The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) has launched the first phase of its community campaign to promote sustainable reading, covering the first half of 2025, on Thursday, 27 February 2025, at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, with prominent figures from the UAE’s culture, media, intellectual, and literary sectors in attendance.
Held under the theme ‘Knowledge Illuminates Our Community’, the initiative falls in line with the UAE’s declaration of 2025 as the ‘Year of Community’, and serves to reinforce the Centre’s commitment to enhancing the presence of the Arabic language and fostering a culture of reading in the community.
The campaign underscores the vital role of reading and its alignment with the principles of the ‘Year of Community’. It aims to unlock the potential and talents of various community groups, particularly the youth, in an effort to empower them to master the Arabic language as a key element of the community’s community identity that embodies its heritage and values. This, in turn, sustainably promotes reading as a practice among various segments of society.
Coinciding with National Reading Month and the upcoming Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF), the agenda for the initiative features 1,700 creative events and key initiatives, held in collaboration with 100 government and private-sector entities, bringing together 100 creative talents, and welcoming 50,000 UAE citizens and residents from schools, universities, government institutions, and public spaces across the country.
The agenda covers 14 areas of interest and includes reading clubs, discussion panels, creative writing workshops, intellectual lectures, art seminars, educational entertainment programmes, specialised courses, poetry readings, storytelling sessions, radio programmes, cultural competitions, initiatives involving artificial intelligence (AI), and new book launches.
In a statement, His Excellency Dr Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of the ALC, remarked: “This community campaign for sustainable reading reflects our commitment to enhancing the role of the Arabic language among all community members and embedding a culture of reading into their daily lives, regardless of age or intellectual background.”
“In this initiative, as with all our projects, we draw inspiration from the wise leadership’s vision to cement the Arabic language as a pillar of community identity, and promote reading as a cornerstone for intellectual and knowledge advancement,” H.E. added. “We are excited to present a curated selection of projects and activities under this initiative, timed perfectly with the declaration by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to designate 2025 as the ‘Year of Community’.”
H.E. bin Tamim stressed that “sustainable reading is crucial for achieving lasting intellectual development. It is a key foundation for building capabilities and enhancing the skills of community members, especially the youth, ensuring they stay connected and engaged with contemporary thought, culture, and technology, thus enabling them to participate in the ongoing cultural renaissance, equipped with knowledge and values rooted in the traditions of the UAE.”
For his part, H.E. Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, Executive Director of ALC, noted: “The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre prioritises sustainability and growth in its projects to serve the community. This campaign for sustainable reading is designed to foster the sustainable development of a reading culture, tailored to all community groups, regardless of their interests or age.”
“The campaign employs innovative standards to enrich the community with knowledge derived from the Arabic heritage, culture, and language, in line with the values and ‘Emirati Sanaa’ (etiquette) that characterise UAE culture,” H.E. Al Tunaiji added.
Key activities announced during the launch event include 11 discussion panels organised by the Kalima Reading Club featuring 30 creative participants, in addition to five programmes hosted on the ALC’s digital platforms targeting younger generations, including ‘We Read for Children’, held in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Media Network, and ‘Kalima in a Book’, where media host Ahmad Ali El Zein discusses works published by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre.
The campaign is set to establish several literary partnerships through the Kalima Project for Translation, collaborating with Qasr Al Hosn, Abrahamic Family House, and Abu Dhabi Children’s Library to organise a series of literary sessions on classical and Nabati poetry, cultural traditions, and spirituality during Ramadan, as well as educational readings and workshops for children.
Another initiative involves reading Arabic-language stories for children, produced by the ALC’s Kalima Project for Translation and Esdarat programme, featuring 18 narrators. Additionally, the Qalam Creative Writing Programme will be hosting two workshops: one on the art of short story writing and another on the art of illustrating folk tales.
As part of the campaign, the ALC will be launching a range of activities including Creative Experience, training programmes focused on creative writing, workshops targeting experts and technicians, and 10 specialised lectures on the Arabic language. This includes an introductory session on the Arabic Pals competition, as well as numerous events held in the UAE and abroad, notably the ‘Reading in Public’ and ‘Khazanat Al Kutub’ initiatives.
Furthermore, the agenda features sessions with winners of the various awards organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, chief among them being the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. The award winners will be leading intellectual seminars highlighting their creative experiences.
The community campaign to support sustainable reading reflects the ALC’s commitment to promoting reading as a sustainable culture and expanding the reach of Arabic content, thereby strengthening knowledge and enhancing community identity.