The first Arabic Language Summit, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, led to effective recommendations to enrich the Arabic language. 

The summit's theme was "Language and Identity Formation" and was organised by the Ministry of Culture and Youth in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC).

Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, said: "In the presence of experts, specialists and academics from around the world, the two-day summit covered key issues and themes that advance Arabic language and expand its position as a language of science, knowledge, and civilisation and humanitarian dialogue with various peoples and civilisations, thereby achieving our leadership's vision of supporting efforts to preserve and strengthen the Arabic language as a fundamental pillar of Arab identity".

She added: "This year, we identified key recommendations that we hope would serve as a starting point for working toward the stability of the Arabic language's status, promoting its use, and benefiting from the unique content that it presents for various aspects of life. The recommendations help guide media institutions, content writers, librarians, and creative writers, who can help young people enhance their Arabic language skills and benefit from advanced technology. They can improve their learning and expand their perceptions of the importance of Arabic language and use it as a starting point for dialogue with their peers all over the world".

Her Excellency said the cultural retreat held during the summit was part of an integrated effort with partners, who provide opportunities to discuss the most significant issues facing the Arabic language and to come up with effective solutions that contribute to consolidating its status. This reflects the interest of the nation and its institutions to develop a treasure of human knowledge and thought, and underline language as a main premise of societal identity.

Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, said: "The Arab Language Summit will elevate the stature of the Arabic language and open new horizons that keep up with the rapid speed of technical advancements. Through linguistic and creative bridges, Arab culture will spread throughout the world".

He added: " The cultural retreat is also a part of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center's ongoing initiatives to highlight the status of Arabic at the regional and Arab levels by hosting a number of specialised events and retreats that seek to identify the barriers to Arabic's growth as a global language, develop effective methods to address them, and innovate new concepts and business models. The aim is to integrate these solutions into all facets of people's lives in line with the UAE's vision and plan for a better future for the Arabic language".

His Excellency praised the efforts the specialists who took part in the summit and retreat, who through their extensive knowledge and rich experience, opened the horizons of dialogue and constructive discussion that supports Arabic language development and enables youth to master the language, while realising the goals and aspirations of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center.

Creating non-traditional future patterns
At its first session in 2023, the Arab Language Summit issued recommendations stressing the need to use the aesthetics of the Arabic language and its timeless masterpieces in poetry and prose, and to focus on dialects as because of their linguistic, aesthetic, and spiritual values. It called for activating the role of productive institutions in developing content specialised in early childhood and kindergartens in Arabic and activating the role of media institutions in establishing Arabic in the society and as part of the identity. It also stressed the importance of planning to enrich the content and production of Arab television and drama, through workshops in content development to create beloved Arab and international heroes.
The summit also called for the need to write a common human history as the foundation for a broad understanding of Arab culture, helping young people communicate and express themselves in their mother tongue and for promoting the use of artificial intelligence in teaching grammar and broadening perceptions of Arabic and its various dialects, and recognised the need to host exhibitions across the world to introduce Arabic aesthetics and calligraphy.

The recommendations also stressed the importance of launching scientific and cognitive research to bring colloquial dialects closer to the classical ones, stimulate studies in the identity and nature of the language, and the need to launch studies on Arabic literature and its effects on world literature and languages. The summit also urged to encourage genuine linguistic and music education of the next generation beginning in early childhood, as well as to popularise the greatest works in Arabic poetry through h musical works.

A cultural retreat to strengthen the position of the Arabic language in key domains
During the summit, a cultural retreat was organised under the patronage and in the presence of Sheikha Alyazia Bint Nahyan Al Nahyan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for Arab Culture at the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO), who discussed several topics related to enhancing the presence of the Arabic language and ways to develop innovative mechanisms and visions to improve its position in various domains.

The retreat included a series of specialised sessions that discussed themes such as “Language and the Worlds of Creativity”, and “Arabic Language Academies, a Future Vision”, and discussing the prospects for the Arabic language, and organising sessions that raised topics “Arabic Language and Literature”, “Arabic Language and Education Curricula”, and “Arabic Language and Youth”.

Establishing and Strengthening the Arabic Language
The retreat developed a set of recommendations that stressed the importance of supporting Arabic language academies and centers, achieving Arabic manuscripts, continuing to publish and digitise modern dictionaries, encouraging and developing studies and research, supporting the movement for translation and Arabisation, and encouraging the use of social media and contemporary technologies to further the presence, enrichment, and dissemination of the Arabic language and to provide a framework for the Arabicisation of scientific words, which will result in the complete Arabisation of curriculum.
The recommendations included encouraging research into the relationship of Arabic music and the language, and its expression of identity, and supporting Arab identity through symbols and motifs, and the heritage of decoration and architecture. 

The participants also suggested enhancing the role of social media influencers in promoting the use of Arabic language among children and young people and urged institutions and entities to enact legislation and policies to use the Arabic language in internal and external communications and during meetings.