By Atallah al-Salim
BEIRUT: The Education and Culture
ministries confirmed Tuesday that the country would begin celebrating Alphabet
Day annually on March 8, despite activists’ ire that the date coincides with
International Women’s Day.
A special committee was set up to
organize activities in cooperation with schools, municipalities and civil
society associations in time for next year.But there was backlash against the
timing of the celebration from women’s right associations, who held a sit-in
Monday and submitted an open letter to Parliament, demanding officials affirm
March 8 as International Women’s Day.
“We recognize the significance of
the alphabet to Lebanon, but the significance will be recognized more when
authorities provide equal rights for women,” the statement said.
The origin of the alphabet is still
debated among historians. While there is no consensus on the issue, the Latin
alphabet along with the Arabic one is believed to have developed from the
Phoenician alphabet, which dates from the second millennium B.C.
“Historians tend to disagree on the
origins of the alphabet, but they agree on the fact that it is Phoenicians who
spread the alphabet,” Education Minister Hasan Diab said during a news
conference held at the ministry.
Addressing government officials and
public school students in attendance, he added that Lebanon should be proud of
its heritage in championing the spread of the alphabet.
Diab stressed the need to face the
challenges that arise through the introduction of new communication
technologies, “which are developing in parallel with the original alphabet, to
bring prosperity to modern societies.”
For his part, Culture Minister Gabby
Layyoun said that Lebanon witnessed the first “globalization” in ancient
history with Phoenician merchants trading in oil and unique purple dye.
He added that through trade, people
of the time were able to spread the alphabet and teach it to Mediterranean
people to facilitate communication.
“Law schools in the Roman era and
the famous epochs of the Greeks, which inspired the classic arts and literature
did not expand before the alphabet, which originated in Byblos,” he said.
The minister also encouraged
students to visit the National Museum and historical sites found in Byblos
(modern Jbeil), Sidon and Tyre to learn about Lebanon’s long history.
Kesrouan MP Neamatallah Abi Nasr –
who proposed the law to begin commemorating Alphabet Day, which was approved by
the Parliament on Nov. 18 last year – said Lebanon was the world’s most
qualified country to promote inter-religious dialogue, as it is the “home of
the alphabet.”
He added that the day would remind
Lebanese that their language and values are more important than sectarian,
partisan and territorial divisions.
Asked about the concerns of women’s
rights groups who object to seeing the event fall on the same day as
International Women’s Day, Abi Nasr responded that the law was approved by all
128 MPs, four of whom are women.
“The first teachers are mothers, since they
teach alphabet skills to their children,” Abi Nasr added, arguing that
proclaiming Alphabet Day on March 8 was not intended to undermine the celebration
of International Women’s Day.http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Mar-07/165785-womens-groups-angry-over-alphabet-day-date.ashx#axzz1oM3eP0Kk
No comments:
Post a Comment