Mother Language Day on Feb. 21

The Hosseinieh Ershad Public Library in Tehran is to observe the International Mother Language Day (IMLD), February 21, with a topical exhibition. 

A selection of books on linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism will be presented at the exhibition on Tuesday, Mehr News Agency reported.

The worldwide annual observance of Mother Language Day was first announced by UNESCO on November 17, 1999. 

IMLD has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. 

The date represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.

UNESCO celebrates the 2017 global day under the theme ‘Towards Sustainable Futures through Multilingual Education.’

“On the occasion, I launch an appeal for the potential of multilingual education to be acknowledged everywhere, in education and administrative systems, in cultural expressions and the media, cyberspace and trade,” said Irina Bokova, director general of UNESCO.

In its statement, UNESCO said: “To foster sustainable development, learners must have access to education in their mother tongue and in other languages. It is through the mastery of the first language or mother tongue that the basic skills of reading, writing and numeracy are acquired. Local languages, especially minority and indigenous, transmit cultures, values and traditional knowledge, thus playing an important role in promoting sustainable futures.”

Hosseinieh Ershad Public Library is located at the intersection of Shariati and Golnabi streets.