On Saturday 18th December 2021, laureates of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award joined the online celebrations for UN Arabic Language Day.
The commemoration was instituted by UNESCO in 2012, with a date chosen to coincide with the day that Arabic was adopted as the sixth official language of the United Nations, in 1973.
To celebrate the beauty of the Arabic language, SZBA laureates Tahera Qutbuddin, Richard van Leeuwen, Iman Mersal and Michael Cooperson were asked to consider the question – what Arabic phrase inspires you?
The four responses joined the conversation around the importance of Arabic culture and language today, whilst highlighting the role of language and literature in exploring and understanding the world around us.
