Culture minister opens 4th edition of 'Seminar Season'

HE Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Thani, Minister of Culture, has inaugurated the 4th edition of the "Seminar Season", which is held in partnership with Qatar University and the Arab Center for Studies.

As part of the continuous efforts and the ministry's firm approach to establishing a prominent platform for serious and in-depth cultural and intellectual dialogue on the most prominent cultural and societal issues. The opening was attended by a number of Sheikhs and ambassadors accredited to the state, a number of senior officials and an elite of intellectuals.

Jassim Salman, General Supervisor of the seminar season, said in an introductory speech: "The 'Seminar Season' has become an annual platform to enhance in-depth cultural and intellectual dialogue on the most prominent contemporary cultural and societal issues."

The Ministry of Culture aims, through the "Seminar Season", which continues until Feb 25, to enhance its efforts in building fruitful cultural partnerships with active parties in society.

The event opened with a seminar held at the Sheraton Hotel under the title "Arab Cultural Discourse in the West", in which Jack Lang, former French minister of culture, President of the Arab World Institute in Paris, and Iraqi writer Shawqi Abdul Amir, Director of the Arab World Institute in Paris, participated.

Lang praised the cultural and creative level in Qatar, and the cultural renaissance it is witnessing at all levels. Especially in terms of infrastructure, as it has many museums, libraries, and cultural institutions that consolidate the Qatari presence in the global cultural scene. In addition to the educational system the country enjoys, and its expansion in establishing educational schools, including the "Voltaire" School, and its role in spreading the French language.

He spoke about the richness of the Arabic language, noting that it is one of the most spoken languages in the world, and one of the oldest living languages today, and is characterised by an exceptional linguistic wealth.

He stressed that Arabic had the merit of transferring sciences and knowledge, as it was a bridge between the ancient world, such as the Greek world, and the Western world, as a large part of Greek philosophy reached us through it, as well as mathematics.

Thanks to it, texts were preserved, such as "One Thousand and One Nights", which were transferred in some cases thanks to French Arabists, but remained in essence Arabic. He added: Arabic was also a language of science. The scientific and mathematical knowledge that we know today owes a lot to Arabic, stressing that the whole world owes the Arabic language countless contributions. Lang spoke about the institute's efforts to enhance the presence of Arabic in France, where the institute established a special section for the Arabic language. He said: The Arab World Institute in Paris organised an event last year that included the Arab Thought Forum, which lasted for a week, during which an elite group of thinkers in the Arab world were invited.

One of the features of Lang’s interest in the Arabic language is his authorship of a book five years ago titled "The Arabic Language, the Treasure of France", attributing his choice of this title to the great influence of the Arabic language in France and its remarkable impact on society. Lang explained that a generation grew up in France that was raised on the Arabic language, as Arabic is the second language in France, after the mother tongue, and that there are millions who speak it in France.

Recalling the historical interest in the Arabic language in France, since the reign of King François I, referring to the "Avenue" Festival, the new edition of which is scheduled to be held on July 14. He said: The upcoming edition of this festival will witness the honouring of the Arabic language, based on the festival's honouring of living languages in each session, and that its upcoming session will include the Arabic language in all its activities, in addition to the French language. As the festival will witness a musical event about the late Arab Lady Singer, Umm Kulthum, and will also witness the honouring of poetry and music in the Arab world, which reflects the great importance that the Arabic language enjoys in France, making it a treasure for the world, not just for France.

Writer Shawqi Abdul Amir spoke about the challenges facing the Arabic language in the West, pointing out that there is a gap between the greatness of the Arabic language and our ability as individuals to communicate it to the world in reality.

As there are, from his point of view, three main obstacles, which he called the past, orality, and stereotyping, calling for a discourse that focuses on origins and heritage but does not rely entirely on this legacy without actual renewal.

In addition to interest in documentation and recording, as the West does not easily accept oral discourse, calling for confronting the prevailing stereotype in the West about the Arab world.