the journal of the ICESCO Chair for Research and Pedagogical Innovation in Arabic-French Education in Guinea, an annual peer-reviewed journal that publishes scientific articles and research in Arabic on various topics related to education and culture.
Likewise, in Porto Novo, Benin, the Ibn Battuta African University Institute, which hosts the ICESCO Arabic Language Training Pole in Benin, adopted December as Arabic Language Month, with a number of celebratory events, including an exhibition of Arabic books and a competition for students to read Arabic literature. It also featured an intensive training session for teachers, and cultural exhibitions in both Yoruba (a major language in Benin) and Arabic to promote comparative studies between the two languages.

In the same vein, the ICESCO Chair for Arabic Language in the Service of Dialogue and Coexistence at the Russian Islamic University in Ufa, Russian Federation, organized on December 18 a competition for Arabic language students in Bashkortostan in the field of Arabic public speaking, where students gave visual presentations on the roles of the Arabic language in Muslim life and its international status as a world language.

On the same day in Malaysia, the ICESCO Education Center in Malaysia organized an award ceremony for the winners of the student competition on producing short Arabic-language educational and awareness films. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Islamic University of Selangor, Malaysia, and an official from the Malaysian Ministry of Education.

In the same context, the ICESCO Training Pole for Excellence in Arabic Language, hosted by the Arabic Language Village Ngala in Nigeria, organized a major celebration on December 18, under the patronage of the Executive Governor of Borno State. The celebration included various activities, notably a scientific conference titled, “Arabic Language and Artificial Intelligence: Fostering Innovation while Preserving Cultural Heritage”. Awards of appreciation were also presented to a number of high-ranking officials in recognition of their efforts to support the Arabic language in Nigeria.