As part of the celebrations marking World Arabic Language Day, the ICESCO Educational Center in Malaysia organized a series of educational and cultural activities, including a student contest for the production of short films in Arabic addressing the issue of school bullying, with the participation of 800 students. The celebration program also featured a roundtable on interaction between Arabic and Malay literature, an Arabic calligraphy workshop, an academic lecture delivered by Dr. Hussein Ahmed Al-Rifai of Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates, poetry readings, as well as a festival showcasing traditional Arab cuisine and attire.

Students from various educational levels and numerous schools and universities across Malaysia entered the contest, held under the theme “Combating Bullying.” The winners of the contest’s three categories were announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday, 18 December 2025. In the university category, the first prize was awarded to the International Islamic University Malaysia team for an educational film that recorded about 400,000 views on TikTok. In the high school category, the Sultan Hishamuddin Religious Secondary School team secured first place, while in the primary school category, the top prize went to the Jelag Fateh National School team.

The opening ceremony of the celebration, organized with the support of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, was attended by Mr. Haji Afendi bin Sahi, Representative of the Malaysian Ministry of Education; Prof. Dr. Mohamad Farid Ravi bin Abdullah, Vice-Chancellor of the International Islamic University Selangor (UIS); and Dr. Mohamed Nour bin Hussein, Director of the ICESCO Educational Center in Malaysia. The event was also attended by representatives of several Arab embassies in Malaysia and the Oman Research and Studies Center, in addition to a large number of academics, students, and individuals interested in the Arabic language in Malaysia.