#Bil_Arabi receives 1 billion interactions during 4th edition

Dubai / Emirates Business

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) revealed that one billion people around the world interacted with the hashtag #Bil_Arabi across all social media platforms. The public’s interaction with the fourth instalment of the Bil Arabi initiative– recorded on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and SnapChat – exceeded all expectations, assured to the Foundation, adding that the initiative has additionally garnered support from several government and private companies in the UAE and abroad.
His Excellency Jamal bin Huwaireb, Managing Director of MBRF, asserted that the unprecedented interaction that the initiative witnessed reaffirms that Arabic speakers hold their language in high regard. The fact that many government and private entities from the UAE and abroad threw their support behind Bil Arabi, bin Huwaireb added, served to spread and promote the initiative – which we expect to grow further each passing year.
Meanwhile, Khaled Humaid Bin Dhiban Al Falasi, General Manager of Union Coop – one of the many private and public institutions that pledged to sponsor Bil Arabi – said that the Coop supported the initiative seeing as it is a sustainable social and cultural effort to encourage the daily use of the Arabic language and to reinstate it to its status as a global language.
Fuad Mansoor Sharaf, Senior Director – Property Management, Shopping Malls at Majid Al Futtaim Properties, said: “Majid Al Futtaim is a proud supporter of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation’s Bil Arabi 2016 initiative, aiming to promote the Arabic language. Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Deira, and City Centre Mirdif supported the campaign by hosting information booths at the lifestyle shopping destinations, which were visited by
millions of residents and tourists and, therefore, gave great exposure to the cause. Bil Arabi 2016 was also supported across the malls’ social media platforms to raise awareness on the importance to use the Arabic language on all channels. Aligned with our vision to create great moments for everyone, every day, we were excited to partner with the Foundation and to witness the enthusiasm of our mall visitors for the bold initiative.”
Abdul Rahman Al Shamiri, General Manager and Executive Editor of Al-Watan Newspaper, expressed his pride in initiatives such as Bil Arabi, which reflect the UAE’s pride in its values and Arabic roots and work to spread the use of the Arabic language. Al Shamiri underlined the importance of supporting the Arabic language so that it may assume its rightful place on the international stage. This while Tim Jones, Chief Operating Officer at Arabian Center & Lamcy Plaza, lauded MBRF’s efforts to formulate and adopt a wide spectrum of innovative ideas to shed light on the Arabic language’s prominent place in history, adding that his organisation played its part by hosting the initiative’s booths in its shopping malls in an effort to help Bil Arabi achieve further progress.
For his part, Sami Al Mufleh, CEO of The Hills Group, praised the initiative for its role in encouraging the use of Arabic on social media and electronic outlets, explaining that The Hills Group participated in the initiative by promoting it on its advertising platforms to make sure it reaches the largest number of consumers. Everyone must interact with this initiative, Al Mufleh added, because it reflects the UAE’s efforts to encourage the use of the Arabic language in an effort to mend the gap we are currently witnessing between the Arabic language and the young generations who prefer to use other languages on social media.