Arabic as a vehicle for culture, a means of bringing people together

The second edition of the Arabic Language Festival was expanded and enriched following the success of the inaugural pilot edition held in 2014. The event was opened by Taieb Baccouche, former Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs and a professor of Arabic language.

Over the course of two days, the Festival hosted two conferences, one dedicated to the Arabic language and the other to Arab culture, bringing together leading scholars, writers and literary critics from across the Arab world, including Egyptian scholar Salah Fadl and Moroccan writer Muhammad Barrada.

The Festival also celebrated Arab culture through a rich programme of artistic events, including a concert by musicians from the Cairo Opera House, the screening of an Arabic film starring the renowned actor Omar Sharif, a poetry reading, a theatre performance by actress and writer Nora Amin, and an exhibition of Arabic calligraphy by artist Shamira Minozzi.

The two-day event was also followed by the Egyptian cultural television channel Al-Nil, and was attended by representatives of several Arab diplomatic missions, further highlighting the Festival’s international and intercultural dimension.