Arabic Web Days Initiative Launches to Boost Arabic Language on the Internet

Arabic Web Days Initiative Launches to Boost Arabic Language on the Internet

Google announced the return of Arabic Web Days, an initiative to boost the amount of Arabic content on the Internet. Arabic Web Days, which was launched last year, aims to bridge the gap between the number of Arabic speakers online and the percentage of Arabic content on the web. The effort is conducted in liaison with several regional and international partners as well as a variety of online and offline activities and events throughout the MENA region. This year’s initiative expands on the belief that “It’s Better in Arabic”.

Arabic Web Days aims to spark ecosystems of partners and engage users and Arabic speakers worldwide to actively take part in enriching and boosting the amount of Arabic content online by creating it. Users can create all types of content during the month-long effort which kicked off on the 17th of November and culminates on the 18th of December; World Arabic Language Day.

“The purpose of Arabic Web Days is to inspire the global Arabic speaking community to increase the amount of Arabic content online.” stated Maha Abouelenein, Google’s Head of Communications in MENA. She added, “The Arab world has enormous talent when it comes to creating content – who better to build the Arabic web than the users themselves.”

Arabic Web Days 2013 - Infographic

The month-long series between the 17th of November and the 18th of December will utilize a number of online and offline events that aim to engage users to join the movement to accelerate digital Arabic content creation in MENA. Key elements of the month long program include:

  1. Hosting an event at the American University in Dubai in collaboration with Taghreedat and supported by Twitter featuring Kharabeesh, Arabizi series, twofour54 creative lab and more.
  2. Hosting an infographics competition in partnership with Taghreedat, techwd blog, tajseed and supported by twofour54 creative lab.
  3. Hosting a workshop in partnership with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in the UAE in smart-learning schools to educate students on their role in promoting Arabic content online.
  4. Collaborating with the King Abdullah Center for Arabic Language in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to promote the increase of Arabic content on the internet.
  5. Hosting a YouTube event in KSA to share insights on how to create viral Arabic videos and make money through YouTube in partnership with UTURN entertainment in King Abdullah Economic City.
  6. Hosting a joint event with the Adham Center for Film & Journalism at the American University in Cairo to on the rise of video in the Arab world.
  7. Event with Google Student Ambassadors
  8. Celebrating World Arabic Language Day with the United Nations
  9. Initiating several activities with Google Student Ambassadors whose total number is more than 80 ambassadors representing 9 countries across MENA.
  10. A series of Hangouts on Google+ to share with users tips and tricks for anything they want to do on the web in Arabic.

Mina Nagy Takle and Samy Mubarak, Taghreedat co-founders stated, “Arabic Web Days has grown into an important brand that Arabic content enthusiasts look forward to engage with every year. Taghreedat is delighted to collaborate with Google and YouTube for the second year to bring back the Arabic Web Days program to inspire Arab users to create more original content in Arabic. We hope this year we inspire more users to come up with creative ways to create Arabic digital content including stop motion animation, 3D animation, Arabic infographics and even gaming content.”

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