Abu Dhabi: The UAE will in 2023 launch a new strategy to stimulate the country’s publishing sector, the Arabic Language Summit heard on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.
Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, inaugurated the two-day Summit, organised by the Ministry of Culture and Youth in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC).
The event is being held at Manarat Al Saadiyat under the patronage of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office.
In a presentation during the opening session, Minister Noura said the UAE is developing a new strategy to be launched next year to boost the literature and publishing sector in the UAE.
“The idea is to streamline literature and publishing by strengthening legislation to protect copyright and intellectual property rights of authors and publishers. We shall analyse the current and future needs of the sector to streamline initiatives, programmes and literary achievements of Emiratis. These will be included in educational curricula, and help us prepare a digital database for local literary works followed by an executive report that includes key strengths, challenges, and opportunities for the sector,” she added.
Over 30 Intellectuals, writers and academics from around the world are participating at the Summit to share insights on a wide range of issues facing Arabic. The Arabic Language Academy in Damascus, the oldest Arabic language academy in the world, is the guest of honour at the event for its efforts in preserving the language, and developing it as the language of science and knowledge. The Summit also celebrates the Alexandria Library as the central figure at the event.
New report
On Tuesday, ALC Chairman Dr Ali bin Tamim said: “The Arabic Language Summit coincides with the International Arabic Language Day. On these two occasions, we’d like to take the opportunity to announce the launch of the report, ‘Studying Arabic Language Curricula in the Arab World - Present Experiences and Future Prospects’, which reflects on two years of effort in the field of education, school curricula, in particular, being a top priority in the efforts to empower and enhance Arabic.
The report, which was prepared by international researchers and experts from Australia, China, the United States of America, Singapore, South Africa and Ireland, examines Arabic language teaching curricula in five Arab countries - UAE, Jordan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
It proposes a frame of reference for designing a new generation of Arabic language curricula, in a way that meets the needs of present-day teachers and learners.
Day 2
On Wednesday, a ‘Summit Retreat’ will host a group of writers, academics and specialists in the field of Arabic language to discuss many issues of the Arabic language and its consequences.
The summit will discuss several topics, most notably the recommendations issued in the report ‘The State and Future of the Arabic Language’ issued by the Ministry of Culture and Youth in December 2021, which represents a framework for consolidating the Arabic language as a language of science, knowledge and identity.
