On the occasion of World Arabic Language Day, which coincides with the unanimous vote of the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 1973, following a Moroccan initiative, to adopt Arabic as an official language, renewed debate has arisen over the status of this language, spoken by approximately 467 million people worldwide. It is noteworthy that the 2025 celebration was held under the theme: "Innovative Pathways for the Arabic Language".
The Arabic language — long accused of sterility, as poignantly expressed by the Poet of the Nile, Hafez Ibrahim — and subjected to a measure of injustice for historical, social and ideological reasons, often contrasted with the glorification of the languages of Shakespeare, Molière and Cervantes, now faces new challenges intrinsically linked to globalisation, cultural identity, and the enhancement of competitiveness within the global linguistic landscape, amid the transformations of the digital age.
Hence the imperative to develop effective plans and policies to reform educational curricula and linguistic capacity-building, and to encourage the production of innovative and appropriate content, particularly in light of the widespread use of colloquial dialects and Latinised or hybrid vocabulary. This is especially pressing given the reliance on machine translation, with its negative repercussions on the purity of linguistic structure and, more alarmingly, on patterns of thinking — particularly among young people, who constitute the most active users of social media platforms.
Arab digital content, which according to UNESCO estimates in 2025 accounts for only around 3 per cent of total online content, calls for the effective harnessing of the promising opportunities offered by artificial intelligence in development and technical services. This is all the more relevant in view of the relative improvement in e-learning and the ongoing digital transformation in a number of Arab countries.
Language — any language — is a fundamental component of identity and an indispensable instrument of national sovereignty. Accordingly, a collective effort is required to make the Arabic language a producer of knowledge, responsive to technological advancement, and aligned with the spirit of the age, away from traditional approaches and linguistic insularity.
The Arabic language, this ancient and rich tongue, which symbolises a spiritual, intellectual and creative heritage that has made inspiring contributions to the building of human civilisation, remains one of the pillars of success for any genuine renaissance and development project. It also constitutes a solid common denominator among Arab countries, at a time when members of the European Union are permitted to use 24 official languages, in addition to the existence of some 200 unofficial languages.
It is an established fact that the future of the Arabic language ultimately lies in the hands of its speakers, through reliance on their creative capacities, openness to living languages and global cultures, and respect for linguistic plurality and national cultures, with all their diverse components, across the Arab world.
Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi,
Assistant Secretary-General and head of the Media and Communication Sector
