On Its World Day: Emirati Initiatives to Enhance the Status of Our Beautiful Language

Every year on December 18, the world renews its celebration of the International Arabic Language Day, which coincides with the anniversary of the adoption of Arabic as an official language by the United Nations General Assembly in 1973, due to its global status and pivotal role in enriching cultural diversity. Concurrent with this occasion, the efforts of the United Arab Emirates stand out in preserving and enhancing the status of our beautiful language, supporting Arabic content everywhere, and consolidating its presence among members of society, especially the younger generations. These efforts are confirmed by figures and statistics that highlight their importance and significant impact in confronting the effects of globalization and the erosion of identities, as well as studies indicating declining reading rates and the scarcity of available Arabic content, particularly on the internet.

These efforts include launching many pioneering and global initiatives, foremost among them the Arab Reading Challenge, the Arabic Language Charter, the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language, the 'In Arabic' initiative, the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, and many others. The numbers and initiatives speak about the UAE’s efforts to promote the Arabic language, and below are some of them.

"The Reading Challenge"

The ninth edition of the Arab Reading Challenge, the largest reading event of its kind in Arabic worldwide, attracted more than 32 million students from 50 countries, representing 132,112 schools, supervised by over 161,000 supervisors.

Launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, the Arab Reading Challenge has achieved over nine cycles more than 927,000 school participations. The total number of supervisors involved in the nine cycles exceeded 877,000. The challenge recorded tremendous growth in participation, starting from 3.6 million students in the first cycle to more than 32 million participants in the ninth cycle, an increase of over 795% compared to the first.

"Mohammed bin Rashid Award"

The Mohammed bin Rashid Award for the Arabic Language also reflects the UAE’s commitment to preserving and sustainably developing the Arabic language. The award has allocated around 2.8 million dirhams as part of its vision and strategy to enhance the presence and enrichment of the Arabic language, distributed as 257,000 dirhams for each of its categories.

Previous editions of the award have witnessed remarkable success and wide participation from many individuals and institutions worldwide. Over the past nine editions, the award attracted more than 17,200 entries and 90 winners from individuals and institutions across various countries. Many global figures in the field of the Arabic language have been honored, making the award a global platform celebrating excellence and contributing to enhancing the status of Arabic in educational, technological, media, and cultural fields.

"The Historical Dictionary"

The Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language, launched by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah, and President of the Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah, represents a major achievement for all Arabs. It marks a qualitative leap in documenting the Arabic language and serves current and future generations by providing comprehensive documentation through 127 volumes containing 12,141 roots and 348,406 citations from the Quran, Hadith, poetry, and prose, totaling approximately 14 million words. The project team includes 780 participants from editors, proofreaders, supervisors, and administrators from 20 Arab institutions, including language academies, universities, and centers.

In recognition of this achievement, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi received a certificate from the Guinness World Records in December 2024, honoring the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language as the largest and most extensive historical linguistic project worldwide with 127 volumes.

"Dubai Library Summit"

The second edition of the Dubai International Libraries and Publishing Summit 2025, organized by the Mohammed bin Rashid Library under the theme "The Future of the Publishing Industry," held over three days last November, recorded a significant increase in registered participants by 27.3% compared to the previous year. Attendance and active participation in sessions increased by about 31.5%, while the number of participating nationalities rose by 33%. The summit also saw a 50% increase in the number of international speakers compared to the first edition.

"Arabic Scale"

Arabic Scale, known as "Miqyas Al-Dhad," announced the completion of the final phase of its field survey aimed at enhancing Arabic reading proficiency among native-speaking students. The field study included more than 110,000 students from 204 schools across 70 cities and villages in nine Arab countries. This methodology involved building a vast linguistic treasure comprising over 70 million structures and words extracted from analyzing more than 8,000 Arabic books in various fields and topics, carefully selected to represent the diversity and cultural richness of the Arabic language.

The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, affiliated with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, launched several initiatives, including the Arabic Days Festival, which won the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Award for the Arabic Language in the category of "Best Initiative to Promote Reading Culture and Build a Knowledge Society." The festival is an annual celebration embodying Abu Dhabi’s vision to promote Arabic as a source of culture, creativity, and progress.

This year, the center launched a community campaign to support sustainable reading under the slogan "Knowledge Society, Society’s Knowledge," in line with the declaration of 2025 as the "Year of the Community." The campaign’s activities and qualitative initiatives have benefited 57,549 people so far, representing about 115% of the targeted number. The campaign included more than 2,000 creative activities, including 250 main events and initiatives, implemented in cooperation with 97 governmental and private entities, with the participation of around 400 creatives.

. Every year on December 18, the world renews its celebration of International Arabic Language Day.

. The Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language consists of 127 volumes.

. More than 32 million students participated in the ninth cycle of the Arab Reading Challenge.