Kiswahili is among the 10 most widely spoken languages in the world, with more than 200 million speakers.
According to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, Kiswahili is one of the most widely used languages of the African family, and the most widely spoken in sub-Saharan Africa.
In her message to commemorate the International Kiswahili Day, Azoulay noted that paying tribute to the language is honouring the values of multi-linguilism.
“Kiswahili is more than a means of communication adding that it is a window to diverse cultures, ideas, forms of understanding education.” She said.
Adding that: “It’s many variants offer a unique lense for viewing the world.”
She said the evolution of Kiswahili tells a story, a story of centuries of exchanges noting that it´s a language of transmission especially to community radio stations that play an important role in daily life especially during the pandemic period.
While lauding the role Kiswahili palys in Africa Azoulay lauded said, as an official language of the African Union, it is a language of Diplomacy that helps advance Africa’s agenda.
Kenya will Friday join the rest of the world in marking the International Kiswahili Day that is commemorated on 7th July each year.
The celebrations will be marked in Mombasa County.
The World Kiswahili Language Day was declared by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in its 41st Session, Paris, 2021.
In an interview, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza urged Tourism industry players to capitalise on the Swahili culture to diversify products.
Malonza, said there is need to find innovative ways to tap into the growing number of those keen on the Kiswahili language and culture.
Kiswahili language is one of the lingua franca in many countries within East, Central and Southern Africa as well as in the Middle East.
It is also taught across major universities and colleges globally.
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