RIYADH: The charitable Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization celebrated World Arabic Language Day with an event in Paris this week under the theme “Innovative Pathways for Arabic: Policies and Practices for a More Inclusive Linguistic Future.”
Organized in collaboration with the Kingdom’s permanent delegation to UNESCO, it brought together a distinguished group of international leaders, policymakers, experts, intellectuals and specialists in linguistic and cultural affairs from around the globe, organizers said, to underscore the global standing of the Arabic language and its pivotal role in promoting cultural diversity and dialogue among civilizations.
The participants included Khaled Ahmed El-Enany, director general of UNESCO; Abdulelah Altokhais, Saudi Arabia’s permanent delegate to the organization; and Saleh Ibrahim Al-Kholaifi, the foundation’s director general.
In his speech at the event, El-Enany highlighted the importance of the partnership between UNESCO and the foundation, which he said allows the organization to increase the scale of its ambition in the work it does. A number of key projects are planned as part of the collaboration, he added.
