Karachi: 21 February is the International Mother Language, which is being observed by UNESCO and its 193 member countries across the globe every year since 2000. Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Karachi also organized a program on the significance of the day at its Chancery on the evening on 21 February 2023.
The United Nations’ specialized organization, UNESCO observes the day every year in a befitting manner. International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 17 November 1999. The Member States of UNESCO have been observing the 21 February as ‘International Mother Language Day” since 2000. The UN General Assembly welcomed the proclamation of the day in its resolution of 2002. On 16 May 2007, the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/61/266 called upon Member States “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world”.
UNESCO observed International Mother Language Day-2023 with the theme “Multilingual education – a necessity to transform education”. In a message from the Director-General of UNESCO, Madam Audrey Azoulay said that mother-tongue-based education is essential to the full development of individuals and the transmission of linguistic heritage. She further mentioned that 40% of the world’s students do not have access to education in the language they speak or understand best. She expressed her concern by saying “such as situation severely undermines learning, cultural expression, and the building of social relations, and significantly weakens the linguistic heritage of humanity”. She emphasized that International Mother Language Day aims to celebrate the ways of expressing the world in its multiplicity, commit to the preservation of the diversity of languages as a common heritage, and work for quality education – in mother tongues – for all.
Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Karachi H.E. Mr. S. M. Mahbubul Alam delivered his speech on the significance of the day. Vice Chancellors, Deans, Professors, Researchers, and other distinguished academicians from 22 different universities were present at the program. The Universities are Karachi University, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Dewan University, SZABIST University, Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Salim Habib University, Preston Institute of Management, Science & Technology, AGA Khan University, KASBIT University, Nazeer Hussain University, Newports Institute of Economics & Technology, Greenwich University, DHA Suffa University, Institute of Business Administration, DOW University of Health Sciences, Habib University, IQRA University, Metropolitan University, ILMA University, SZABUL University, and Bahria University.
Deputy High Commissioner S. M. Mahbubul Alam mentioned that there are about 7,000 languages in the world. But alarmingly a language disappears and dies every two weeks. The language is extinct forever with an entire cultural and intellectual heritage! He further mentioned that at least 43% of the estimated 7,000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain. Languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication, social integration, education, and development, are of strategic importance for people and the planet. Yet, due to globalization processes, they are increasingly under threat or disappearing altogether. When languages fade, so does the world’s rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking and expression — valuable resources for ensuring a better future — are also lost.
Therefore, United Nations Specialized Organization, UNESCO celebrates the 21 February as International Mother Language Day. All the 193 member countries of UNESCO celebrate the day. 21 February is a day to celebrate and protect all the languages of the world. This is a day to renew the vows to promote mother languages across the globe. This is a day meant to promote unity in diversity and deepen national and international understanding through multilingualism and multiculturalism. The day emphasizes renewing the thought process and policies to safeguard linguistic diversity nationwide and worldwide as multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages, which transmit and sustainably preserve traditional knowledge and cultures. Today there is growing awareness that languages play a vital role in development, in ensuring cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, and also in strengthening cooperation and attaining quality education for all, building inclusive knowledge societies, and preserving cultural heritage for sustainable development.
UNESCO believes that a language is much more than just a way of communicating and is an important part of one’s culture and emotions. Mother language can change how one sees the world. Mother Languages ‘shape millions of developing young minds’. Mother tongue boosts cognitive development as well as intellectual development comparatively faster. Languages are the most important way of keeping own culture alive. Mother tongue helps one stay connected to own culture and own roots. Knowing your mother tongue well is a matter of pride. It boosts one’s confidence and creates awareness in the individual’s mind. Mother tongue has a huge positive influence in defining the personality of an individual. Mother tongue also helps in providing a definite shape to our emotions and thoughts. Learning in the mother tongue also is crucial in enhancing other skills such as critical thinking. The mother tongue is the most effective tool for learning. The discussants added.
The discussants mentioned that UNESCO’s theme of the 2023 International Mother Language Day is very significant. UNESCO promotes the motto that International Mother Language Day recognizes that languages and multilingualism can advance inclusion, and the Sustainable Development Goals focus on leaving no one behind. Multilingualism contributes to the development of inclusive societies that allow multiple cultures, worldviews, and knowledge systems to co-exist and cross-fertilize.
Deputy High Commissioner quoted from Nelson Mandela: ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language that goes to his heart.’ United Nations and UNESCO emphasize promoting the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world by observing International Mother Language day on 21 February.
