World Arabic Language Day

World Arabic Language Day is observed annually on the 18th of December. First established by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010, the day celebrates the Arabic language and promotes cultural diversity. Arabic Language Day is celebrated all around the world as a means to promote cultural understanding and encourage dialogue among people who speak different languages.

Our team of Forum of Arabic Culture inspired by the success in organizing Arabic Culture days last September, which reached wide-ranging public and gained political response and interest, decided to continue promoting intercultural dialogue and join the initiative of celebrating Arabic language and literature. All guests from Arabic countries are welcome to join the activities!

The goal is to present Arabic culture, language, and literature to the Lithuanian audience by highlighting it’s practical, historical and artistic features. In order to achieve this aim various methods, such as the work-shop, discussion, film screening, will be employed.

We aspire to involve both the Arabic and Lithuanian academic communities in order to foster new developments in the studies of Arabic culture, language, and literature. This, we hope, will help deepen the knowledge of contemporary Arabic literature in Lithuania and encourage translations of Arabic literature into Lithuanian. Various Middle Eastern writers and academics will attend the events and will help to get acquainted with the contemporary issues in the fields of arabistics, literary science and regional studies.

We believe that any cross cultural relationship must be based on understanding and respect. In order to achieve these goals symposium will involve writers and scholars from various Middle Eastern countries, as well as local scholars from the Institute of Asian and Transcultural studies. One of the main goals of the symposium is to strengthen the understanding of the Middle East region. To accomplish this aim we invite scientists from the Arab countries to discuss the most relevant scientific issues emerging in contemporary regional studies and especially in the Middle East studies.

Patronage granted by the National Commissions for UNESCO.

The events are brought to you by the Arabic Culture Forum in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Warsaw, Honorary Consul of the Sultanate of Oman in Lithuania, Library of Alexandria (Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, National Library of Martynas Mažvydas, the Institute of Asian and Transcultural studies, Institute of Lithuanian language and folklore, The Lithuanian Association of Literary Translators and last but not least the Asian Art Centre.

Events will be held in English and Lithuanian languages.

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Event Program

Arabic literature

UAE Husain Ali Al Hashimi exhibition, lecture and workshop

Exhibition of calligraphy graphics and a lecture on calligraphy (Maritana Larbi, Vilnius University Asian and transcultural studies institute and Husain Ali Al Hashimi, Arabic Language Protection Association, JAE)

The Qur’an is considered the direct word of God, so from the very beginning of Islam, it was important for Muslims to give an aesthetic image to their religious texts. Due to the believer’s desire to express his relationship with the Creator, calligraphy has become the most valued branch of the visual arts in Islamic culture. Calligraphy is not just about defined letter proportions, geometry or abstraction, it is a rhythm equated to music.

The exhibition of works by the calligrapher Husain Ali Al-Hashimi from the United Arab Emirates will reveal the precisely conveyed traditions and ethics of Arab-Islamic calligraphic art.

UAE calligrapher Husain Ali Al-Hashimi was born in 1959 in Dubai. He studied Arabic calligraphy with the famous Kuwaiti artist Mustafa Ibn Nakhi and with calligraphers Hashim Al-Baghdadi and Sadiq Al-Douri at the Baghdad Institute of Arts, as well as deepened his knowledge in various projects on the history of Islamic art. Husain Ali Al-Hashimi has held numerous author exhibitions in various Islamic and European countries, and has won international awards and achievements. Among the most famous works of the calligrapher is the logo created for the most luxurious hotel in Dubai, Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi.