The Cairo University science school is celebrating the graduation of the first class of a new campaign aimed at teaching the Arabic language to Africans, in a ceremony that will be attended by the ambassadors of 22 African countries. The initiative, titled 'Africa Speaks Arabic', was launched by the Faculty Dar Al-Ulum (House of Science) in May as part of efforts to strengthen Egypt's ties with African nations in light of Egypt's current presidency of the 55-nation African Union, a statement by the college said. It aims to teach Arabic to a total of 10,000 students. The first class, who received a six-month programme, included African students at the university as well as members of African diplomatic missions in Egypt. The ceremony on 18 December coincides with the UN's World Arabic Language Day.
