TANZANIA: THE third East African Community's Kiswahili Day and the second East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC) International Conference is set to kick off tomorrow in Mombasa, Kenya with the focus on sharing knowledge, evidence from research, best practices, experiences and world views on the importance of the language.
The conference is scheduled for the 5th -6th and 7th July this year, respectively.
The EAC Deputy Secretary General (DSG) in charge of Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors, Mr Andrea Ariik, said Kiswahili Day serves as a reminder of the importance of language diversity and unity in the EAC.
"Kiswahili, as a widely spoken language in East Africa, not only bridges communication gaps but also represents a common identity among the member states of the EAC," said Ariik.
He added: "As we look forward to commemorating the EAC Kiswahili Day, let us embrace the language, its richness and its ability to bring us together as a diverse yet united East African Community,"
The objective of the third EAC World International Kiswahili Day and the second EAKC International Conference is to explore the role of Kiswahili and multilingual education in fostering a culture of peace.
He said the celebrations organised by the East African Community (EAC) and Kenya is expected to bring together diverse stakeholders including, but not limited to researchers, academics, practitioners, students, policy makers, language councils, language associations, the media and other Kiswahili stakeholders from the EAC and beyond.
The participants will use three days of the conference and celebrations day to discuss how Kiswahili and multilingual education are and can be used to educate society on the enhancement of peace at local, national, regional and global levels.
According to Mr Ariik, the meeting will also consider policy implications for the use of Kiswahili and multilingualism for peace education and make recommendations on the use of Kiswahili and multilingualism in promoting a culture of peace.
"The celebrations for this year's Kiswahili Day and Conference will feature among other things: youth mentorship and engagements with other stakeholders, media engagement and awareness creation activities as well as outreach activities including tree planting and cultural activities," he noted.
Moreover, the conference is expected to provide a platform for discussing various sub-themes, including Kiswahili, multilingualism and peace, Kiswahili education and peace, Kiswahili, regional integration and peace, Kiswahili, peace and sustainable development.
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Others are Kiswahili in local, national, regional and global peace, Kiswahili, youth and peace education, Kiswahili, refugee education and peace as well as Kiswahili, media and peace education.
7th July was declared as World Kiswahili Language Day by the 41st General Conference of UNESCO which met in November 2021.
The 42nd Meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers adopted the declaration of 7th July as World Kiswahili Language Day and directed that it be celebrated annually on a rotational basis among the EAC Partner States.
Consequently, the 1st EAC World Kiswahili Language Day was held in Zanzibar from 6th - 7th July, 2022.
Following the approval by the 18th Sectoral Council on Education, Science and Technology, Culture and Sports (SCESTCS), the 2nd EAC World Kiswahili Day was held in Kampala, Uganda from 5th - 7th July 2023.
