The Second International Day of Kiswahili will be held in Uganda on Friday.
Speaking to the media last Friday in Kampala, Rebecca Kadaga, the Minister for East African Affairs and First Deputy Prime Minister, predicted that the gathering would draw delegates, participants, academics, policymakers, and students from the region.
“You may recall that two years ago, the United Nations adopted Kiswahili as the first African official language to be used in the United Nations, so the celebrations will happen every July 7. This will be the second year,” Kadaga said.
She added: “Last year, the celebrations were held in Zanzibar, and because of our poor capacity, the East African Community agreed to come to Uganda so that we could have the celebrations here to give us a boost in our campaign.”
The minister announced that among the festivities will be recognising and honouring those who have worked hard to promote the use of the Kiswahili language in the area.
“So we shall come together for that reason. For the first time, we shall have presentations in Kiswahili,” Ms Kadaga said.
She added that a symposium would be held to commemorate the day due to financial restrictions.
Considering that the nation has a sizeable population of Congolese citizens, the minister also urged the populace to learn French.
The cabinet is doing well in their Swahili classes, she continued, and they will soon hold a meeting in Kiswahili.
Ms. Kadaga also disclosed that a census of Kiswahili speakers in Uganda is being planned.
The 2021 East African Community (EAC) summit is a directive for Uganda to adopt Kiswahili as the region’s official language was given the Cabinet’s approval.
About Kiswahili
The Bantu and Arabic languages have been combined to create Kiswahili, which is primarily spoken in East Africa.
It is the most widely spoken native language in Africa and one of the top 10 languages in the world.
In Kenya, Tanzania, and as of recently, Uganda, it is a national language. A large portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Burundi also speak it.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has honoured it as the first African language.
