Swahili as a International Language

By: Zainab Mekky

The United Nations decided to dedicate July 7 of each year to celebrate the International Day of the Swahili language, to promote its use of unity , peace, cultural diversity, create awareness and  promote dialogue among civilizations, which promotes unity in diversity, international understanding, tolerance and dialogue.

Whereas, the Swahili language is the official language in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and one of the national languages in the Democratic Republic of  the Congo, as well as Rwanda and Burundi. 
It is among the languages approved by the African Union, and the East African Community considers it an official language of joint communication. 

It is worth noting that the United Nations celebrated the International Day of the Swahili Language under the slogan "Swahili for Peace and Prosperity", as there are more than 200 million speakers of the Swahili language, as it is one of the most spoken African languages, and includes more than a dozen major dialects. 

In the 1950s, the United Nations took a revolutionary step by establishing the Swahili language unit in its international broadcasting. 

Today, Swahili is emerging as one of the most important African languages in global communication. 

In the context of this,  July  7 was announced as the International Day of the Swahili language, which is the first African language to be recognized by the United Nations in such a special way