Last evening, the Global Solidarity Network (Nasser Youth Movement—Swahili Department) organized the first session of Global Solidarity Talks titled The Translation Movement in the Globalization of the Swahili Language, in line with the celebrations of World Swahili Language Day. The event highlighted Egypt's role in the African translation movement.
The program was opened by anthropologist and international activist
Hassan Ghazaly, who welcomed Dr. Alaa Salah and the attendees, announciating
the launch of the first session of Global Solidarity Talks. He explained that
this session is part of a series of Swahili-speaking sessions scheduled to be
held weekly throughout July, celebrating the global significance of the Swahili
language. He also invited the attendees to an important session scheduled for
tomorrow, Thursday. Ghazaly emphasized that the Global Solidarity Network
launched the program for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemie,
reaffirming the necessity of solidarity.
Ghazaly stated that the Global Solidarity Talks program continues the
Global Citizen Talks initiative launched by the network in 2020. The program
aims to promote dialogue and understanding among youth from diverse cultures
and backgrounds worldwide and to create an open platform for discussion and
intellectual exchange on global solidarity issues. It offers Egyptian students
studying languages the opportunity to practice their study language with native
speakers from Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. The program is set to
organize numerous discussion sessions in various languages.
During the session, several key points were addressed, including the
importance of language learning and translation as a vital tool for cultural
and civilizational exchange among peoples. Dr. Alaa highlighted the role of Swahili
literature in understanding the cultures of the region's peoples, noting that
literature serves as a mirror of society and a means to understand the
psychology of populations. He pointed out that translating literary works,
whether written or oral, contributes to strengthening the cultural, national,
and African identity of Swahili speakers.
In this context, Dr. Alaa extended special thanks to anthropologist
and international activist Hassan Ghazaly, founder of the Global Solidarity
Network, for his significant efforts toward the African continent and for his
interest in promoting the Swahili language and celebrating World Swahili
Language Day. He praised the efforts of the Nasser Youth Movement in promoting
and supporting the Swahili language through training Egyptian university
students studying the language in translation and organizing workshops,
seminars, and events that contribute to the development of translators' skills
and knowledge. He aussi commended les efforts de l’Article and Opinions platform,
which allows students to write articles in Swahili, enhancing leurs writing
skills et leurs contributions intellectuelles, et en leur donnant la liberté
d’exprimer leurs opinions et idées.
Dr. Alaa explained that the translation movement between Arabic and
Swahili is highly rich, noting that the beginnings of the translation are in
the islamic productions from the Arabic to Swahili, starting before the
colonial period. He affirmed that the current translation movement is
flourishing and in demand across various fields, attributable to the widespread
use of the Swahili language and the active translation movement.
The session was moderated by Mervat Sakr, a researcher and translator
pursuing a master's degree in African languages, specializing in Swahili, and
the Swahili language coordinator for the official website of the Nasser Youth
Movement. She was also awarded the National Translation Award in 2023.
It is worth mentioning that the Global Solidarity Network is a
platform comprising 15 diverse projects, initiatives, and programs in media,
culture, youth, leadership, and international relations. The network aims to
enhance Egypt's role and the concept of solidarity among social actors and
young politicians globally, especially in the Global South. It strives to
achieve justice and democracy in international relations. So far, approximately
18,000 young people around the world have benefited from the network's
projects, which primarily work to promote values of peace, solidarity, and
understanding among different cultures.
By: Boniface ( KB News)