DOHA: Katara will tomorrow launch Dhad, a monthly magazine for children and adults.
The event at Katara Drama Theatre will also see the launch of two Arabic writing competitions — illustrated story and lyric poetry contests — and the annual Dhad Week.
Dr Khalid Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager, Katara, said the launch of Dhad events is in line with Katara’s aim to highlight Arabic culture and identity.
He said it is important for Katara to promote Arabic language because of the role it plays in social and cultural cohesion among Arabs.
He said the Dhad events also aim to strengthen the linguistic ability of children and adults, make them recognise the beauty of Arabic language, encourage thinking and innovation, and develop deeper understanding of syntactic and morphological rules.
Learning Arabic, he said, is not only an educational matter but it also has religious aspect since it is the language of the Holy Quran and a significant part of the foundation of Islamic identity.
Khalid Al Sayyed, General Supervisor, Dhad events, said the competitions will be under the theme ‘Spreading Arabic language is the responsibility of all’.
The illustrated story contest will include words and photos and aims to make the reading of Arabic language attractive to readers, he said. Entries should present an original idea on teaching Arabic. It should use standard Arabic language complying with grammatical rules. Photos and graphics should be attractive, clear, and match with the aims and religious and social values. Entry should not be less than six pages and more than 10, with not less than 24 illustrations.
Entries for lyric poetry contest should be original, written in standard Arabic language complying with grammatical rules and aim to teach Arabic. The content should go with religious and social values and the entry should have not less than 10 verses.
Deadline is May 24, 2015. Entries will be evaluated by a committee who will choose five winners for each contest to receive $5,000 each and five runners-up to receive $2,500 each.The Peninsula
