World Kiswahili Language Day - 7 July 2024

Tags: Important Days

World Kiswahili Language Day is observed annually on July 7 to promote Kiswahili, a widely used African language.

An Overview of the News

• July 7, 2024, marked the 3rd observance of World Kiswahili Language Day.

• The theme for the 2024 event was "Kiswahili: Education and Culture of Peace."

Background:

• In November 2021, UNESCO's 41st General Conference in Paris adopted resolution 41 C/61, proclaiming July 7 as World Kiswahili Language Day.

• The first World Kiswahili Language Day was observed on July 7, 2022.

• Kiswahili is the first African language to be recognized by the UN.

Kiswahili Language:

• Kiswahili, or Swahili, is a widely spoken lingua franca in East, Central, and Southern Africa, and the Middle East.

• It ranks among the top 10 most spoken languages globally, with over 230 million speakers. It's an official language of the AU, SADC, and EAC.

• Kiswahili is a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family, known for its complex Bantu structure.

• It's the only African language in the UN's Directorate of Global Communications, where the Kiswahili language unit of UN Radio was established in the 1950s.

About the UNESCO

• Director-General : Audrey Azoulay

• Headquarters: Paris, France

• Establishment: 1945

• Membership: Consists of 194 Members and 12 Associate Members