India will host the 12th World Hindi Conference in Fiji later this month, the external affairs ministry said on Saturday. The conference is being organized by the Indian Ministry Of External Affairs (MEA) in collaboration with the Fijian government, with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka set to inaugurate the three-day event on 15th February.
According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (East), Saurabh Kumar, the 12th World Hindi Conference would be held in Nadi, Fiji, from February 15–17. His statement came during a special media briefing.
In the South Pacific, Fiji is an archipelago of more than 300 islands.
The conference is based on the theme, “Hindi – Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence”. The conference includes other topics such as Media and the global perception of Hindi, global reference to Indian knowledge traditions and Hindi, and Linguistic coordination and Hindi translation.
Representatives from 50 nations are anticipated to attend the event, which will be attended by a 270-member group from India.
Ten parallel sessions will be held during the next conference. These include, the worldwide market and Hindi, Pravasi Hindi literature in the changing environment, Hindi teaching in India and abroad, challenges and solutions, and different types of Hindi film and the global scene.
During the conference, Hindi scholars from India and other nations will receive the “Vishwa Hindi Samman” for their outstanding contributions to the Hindi language.
The Secretary of State stated that the Indian Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and Minister of State in Ministry of Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra will also be present during the event.
According to Kumar, the choice to organize the event in Fiji was made at the World Hindi Conference in Mauritius the previous year.
“The Prime Minister always uses Hindi and has given various speeches in the language in India as well as abroad. This has increased the language’s value and more people have been motivated to use it,” the MEA Secretary said.
“The theme for the event is ‘Hindi – Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence’ where on one side we are respecting our traditional knowledge and on the other side, showing that Hindi has been successful in walking along with the technological advancements,” Kumar said.
The MEA Secretary stated that although the Hindi language is highly valued by the Indian government, it has made little headway in the UN.
“UN press releases are now available in Hindi. We are trying to get Hindi its rightful place at the UN,” Kumar said.
