Call to engage social media platforms to encourage use of Arabic language among youth

Dubai, March 17, 2015: Social media offers significant opportunities to encourage the use of Arabic language among the youth of the region, said H.E. Jamal Bin Huwaireb, Managing Director of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation. Speaking on the first day of the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit (ASMIS) today, H.E. Huwaireb called on the young generation to use Arabic language on a wider scale on social media.

“Today Arabic youth are not keen on writing in their native language. As a result there are plenty of problem areas in spelling and style of writing,” H.E. Huwaireb said. Calling for a change in attitude of the youth towards Arabic, H.E. Huwaireb said it is important to preserve the language to secure the Arabic heritage and culture.

H.E. Huwaireb attributed his interest in Arabic language and literature to the inspiration from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. “All that I read, I read after I met His Highness Sheikh Mohammed who enabled me to adopt a new outlook to Arabic language,” H.E. Huwaireb said.

H.E. Huwaireb highlighted MBRF’s Bil Arabi initiative as a major effort towards encouraging the use of written Arabic. Today Arabic is considered to be the fourth most widely used language in the world after English, French and Spanish. However, if the current generation ignores the use of their native language, Arabic risks losing its position as a major language, H.E. Huwaireb said.

Describing Arabic as a language most suited for use on social media, H.E. Huwaireb said: “Twitter is the most popular social network in the Arab world. It is much easier to tweet in Arabic than it is in English as the language does not require too many characters.”

H.E. Huwaireb expressed optimism that social media will serve as a platform for change and encourage more youth to write in Arabic.  The World Arabic Language Day on 18 December saw more than 79 million participants retweeting 700 million Tweets in Arabic, H.E. Huwaireb added. 

The Arab Social Media Influencers Summit has brought together more than 1500 social media experts in the first event of its kind in region. The event involves the participation of all segments of the society to strengthen the role of social media in various aspects of life. It will enable young Arabs to employ their innovative ideas to serve the Arab community through optimal use of social media channels.