Students all over the world are learning Chinese and reaping its benefits. The number is rising as China plays a more important role on the world stage and offers many job opportunities. And learning about 5,000 years of culture is a big draw.

With support from the Israeli Ministry of Education, the Abraham Fund’s Language as a Cultural Bridge program is paving the way toward mandatory Arabic classes for all Jewish students in public schools.

While today, one percent of online content is in Arabic, five percent of the world's online population speaks Arabic, and the number of Internet users who speak Arabic increased by an astonishing 2,298 per cent from 2000 to 2009, remarked Karim Sabbagh at Booz & Company for The National.

The digital library of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s Center for Media Studies was inaugurated during a ceremony at the center on Tuesday. Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini praised the establishment of the library saying that it would have a crucial role in improving the quality of press and media.

Named after the country's national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the center aims to promote the Philippine heritage across the world in the same way the France, Spain and Germany did with Alliance Francaise, Spain with Instituto Cervantes and Goethe-Institut respectively.

There are an estimated 6000 languages in active use across the world. However, half of them have fewer than about 3,000 speakers. Experts predict that half of all languages spoken today will go extinct within the next 50 to 150 years. Approximately 60 to 80 per cent of all languages are endangered.

There are 82 Confucius Institutes and 39 Confucius Classrooms in 31 countries and regions in Asia. Despite great achievements, Confucius Institutes still face serious challenges. For example, there is the question of how to help Chinese volunteer teachers better adapt to the foreign environment, especially the living environment in developing countries.

On Monday, May 30, the completion ceremony of the Japanese Language Programs for Foreign Service Officers and Public Officials, which are conducted jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Foundation, will be held inside the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.