Prof. Hanan Kamel Metwally, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, at Ain Shams University, opened the Celebration of the International Arabic Language Day 2023, which was organized by the Faculty in cooperation with the Graduate Studies and Research Sector at the University, under the patronage of Prof. Mohamed Diaa Zain El-Abedeen, President of the University, Prof. Ghada Farouk, Vice President of the University for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, Prof. Hanan Kamel, Dean of the Faculty, under the supervision of Prof. Hatem Rabie, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Postgraduate Studies and Research, and the preparation and coordination of Prof. Manal Muharram, Head of the Arabic Language Department, Dr. Hoda Attia, literary critic and head of the department’s cultural activity committee, in the presence of Mr. Alkhan Balkhov, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Luca Lawal Bola, Assistant Consul of South Sudan, Dr. Iman Al Hosani, Technical Attaché at the Education and Technology Attaché at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Arisdomos Isiotis, Consul at the Cypriot Embassy.

In her speech, Prof. Hanan Kamel, Dean of the Faculty, expressed her happiness with this day, which is organized annually on the eighteenth of December to celebrate the Arabic language. It is the day on which the United Nations General Assembly approved the Arabic language as the sixth language of the organization, as it is spoken by about 450 million people in the world, stressing that the Arabic language has embraced multiple spectrums of people and brought together different nationalities and races around the world.

The Dean of the Faculty added that the Arabic language contributed to the transfer of science and knowledge in the Middle Ages to Europe, and its vocabulary reached 12 million words, in addition to the types of Arabic calligraphy that express the beauty and splendor of the language.

Prof. Hatem Rabie, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Postgraduate Studies and Research, pointed out that today’s celebration expresses our celebration of our history, identity, and Arabism. Pointing out that the Arabic language does not represent us as just a means of communication, but it represents a container for our culture, our civilization, our history, and our future, just as God has favored it over all other languages by making it the language of the final message and the language of the Holy Qur’an, and God has promised to preserve it.

Prof. Muhammad Ibrahim, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Education and Student Affairs, praised that the Faculty administration is keen to organize the day to celebrate the language that represents our identity, as the Arabic language is considered the most accurate language among languages in describing things, and one word has more than one synonym, and that the goal of celebrating International Arabic Language Day is to present a celebration befitting the language of the Holy Qur’an.

It is noteworthy that the celebration hosted several poets, critics, novelists, and a large group of those interested in enriching and empowering the refined Arabic language and spreading its culture. The celebration’s program included some items, including: recitation of the Holy Qur’an, religious chanting, and testimonies of love for the Arabic language.

The “Buh Al-Fusha paragraph” was also presented, which is a poetic paragraph in which the following poets were recited: Ahmed Sweilem, Ihab Al-Bashbishi, Jamal Al-Shaer, Jamal Al-Qassas, Al-Sayyid Hassan, Abdel Aziz Juwaida, and Muhammad Al-Shahat.

The “Novel and the Magic of Language” segment was also presented, spoken by: Ahmed Abdo, Sayed Al-Wakeel, Salah Maaty, Mohsen Al-Ghamri, and Muhammad Abdel-Hafiz Nassef, and this was followed by a singing interlude by singer Hassan Zaki and singer Ghada Al-Absi.

After the celebration, the film “The Story of Al-Dad” prepared by the department’s students was shown, and all those who influenced the literary and linguistic field and the personalities interested in supporting and empowering the language were honored.