DOHA: Eighteen students from middle and high schools in Qatar were recognised for their outstanding Arabic literary submissions for the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Arabic Language Award for the promotion of Arabic arts and culture.
Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Dr Mohammed Abdul Wahed Ali Al Hammadi attended the award ceremony organised by Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation at Qatar Nation Convention Centre (QNCC). The winners were selected out of 160 participants from 50 schools by a panel of judges from the ministry.
“The Arabic language is considered one of the oldest spoken and common languages in the world,” Sheikh Faisal said. About 300 million people speak Arabic around the globe. Arabic is an official language of countries in the Middle East and the language of the Holy Quran.
“With the history of Arabic literature dating back some 16 centuries, I am deeply honoured to be able to read such amazing literary pieces written by young students of today,” he added.
“Language has a vital role to play in communication — spreading across the fields of literature, poetry, art and science,” said Fawzia Al Khater, Director, Education Institute at the ministry. “We are working with foundation to support the award.”
“The foundation constantly promotes innovative developmental opportunities in the areas of education and youth enablement,” said Shaikh Mohamed bin Qassim Al Thani, Member, Board of Trustees of the foundation. “These include strengthening students’ cultural and artistic talents, particularly in the Arabic language, to positively drive the next generation of leaders of Qatar into sustainable growth while preserving the nation’s historic and cultural legacy.”
The award was launched in December 2015 to cover the first part of the project. The event also included an Arabic calligraphy and spelling competition. It also covered various forms of literary art such as poetry, speech writing and short story writing.
The Peninsula
