World Kiswahili Day to be honoured every year 7th July upheld by UNESCO

Today 23rd November 2021, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has announced that the 7th of July every year be a World Kiswahili day.

UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France 

Kiswahili is a language spoken by many East African countries; Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a Bantu language that was produced by the interaction between East African locals and the Asian World.

Apart from individual countries, the East African Community (EAC) has also adopted Kiswahili as its official language. 

The information of Kiswahili day comes as a great achievement for the African continent with the African Union (AU) pushing for the adoption of Kiswahili as a continental language. As a result, other African countries had begun teaching Kiswahili e.g South Africa.

Since a day has been set aside for honouring the language, it will act as an advantage to finally making it a continental tongue. A language that will unify Africans regardless of tribe and country.

Kiswahili is now the first African language to be endorsed by the United Nations as an international mode of communication. UNESCO has also contributed largely to defending and preserving Swahili cultural sites along the East African coast. 

Outstanding sites include Lamu, Mombasa, Zanzibar, etc which are recognized as UNESCO heritage sites. The sites carry important historical information about Swahili culture and its people.

Kenyan Tourism CS, Najib Balala at a Swahili Cultural day in Mombasa, Kenya.

The task is now left to the African Union and the great people of Africa especially East Africa to see that Kiswahili earns the honour it deserves. I believe that Tanzania as a country should lead this mission since it is an established Kiswahili Nation. 

Other East African countries should aid Tanzania. 

In the comments section below you can tell us your opinion about the news. Do you think Swahili should be the continental language of Africa? Is it possible?