The Arab Open University – Lebanon convened its 8th Annual International Language Conference on November 14, 2025, at the Mövenpick Hotel in Beirut. Organized by the Faculty of Language Studies (FLS) and the Center for Applied Linguistics Research (CALR), this year's conference was held under the theme:
“Bridging Cultures: Linguistics, Literary Studies, and Translation in a Global Context."
Reinforcing the university's commitment to advancing research, fostering cross-cultural dialogue, and cultivating global academic collaboration, the conference welcomed a distinguished community of scholars, researchers, educators, and practitioners from across the world. Contributors joined from Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Armenia, the Kyrgyz Republic, the United Kingdom, the United States, Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, and several other regions, reflecting the event's truly international reach.
In her opening address, Dr. Yara Abdallah, Rector, emphasized the centrality of language, literature, and translation in bridging cultures amid today's unprecedented global interconnectedness.
Addressing the rapidly shifting landscapes shaped by migration, technology, education, and media, she affirmed the need to deepen understanding across cultures through interdisciplinary research. She noted that this year's conference theme invites dialogue on essential questions related to identity, multilingualism, diasporic communities, belonging, AI and translation technologies, and the evolving dynamics of intercultural communication.
She further expressed gratitude to AOU branches across the Arab region and acknowledged the leadership of Professor Aziz Thabit, Dean of the Faculty of Language Studies and Conference Chairman, along with Professor Hayat Al-Khatib, Associate Dean at AOU–Lebanon and Conference Organizer, whose dedication and academic stewardship enabled the success of the event.
In his remarks, Professor Aziz Thabit highlighted the growing impact of AOU's accredited programs across its branches in the Arab world. He commended the collaborative spirit demonstrated by faculty and researchers across disciplines, reinforcing the University's role as a leading institution advancing applied linguistics, literary studies, and translation research in the region.
The conference's full-day program featured a series of parallel and plenary sessions chaired by prominent international academics from the United Kingdom, Lebanon, and the Arab region. Discussions explored a wide range of contemporary topics, including:
- Intercultural communication and diasporic identities
- AI's implications for translation, language learning, and narrative studies
- Multilingual pedagogies and linguistic landscapes
- Language, ethics, and cultural sustainability
- Comparative literature, hybridity, and global storytelling
- The role of linguistic evidence in legal contexts
- Translation of speech acts across languages
- Folklore, cultural memory, and oral traditions
With over 50 research presentations, the conference provided a dynamic platform for rethinking language education, addressing cultural shifts, and examining how linguistic and literary frameworks evolve in response to global change.
Selected papers from the conference will also be published through the CALR Scopus-indexed journal which has gained its European indexing achievements, and UNESCO's acknowledgment of the journal as one of Lebanon's few open-access academic publications.
The 8th Annual International Language Conference stands as a testament to our ever-growing dedication to cultivating meaningful dialogue, promoting interdisciplinary research, and strengthening the ties between cultures through scholarship.
