Arabic is the most spoken Semitic language, and one of the most widely spoken in the world, spoken by more than 467 million people, and spoken in the Arab world, as well as a number of other neighboring regions such as Ahwaz, Turkey, Chad, Mali, Senegal, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Iran.
Arabic ranks fourth or fifth in terms of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and fourth in terms of the number of users on the internet.
The balance among the six official languages, namely, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, has been a concern of all the secretaries-general. Several actions have been taken, from 1946 to the present day, to promote the use of official languages so that the United Nations, its objectives and actions are as widely understood as possible by the public.
In support of and promotion of multilingualism and multiculturalism in the United Nations, the United Nations Department of public information adopted a resolution on the eve of the International Mother Tongue Day, which is observed on 21 February each year at the initiative of UNESCO, to celebrate each of the six official languages of the United Nations.
The observance of 18 December in Arabic shall be decided to be the day on which General Assembly resolution 3190(XXVIII) of 18 December 1973 was adopted, by which the Assembly decided to introduce Arabic into the official and working languages of the United Nations.
The purpose of the day is to raise awareness among United Nations staff about the history, culture and development of each of the six official languages. Each language is free to choose the manner in which it deems appropriate in preparing a programme of activities for its own day, including inviting well-known poets, writers and writers, as well as developing information materials related to the event.
Cultural activities include: musical ensembles, literary readings, competitive competitions, exhibitions, lectures, artistic and theatrical performances .
