The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, is set to unveil its pioneering digital initiative BAREC (BAREC – Balanced Arabic Readability Corpus) during its participation in GITEX Global 2025, taking place in Dubai from 13 to 17 October.
Marking a significant advancement in artificial intelligence applications, BAREC is the first comprehensive, open-source reference for evaluating Arabic text readability. Developed in collaboration with New York University Abu Dhabi and Zayed University, the initiative addresses a critical gap in Arabic language technologies and enhances its presence in the digital sphere.
His Excellency Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, said: “Our presence at GITEX is more than showcasing technology projects; it sends a clear message that the Arabic language is ready to embrace the digital era with confidence. The BAREC project marks a transformative step in developing intelligent tools that can measure Arabic text readability with unprecedented accuracy. This open-source scientific reference, comprising millions of meticulously curated words, will serve publishers, educators, content creators, and readers alike. It will elevate the quality of Arabic content and enhance its global appeal.”
BAREC aligns with Abu Dhabi’s vision of establishing Arabic as a cornerstone of the global digital landscape and strengthening its position among the world's languages. By offering innovative publishing solutions and providing creators with intelligent tools, the initiative supports the wider dissemination of Arabic knowledge and culture worldwide.
The project features a vast linguistic corpus of more than 10 million words, including one million manually annotated entries spanning diverse literary genres and topics, with a special focus on readability levels. Advanced search functions and a smart model automatically determine a text’s readability level based on linguistic factors such as spelling, morphology, grammar and vocabulary complexity. A team of data specialists carried out manual annotation to ensure the highest standards of quality.
Accessible and user-friendly, BAREC provides a suite of digital tools, including a live text analysis demo, a searchable linguistic corpus browser and a website where users can input any text and instantly receive a readability evaluation. The platform also offers publicly available encoding models.
Strategically, BAREC delivers practical benefits across multiple sectors. For publishers and authors—especially in the field of children’s literature—it offers a valuable tool for identifying age-appropriate texts. For educators, it facilitates the selection of teaching materials tailored to students’ abilities. For researchers and data scientists, it unlocks access to advanced linguistic resources for experimentation. Collectively, the project reinforces Abu Dhabi’s standing as a global hub for excellence in Arabic computational linguistics and drives innovation in artificial intelligence.
As part of its commitment to advancing digital literacy, the ALC will host a session entitled ‘The Arabic Language and Large Language Models: A Dialogue on Our Digital Future’ during its participation in GITEX Global on 15 October. The session will bring together experts in artificial intelligence and the Arabic language to discuss the challenges and opportunities that large language models present for Arabic, while exploring strategies to strengthen its role in the global digital transformation. In addition, the ALC will organise workshops on Digital Library Services on 14 and 15 October, focusing on effective search techniques in electronic databases and on optimising the use of resources and references available through digital platforms.
The participation aligns with the ALC’s strategy to strengthen national cultural identity through contemporary tools, positioning Arabic as a leading language of science, knowledge, and cultural exchange. It also underscores the ALC’s commitment to developing innovative solutions that align with the UAE’s aspirations for digital transformation, thereby expanding the reach and competitiveness of Arabic content in the global digital landscape.
Now in its 45th edition, GITEX Global stands as the world’s largest and most established technology and startup exhibition. The event brings together leading global tech companies, government entities, startups, investors, and sector experts across more than 40 exhibition halls. This year’s themes include artificial intelligence, digital health, data centers, cybersecurity, and quantum computing, making it a vital platform for innovations such as BAREC that bridge language and AI.
