Teams from 17 Countries in Riyadh for Final Stage of ‘ALLaM Challenge’ to Support Arabic

The challenge will provide competitors with opportunities for training and workshops led by AI experts and specialists in Arabic language fields. SPA
The challenge will provide competitors with opportunities for training and workshops led by AI experts and specialists in Arabic language fields. SPA
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Teams from 17 Countries in Riyadh for Final Stage of ‘ALLaM Challenge’ to Support Arabic

The challenge will provide competitors with opportunities for training and workshops led by AI experts and specialists in Arabic language fields. SPA
The challenge will provide competitors with opportunities for training and workshops led by AI experts and specialists in Arabic language fields. SPA

Teams from 17 countries began arriving at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, preparing for the final stage of the "ALLaM Challenge."
The competition will take place from Thursday, November 7, to Saturday, November 9 at the Crowne Plaza Riyadh, with over 600 male and female competitors representing 200 teams. The event will also feature more than 50 guides and 40 judges, with total prizes valued at SAR 1 million.
The ALLaM Challenge -- organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) in collaboration with the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones -- is part of SDAIA’s efforts to support the Kingdom's initiatives to serve the Arabic language regionally and globally.
The challenge aims to enhance the language's status and raise global awareness of it, in alignment with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which emphasizes the importance of the Arabic language as a key element of Saudi national identity.
The ALLaM Challenge aims to develop AI models capable of writing and understanding Arabic poetry, accurately parsing sentences, and teaching children the Arabic language in an engaging way.
This initiative continues the Kingdom's efforts to serve the Arabic language, particularly in technical fields, by providing high-quality Arabic data and developing AI models that efficiently handle the language.
The international competition is held in partnership with IBM and the National Technology Development Program (NTDP).
Participants in the challenge aim to showcase their abilities and potential by developing and improving large language models (LLMs). The challenge will provide competitors with opportunities for training and workshops led by AI experts and specialists in Arabic language fields.
It will support the teams and evaluate their projects based on judging criteria that ensure the sustainability of the solutions and their transformation into real AI-driven projects that serve the Arabic language across various sectors and fields.



Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)

In his seaside workshop on the Greek island of Lesbos, Nikos Kouvdis uses ancient techniques to create pottery pieces that have recently been honored with inclusion in UNESCO's National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Kouvdis, 70, and his family have kept an old technique alive near the once humming pottery hub of Mandamados, just as the slow and careful methods of the past have been largely eclipsed by factory machines.

Their pottery is among the last in the Mediterranean to be produced from clay in local soil, using a traditional kiln with olive pits as fuel, with the pieces painted with natural lime.

"It's an honor for me," Kouvdis said with regard to the UNESCO recognition of his work.

He said a mechanized press can work at 10 times the speed of an individual potter. "There’s no continuity. There’s no space for (our) method to continue."

Still, he continues to produce individual pots on an outcrop of land overlooking the Aegean Sea.

"Above all, it’s a passion - trying to create something that fulfils you," he said.