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Arab Week at UNESCO Strengthens Saudi Arabia's Position in Cultural Dialogue

The UNESCO logo is seen during the opening of the 39th session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at their headquarters in Paris, France, Oct. 30, 2017. Reuters
The UNESCO logo is seen during the opening of the 39th session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at their headquarters in Paris, France, Oct. 30, 2017. Reuters
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Arab Week at UNESCO Strengthens Saudi Arabia's Position in Cultural Dialogue

The UNESCO logo is seen during the opening of the 39th session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at their headquarters in Paris, France, Oct. 30, 2017. Reuters
The UNESCO logo is seen during the opening of the 39th session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at their headquarters in Paris, France, Oct. 30, 2017. Reuters

The Arab Week will open on Monday at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris.

The event plays a significant role in advancing Arab and international cultural and civilizational efforts, contributing to the progress of education, culture, and science at regional and global levels.

This is the first time in over half a century that Arab countries have organized an Arab Week at UNESCO. The event is spearheaded by the Saudi National Committee for Education, Culture and Science, which reinforces the Kingdom's position in regard to cultural dialogue and coexistence.

The event celebrates the rich cultural heritage of the Arab world through literature and arts. It also provides opportunities for intercultural dialogue, with all Arab countries showcasing the richness and diversity of Arab culture and civilization, promoting intercultural understanding, and contributing to cultural development.
Arab Week at UNESCO features 22 spaces dedicated to Arab countries, each showcasing different aspects of the Arab culture. Seven seminars will focus on topics such as Arabic language, Arabic calligraphy, Arabic literature, AI, education, fine arts, intangible cultural heritage, and world heritage.

The Arab Week will also be an occasion to display activities such as musical performances, handicrafts, Arab fashion, and Arab cuisine. Attendees will also have the chance to explore a cultural exhibition, an Arabic calligraphy exhibition, a photography exhibition of heritage sites in the Arab world, and an exhibition of Arab cultural products.

The committee's work aims to represent the Kingdom in regional and international organizations concerned with education, culture, communication, and information. It focuses on preparing and providing support for cooperation with international and non-profit organizations, building communication bridges, and leveraging all capabilities to foster initiatives that enhance cultural dialogue between Arab countries and the rest of the world. This effort culminates in the significant initiative of Arab Week at UNESCO, which has received the support and endorsement of the Arab countries, and which will highlight their historical diversity and cultural pluralism, as well as their values rooted in a rich cultural and civilizational heritage.

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Culture

Fading Literature: Delhi's Famed Urdu Bazaar on Last Legs

A student sits beneath packed shelves at the Hazrat Shah Waliullah public library - AFP
A student sits beneath packed shelves at the Hazrat Shah Waliullah public library - AFP
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Fading Literature: Delhi's Famed Urdu Bazaar on Last Legs

A student sits beneath packed shelves at the Hazrat Shah Waliullah public library - AFP
A student sits beneath packed shelves at the Hazrat Shah Waliullah public library - AFP

In the bustling heart of Old Delhi, Indian bookseller Mohammed Mahfooz Alam sits forlorn in his quiet store, among the last few selling literature in a language beloved by poets for centuries.

Urdu, spoken by many millions today, has a rich past that reflects how cultures melded to forge India's complex history.

But its literature has been subsumed by the cultural domination of Hindi, struggling against false perceptions that its elegant Perso-Arabic script makes it a foreign import and a language of Muslims in the Hindu-majority nation.

"There was a time when, in a year, we would see 100 books being published," said 52-year-old Alam, lamenting the loss of the language and its readership.
The narrow streets of Urdu Bazaar, in the shadow of the 400-year-old Jama Masjid mosque, were once the core of the city's Urdu literary community, a center of printing, publishing and writing.

Today, streets once crowded with Urdu bookstores abuzz with scholars debating literature are now thick with the aroma of sizzling kebabs from the restaurants that have replaced them.

Only half a dozen bookstores are left.

"Now, there are no takers," Alam said, waving at the streets outside. "It is now a food market."

- Dying 'day by day' -

Urdu, one of the 22 languages enshrined under India's constitution, is the mother tongue of at least 50 million people in the world's most populous country. Millions more speak it, as well as in neighbouring Pakistan.

But while Urdu is largely understood by speakers of India's most popular language Hindi, their scripts are entirely different.

Alam says he can see Urdu literature dying "day by day".

The Maktaba Jamia bookshop he manages opened a century ago. Alam took over its running this year driven by his love for the language.

"I have been sitting since morning, and barely four people have come," he said gloomily. "And even those were college or school-going children who want their study books."

Urdu, sharing Hindi's roots and mingled with words from Persian and Arabic, emerged as a hybrid speech between those who came to India through trade and conquest -- and the people they settled down amongst.

But Urdu has faced challenges in being viewed as connected to Islamic culture, a popular perception that has grown since the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in 2014.

- 'Feel the beauty' -

For centuries, Urdu was a key language of governance.

Sellers first set up stores in the Urdu Bazaar in the 1920s, selling stacks of books from literature to religion, politics and history -- as well as texts in Arabic and Persian.

By the 1980s, more lucrative fast-food restaurants slowly moved in, but the trade dropped dramatically in the past decade, with more than a dozen bookshops shutting down.

"With the advent of the internet, everything became easily available on the mobile phone," said Sikander Mirza Changezi, who co-founded a library to promote Urdu in Old Delhi in 1993.

"People started thinking buying books is useless, and this hit the income of booksellers and publishers, and they switched to other businesses."

The Hazrat Shah Waliullah Public Library, which Changezi helped create, houses thousands of books including rare manuscripts and dictionaries.

It is aimed at promoting the Urdu language.

Student Adeeba Tanveer, 27, who has a masters degree in Urdu, said the library provided a space for those wanting to learn.

"The love for Urdu is slowly coming back," Tanveer told AFP, adding that her non-Muslim friends were also keen to learn.

"It is such a beautiful language," she said. "You feel the beauty when you speak it."