In implementation of the Arabic language charter initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to develop Arabic language affiliation and encourage its use in all areas of life, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research launched a volunteering initiative in cooperation with the Society for the Protection of Arabic Language, targeting all community categories to participate in promoting the national identity and strengthening belonging to the Arabic language through the Ministry’s recently signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Society for the Protection of Arabic Language, under which the two parties cooperate to achieve the desired goal.
His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, emphasized the need for doing all that it takes to achieve leadership in attaining the strategic goals in line with the UAE Vision 2021 and its future aspirations, which stipulates that Arabic language should regain its position as a vital and dynamic language, to be used in all areas to express Islamic and Arabic values of the nation, and that the UAE should be a center of excellence in Arabic language that hosts scientists and researchers, supports the authentic Arabic content, and supports the translation of international literary and scientific works into Arabic. His Excellency also clarified that sustainability of education and development with its various dimensions is required, however, sustainability of the language and identity is a top priority.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the two sides stressed raising the awareness of targets to be responsible for the errors that occur in their prints, advertisements, and correspondence. It also aims to raise awareness to the need for paying attention to and enriching the Arabic content on their websites, support the initiatives of teaching Arabic language for non-native speakers, and limit the use of hybrid Arabic in the different social media platforms. It also seeks to encourage reliance on experiences in the relevant fields, increase the number of persons interested in Arabic through supporting and honoring the volunteering contributions and initiatives that serve the goals, and build strategic partnerships with the stakeholders at the local, regional, and international levels.
The Ministry has encouraged its employees to participate in this initiative, and use Arabic language in a sound manner, in order to contribute to the revival of its ancient past, so that their achievement in these areas are to be taken into account in the annual performance evaluation, in addition to honoring them in a way commensurate with the positive impact of their participation or the ability to influence others and lead the change. The contribution will be either by the employees, their acquaintances, or relatives through checking the texts issued by the Ministry before they are printed or published, in addition to the contribution in the awareness initiatives that will be launched later with the “Society for the Protection of Arabic Language”.