Arabic language is our identity: UAE minister

Dubai - She said one of the recommendations from a two-year study conducted by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development is introducing an observatory centre to protect the Arabic language.

A senior government minister has renewed calls for the preservation of Arabic language at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai on Thursday.

Arabic language is our culture and identity, said Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, during a session titled ‘The Future of the Arabic Language’.

“The onus is on all of us to preserve it, sustain it and enrich it through research and publishing a lot of Arabic literature. It has a rich history and embedded with culture. We need to be proud of it and give it a priority so it can spread across the borders.”

She said one of the recommendations from a two-year study conducted by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development is introducing an observatory centre to protect the Arabic language.

“The observatory will play a vital role in fighting the menace of online piracy, which has continued to cause chaos in the Arabic publishing industry,” Al Kaabi said, adding that the observatory centre will create a way of following the progress of the Arab publishers and to control book piracy.

She said the aim of the observatory is to support intellectual property rights and raise awareness of its importance in the growth of the electronic publishing industry. “Digital publishing supports creativity in Arab culture. It represents an exciting new frontier for the Arabic literature and offers a space to develop new talents and brings onboard younger writers,” said Al Kaabi.

The publishing industry must also address ongoing trends such as why people reading in Arabic among many others, she added.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com