Arabian Records (1st post : Eid Al Fitr – 01st Shawwal 1439 (AH) / 15th June 2018 ) / (BETA testing – Research – starting April 2020 till date, on-going)

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, during its 46th session in New Delhi, India, announced the inclusion of three new Arab sites to the World Heritage List. The sites are the Monastery of Saint Hilarion/Tell Umm Amer in Palestine, Umm el Jimal City in Jordan, and the Cultural Landscape of Al Faw Archaeological Area in Saudi Arabia.

The Monastery of Saint Hilarion in Gaza is one of the oldest historical sites in the Middle East, while Umm el Jimal in Jordan showcases a Nabataean-Roman-Byzantine character and is notable for its inhabitants’ resilience in a water-scarce region. Saudi Arabia’s Al Faw Archaeological Area, a significant ancient human settlement, is now the eighth site in the Kingdom to be registered on the World Heritage List.

Prince Badr bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Culture, emphasised that the inscription of Al Faw aligns with Saudi Vision 2030, highlighting the Kingdom’s commitment to preserving global human heritage and promoting national identity.

“The Kingdom recognizes the importance of heritage, its preservation, and its promotion worldwide in order to establish a solid foundation for the present, chart a roadmap for future endeavors, and support the Heritage Commission in developing national heritage assets,” the Prince said.

Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities and Chairman of the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), congratulated the three countries on their achievement. He highlighted that this inclusion underscores the importance of Arab heritage on a global scale and reflects the growing interest in preserving the region’s cultural and natural heritage.

The inclusion of Tell Umm Amer was also simultaneously added to the List of World Heritage in Danger, amid the brutal genocidal war being waged on Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces.

source/content: middleeastmonitor.com (headline edited)

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and as part of the Poetry Forums in Africa initiative, the Republic of Senegal witnessed the launch of the third edition of the Arab Poetry Forum, which was organized by the Department of Cultural Affairs at the Department of Culture in Sharjah in cooperation with the Senegal Literary Club with the participation of 13 poets, both male and female.

The forum was held in the capital Dakar yesterday and will continue for two days, with the attendance of Dr. Fadil Gueye, President of the Senegal Literary Club, representatives of Senegalese cultural and literary institutions, and a group of poets and writers.

Mohammed Al Hadi Sal, the forum coordinator, thanked His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah for his continuous support for Arab culture and poetry, stressing that this support had a major impact on the success of the forum and the strengthening of cultural relations until the forum became a vital platform for the creativity of poets in Senegal.

Dr. Fadhel Ghay said, “The forum reflects the spirit of cooperation and constructive cultural interaction between peoples, and confirms the pioneering role of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah in supporting Arabic culture and literature.”

He pointed out the importance of strengthening cultural ties between the Arab world and Africa, through organizing such events, which contribute to the exchange of ideas and creativity, expressing his thanks to the Emirate of Sharjah for its great and continuous support for Arabic poetry and literature.

Fadel Gueye stressed that the Arab Poetry Forum in Senegal is the most important event in the country, and one of the most prominent cultural and literary events that celebrate Arab poetry and bring together poets and intellectuals from the Republic of Senegal.

The forum included poetry sessions and a critical symposium entitled “Senegalese Arabic Literature (Poetry and Novel) between Reality and Hope,” which discussed the development of Arabic literature in Senegal, its future prospects, the difficulties facing Senegalese writers, and the challenges that hinder the spread of their works, in addition to reviewing ways to enhance the presence of Senegalese Arabic literature at the local and international levels.

The poetry readings addressed various topics and diverse purposes, such as identity, belonging, and coexistence between cultures.

At the end of the first day of the forum, awards were distributed to 13 participants (poets and lecturers), in honor of their creativity and contributions to enriching Arab and African literature, amidst wide acclaim from the attendees and participants, stressing the importance of continuing such events that strengthen cultural ties between the Arab world and Africa.

source/content: wam.ae (headline edited)

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SHARJAH, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

The Arab Reading Challenge has crowned student Ghofrane Al Jelassi as the champion of its eighth edition at the Tunisian level, at the conclusion of competitions in which 117,235 students from 1,009 schools participated, under the supervision of 5,200 male and female reading supervisors.

Ghofrane Al Jelassi, a 10th-grade student at the Al Nahda Institute in Zaghouan, was crowned during the closing ceremony of the eighth edition of the Arab Reading Challenge, hosted by Tunis in the presence of Dr. Salwa Al Abbasi, Minister of Education in Tunisia, Dr. Iman Ahmed Al Salami, UAE Ambassador to Tunisia, and Dr. Fawzan Al Khalidi, Director of Programs and Initiatives at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, as well as a number of officials and educators in charge of the Arab Reading Challenge initiative, parents of the competitors, and a large number of male and female students from Tunisia.

During the closing ceremony of the eighth session, Sanaa Al-Zarrad from Monastir was honored after winning the title of “Distinguished Supervisor”, and “Manzel Salem Preparatory School” from El Kef was honored after winning the title of “Distinguished School”, while the Reading Challenge crowned Louay Al-Sharif, a tenth-grade student at “Al-Noor Institute for the Blind, Bir Al-Qassaa” affiliated with the Ben Arous region, as the champion of Tunisia in the category of people of determination.

The eighth session of the Arab Reading Challenge, the largest reading event of its kind in the Arabic language in the world, achieved record numbers, as participation in the current session reached 28.2 million male and female students from 50 countries representing 229,620 schools, under the supervision of 154,643 supervisors.

10 students advanced to the final rounds at the Tunisian level, including student Ghofrane Al-Jelassi, winner of the challenge title, “Aya Babou from the eleventh grade at the Sakiet Ezzit Model Institute in the Sfax 2 region, Mohamed Amr Al-Badawi from the sixth grade at the Imam Ibn Arafa School “Tunis 2”, Anas Al-Nawali from the eleventh grade at the Manzel Jemil Institute “Bizerte”, Hanin Al-Kouki from the eleventh grade at the Model Institute “Beja”, Baraa Ben Jalila from the eleventh grade at the Tozeur Institute “Qebli”, Nourssine Belaid from the eighth grade at the Model Preparatory School “Sfax 1”, Youssef Salmi from the fifth grade at the “02 March 1934” School – Ariana -, Amina Bint Sami Halas from the eleventh grade at the Saleh Bin Youssef Institute in Al-Qasr “Al-Kaf”, and Arej Hamouda from the seventh grade at the Model Preparatory School “Monastir”.

Her Excellency Dr. Salwa Al-Abassi, Minister of Education in the Republic of Tunisia, said: “The Arab Reading Challenge is a major civilizational project and a very important initiative in consolidating the status of the Arabic language and enhancing its presence in the daily use of rising generations, and in enriching Arab cultural life, which we witnessed during the eighth session in terms of the great turnout and interaction from Tunisian students and participating countries in general. This is a new achievement for the initiative, which has become, in a short period, a prominent mark in the Arab cultural and educational scene, and in strengthening communication between students in Arab countries.”

Her Excellency added: “I congratulate everyone who won and participated in the Arab Reading Challenge in the country, and I especially congratulate the fathers and mothers of students who had the greatest impact in encouraging their children to participate. I also extend my thanks to every Tunisian man and woman who contributes and supports the promotion of cultural activities within our educational institutions at the national level.”

She appreciated the great efforts made by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation to make the qualifiers for the eighth round in the Tunisian Republic a success, and the level of coordination and cooperation between the Foundation, the Ministry of Education, and all parties and bodies concerned with educational and cultural affairs in Tunisia.

For his part, Dr. Abdul Karim Sultan Al Olama, CEO of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, stressed that the Arab Reading Challenge continues to move steadily towards achieving its mission of creating a renaissance in reading by reaching all male and female students in Arab countries, as well as members of Arab communities in foreign countries and non-native learners of Arabic, and by constantly working to create a generation of distinguished and creative individuals capable of innovation in all fields, which will positively reflect on the present and future of the Arab world.

He said, “Once again, the Arab Reading Challenge proves that it is a unique platform for discovering promising Arab talents and inspiring millions of Arab students to exert more efforts in reading, learning and honing their skills. This is what we witnessed during the qualifiers for the eighth round of the challenge at the level of participating countries, including the sisterly Republic of Tunisia, where its students showed great interaction during the competitions and insisted on presenting an honorable image of the cultural and educational reality in Tunisia.”

Dr. Abdul Karim Sultan Al-Ulama congratulated the winners at the conclusion of the eighth round of qualifiers at the level of the Tunisian Republic, their families and schools, the Ministry of Education and all educational cadres.

The Arab Reading Challenge, organized by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, and launched in its first session in the 2015-2016 academic year under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, aims to enhance the importance of reading among participating students across the Arab world and the world, develop mechanisms for comprehension and self-expression in correct Arabic, and develop creative thinking skills, with the aim of enriching the cognitive content available in Arabic.

The challenge also aims to enhance the importance of cognitive reading in building self-learning skills and building the value system for young people by exposing them to the values, customs and beliefs of other cultures, which instills the principles of tolerance and coexistence.

source/content: wam.ae (headline edited)

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TUNISIA