KUWAIT: Abdulaziz Saud AlBabtain Cultural Foundation announced Saturday that Oxford University chose some verses of Poet Abdulaziz Al-Babtain to be engraved on one of its walls, in recognition of the poet's projects. The University selected three verses of 'Alibdaa alkhaled' Poem, 'immortal innovation', to be written in Arabic on a wooden board on a wall of a hall, the foundation said in a statement to KUNA.
The board was put in a distinguished place in the Faculty of the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, humanitarian sciences department, to attract the visitors, mainly the Arabs who feel pride for the poet's innovation, it added. In 2016, Poet Al-Babtain planted the 'tree of peace' at the university on which he wrote, in both English and Arabic, a 'dedication of Kuwait's people to this scientific edifice to express continued appreciation and love'.
This is not the first time that Babtain was honored by the university. In 2016, the university chose Babtain as a Laudian Professor of Arabic. Established in 1636, the Laudian Chair in Arabic is one of the oldest professorships of Arabic in Europe. Oxford University is not the first where Babtain has had his name prominently featured.
The Abdulaziz Saud AlBabtain Cultural Foundation collaborated with the University of Malta in 2021 to establish Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain Peace Chair at the university to promote and teach a culture of peace. In 2022, Albanian President Ilir Meta awarded the Kuwaiti poet the Order of the Albanian National Flag for his efforts in spreading Arab culture and the culture of peace in the world through the Abdulaziz Saud Al- Babtain Cultural Foundation.
The Mediterranean University in Albania awarded an honorary doctorate to the poet the same year for supporting and promoting a culture of peace in the international community, establishing cooperation mechanisms through the dissemination of culture, education, and dialogue for future generations. – KUNA