An Arabic digital library will be created through a new partnership between the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and Amazon.
The initiative was announced as part of Sunday’s opening day of the International Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
In his opening keynote address, Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) chairman Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak said the library aims to make Arabic books more accessible than ever by combining the centre's curatorial expertise with Amazon's technological distribution capabilities.
While the launch date has yet to be revealed, the new library will join the Dubai Digital Library in expanding Arabic digital resources in the region.
Launched in 2018, Dubai's collection has grown to more than 245,000 titles – including books, audiobooks, periodicals, newspapers, magazines and research papers.
Al Mubarak described the agreement, along with the congress, which gathered more than 100 regional and international speakers from the creative industries, as underlining Abu Dhabi’s position as one of the world’s cultural hubs.
“Abu Dhabi is a global platform from which authentic Arabic narratives can emerge. It is a city proud of its heritage and identity, while also building bridges of creativity and diversity at the heart of the emirates,” he said.
“Today we prove that with our local voices we can enrich global culture, and that Arab creators’ voices are capable of reaching audiences everywhere, contributing to human connection and dialogue.”
Also presented on Sunday were the findings of a survey of Arab youth, which highlighted both pride in the Arabic language and concern about its future.
Commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and based on interviews with about 4,000 young people across 10 Arab countries, the study pointed to calls for a more practical approach to the language in how it is taught and harnessed by education and cultural institutions.
While 84 per cent of respondents said Arabic is central to their identity, two-thirds worry about its diminishing use in science and digital domains.
On employment in the creative industries – which Al Mubarak noted at the 2024 Culture Summit Abu Dhabi employ more than 400,000 people in the UAE and contribute four per cent of GDP – more than 40 per cent of Arab youth said they would consider a role in the sector.
However, they also cited limited opportunities (41 per cent), financial risk (38 per cent) and family or social pressure (one-third) as key obstacles.
The congress concludes on Monday with panels examining recent breakthroughs in Arabic large language models, shifts in how Modern Standard Arabic and regional dialects are used, and the importance of digital manuscript restoration, in a session led by Zayed National Museum director Peter Magee.
