UAE proudly joins world family in celebrating International Mother Language Day

Abu Dhabi, 22nd February, 2016 (WAM) – The UAE yesterday joined the international community in observing the International Mother Language Day, which falls on 21st February every year. The UAE is proud to have lent proper attention and allocated abundant resources to the development and promotion of the Arabic language with the launch of ambitious initiatives and prestigious awards encouraging reading and knowledge dissemination locally and internationally. In a message on this International Mother Language Day, Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, said,’’ The theme of the 2016 International Mother Language Day is "Quality education, language(s) of instruction and learning outcomes. This underlines the importance of mother languages for quality education and linguistic diversity, to take forward the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.’’ "In Sustainable Development Goal 4, the 2030 Agenda focuses on quality education and lifelong learning for all, to enable every woman and man to acquire skills, knowledge, and values to become everything they wish and participate fully in their societies. This is especially important for girls and women, as well as minorities, indigenous peoples, and rural populations. This is reflected in UNESCO’s Education 2030 Framework for Action, a road-map to implement the 2030 Agenda, encouraging full respect for the use of mother language in teaching and learning, and the promotion and preservation of linguistic diversity," she added. Multilingualism is essential to drive these objectives forward – it is vital for success across the 2030 Agenda, regarding growth, employment and health, as well as sustainable consumption and production, and climate change. "UNESCO brings the same focus to advancing linguistic diversity on the Internet, through support to relevant local content as well as media and information literacy. Through the Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) programme, UNESCO is highlighting the importance of mother and local languages as channels for safeguarding and sharing indigenous cultures and knowledge, which are vast reservoirs of wisdom." ‘’Mother languages in a multilingual approach are essential components of quality education, which is itself the foundation for empowering women and men and their societies. We must recognise and nurture this power, in order to leave no one behind, to craft a more just and sustainable future for all,’’ the UNESCO chief concluded. In the UAE, reading and language skills are set among the key performance indicators of the National Agenda leading to the UAE Vision 2021, which says, ’’Education is a fundamental element for the development of a nation and the best investment in its youth.’’ For that reason, the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda emphasises the development of a first-rate education system, which will require a complete transformation of the current education system and teaching methods. The National Agenda aims for all schools, universities and students to be equipped with Smart systems and devices as a basis for all teaching methods, projects and research. Furthermore, the National Agenda has set as a target that our students rank among the best in the world in reading, mathematics and science exams, and to have a strong knowledge of the Arabic language. President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan declared 2016 as the year of reading in the UAE to create a generation of book lovers and consolidate the UAE’s position as a global capital for culture and knowledge. The Cabinet approved the declaration of 2016 as the year of reading and instructed the competent authorities to start preparing a national framework that promotes reading among Emirati generations, in a quest to create a generation of book lovers and lifetime readers. "We gave our directives that the year 2016 be the year of reading because reading the basic skill for a new generation of scientists, intellectual, researchers and innovators," the President said. He added: "Establishment of a knowledge-based economy and changing the path of development is based on science and innovation. This requires nurturing a generation of readers and fully aware of developments happening around them in the world as well as of and the best ideas and the latest theories." The President underlined the importance of reading in broadening one’s intellect and knowledge, as well as in promoting tolerance, openness and intercultural communication. "Our goal is to consolidate the UAE as a global capital of culture, bring about lifelong behavioural change and immune next generations culturally," His Highness Sheikh Khalifa said. Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on September 2015, launched the "Arab Reading Challenge", the largest Arab project to encourage students in the Arab world to read, with more than a million students committing to read 50 million extracurricular books during every academic year. The Arab Reading Challenge aims to encourage reading on a continuous basis through a comprehensive system of incentives and follow-up mechanisms throughout the academic year. A large number of monetary and motivational incentives are also offered to participating schools, students, their families, and supervisors from various parts of the Arab world, with the overall awards value estimated at US$3 million (around AED11 million). The challenge also includes several rounds of evaluation and qualification at the level of each school, educational zone, country, and finally the Arab world. The challenge seeks to create a new generation with excellent reading skills and a thirst for knowledge. H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, "The Arab world is suffering from a reading crisis whose consequences we see and feel every day in this region. The 50 million book challenge is the first of many steps we are taking in the hope of creating a long-term impact that would change this reality." He added, "Reading opens minds, magnifies hunger for knowledge, and instils the values of openness and moderation that define great civilisations." "The first book a child reads opens the first door in that child’s brighter future. The 50 million book challenge is the first of many steps. It will be followed by many initiatives. The goal is to create a new generation, a new hope and a new reality. Today we set this challenge for the Arab educational sector, Arab parents, and Arab children and youth. We have every faith in their abilities to achieve the goal." His Highness also visited Dubai’s School of Research Science, set to become the headquarters for the challenge. To mark the launch of the 50 million book challenge, His Highness read the first pages to a group of students. The challenge will be the largest Arab initiative to encourage reading in various schools throughout the region. His Highness stated, "In the UAE, we have always realised the importance of reading and developing Arabic language skills. These have been included as indicators in the UAE national agenda for 2021." Reports and studies have shown significantly low reading levels in the Arab world. The average reading time for an Arab child is six minutes a year compared with 12,000 minutes in the West, according to the Arab Thought Foundation’s Arab Report for Cultural Development. The reading rate of an Arab individual is a quarter of a page a year compared with 11 books in the US and seven books in the UK, according to a study conducted by the Supreme Council of Culture in Egypt. The Arab Reading Challenge has been launched in collaboration with the MBC group and the help of key national broadcasters and newspapers. The execution phase starts in September with coordination efforts between the various participating schools in the Arab world, after which the 50 million book reading challenge will be initiated, extending from early October until the end of March 2016. The challenge contains five stages, each of which entails the reading and summary of 10 books by participating students. This is followed by qualification stages at the level of schools, educational districts, Arab countries, and the final qualifications for winners on the Arab world level set to be held in Dubai at the end of May 2016. The Arab Reading Challenge has a comprehensive system for incentives and monetary rewards: US$ 150,000 will be awarded to the winning student, of which US$100,000 will be in the form of a university scholarship and US$50,000 in the form of a cash reward to the student’s family for their encouragement. US$1 million will also be granted to the school with the highest level of participation in the Arab world. The Challenge grants rewards worth a total of US$300,000 to excellent teachers participating in the Challenge as supervisors, in addition to motivational incentives and prizes to participating schools and students exceeding a total value of US$1 million. In May 2014, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched Mohammed bin Rashid Arabic Language Award. The award aims to encourage exceptional contributions in serving the Arabic language and honouring its patrons besides highlighting successful and outstanding experiences in disseminating and educating the Arabic language. Sheikh Mohammed said: "The language of the Holy Quran is protected by Allah, and our goal behind launching this award is to serve it and contribute to its dissemination." He added: "To contribute to the preservation of the Arabic language through honouring its pioneers and distinguished persons consolidates our identity and preserves our heritage, our thinking and our culture, and is protection for our new generations from losing the most important cultural, educational and linguistic tool we possess." The award includes five branches, whereby outstanding initiatives will be honoured along with the exceptional contributions to support the Arabic language in the areas of education, media, Arabisation, technology, preservation and dissemination of the Arab linguistic heritage. The prize includes 10 categories to be honoured on an annual basis and aims to reinforce the status of the UAE and its leading position as a centre of excellence for the Arabic language, promote its usage in public life and to facilitate its learning and teaching. It also affirmed the keenness of Sheikh Mohammed to celebrate the Arabic language by honouring its researchers and professionals, whether they are individuals or institutions. In another qualitative initiative, H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, has approved the new identity for the initiative that aims to support school-aged children to learn Arabic the smart way. The first-of-its-kind initiative was originally launched in 2013, targeting students to make learning Arabic easy and more accessible to them. The new identity for the programme is launched as "Lughati’’ and will assist students in government schools in Sharjah utilising the latest technology and apps to make learning fun. Through Lughati, Arabic for "My Language", 25,000 students and 1000 teachers in Sharjah’s government schools will receive tablets that have been equipped with specially designed Arabic language educational programmes and applications. The new identity for the initiative will see it fulfil its aim, in line with the vision of the Ruler of Sharjah, to instil a way of learning for children and help them utilise modern technology. The purpose of the educational programme is to improve the educational system and provide students with the necessary skills to use the modern technological tools in Arabic. It also seeks to preserve and protect the Arabic language, increasing its usage and students’ proficiency, through modern and scientific means. UAE’s leadership continuously seeks to support educational initiatives in general and the Arabic language in particular, in order to provide modern tools in educational programs that not only work by connecting the children with the syllabus but also motivates them to think scientifically and access information they need. International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in November 1999. In a resolution issued on 16 May 2007 the United Nations General Assembly called upon Member States "to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world". By the same resolution, the General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism. International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The date represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh. Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue. – Emirates News Agency, WAM – http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395291883042.html