The Federal National
Council, at its 3rd meeting held on Tuesday, November 25th,
at the headquarters of the Council in Abu Dhabi, under the chairmanship of
Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Chairman of the Council, in the presence of Sheikh
Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth, and Community
Development, and Dr. Anwar Mohammed Qarqash, Minister of State for Federal
National Council Affairs, recommended the issuing of a federal law to protect
the Arabic language and strengthen its position by requiring all federal, local
and private institutions to use it in speech and writing.
His Excellency
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan confirmed that the State’s policy in
promoting the status of the Arabic language is guided by the directives of His
Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to work very hard to maintain the
status of the Arabic language and its main and most prestigious position in the
country, referring to the initiatives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, Ruler of Dubai in supporting
the Arabic language and allocating an international award, and to the great care
of His Highness Sheikh General Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu
Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces , and his constant
directives to pay attention to the Arabic language.
His Excellency
explained that there is a number of challenges facing the Arabic language, most
notably, the alienation of the Arabic language in schools, universities, work,
and the media, and the upbringing of new generations on foreign languages
without the awareness of the importance of the Arabic language in life, not using
it enough in the areas of modern sciences, translation, and publishing, the chaos
in the names of shops, in clothing, and social media platforms, the absence of
studies and research, the urgent need for teachers who can deal with the Arabic
language and means of teaching it, the lack of a clear framework for
identifying the different social responsibilities to support the Arabic
language status in all walks of life, the lack of a clear framework for the
positive and constructive cooperation with the Arab and international institutions
and agencies concerned with the status of the Arabic language and with the
Arabic language academies, and the absence of a general climate that is keen on
learning from the experiences of other languages.
His Excellency suggested
to work on a number of axes in order to address these challenges, including communication
with the education councils and media, allocating awards, conducting studies
and research, the organization of language and study tests, and the expansion
of the translation and publication activities, pointing out that the
Ministerial Council for Services approved the establishment of the UAE Center
for Arabic language. This Center works to achieve the desired status as a house
of globally reputed expertise that coordinates with all stakeholders to develop
the Arabic language teaching environment, conduct research, organize
conferences, and pay attention to the translation and publication programs and
the use of appropriate technology programs, in order to protect the Arabic
language and confirm its position in the nation.
26/11/2014