The General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization announced the International Day of Mother Tongue in November 1999. However, it was formally recognized in 2002 by the UN General Assembly.
The aim behind the day is to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by the people of the world. In the era of Globalization and Digitalization, several local languages are on the verge of extinction. The United Nations recognized this issue and started the day to encourage people to give due regard and importance to their mother tongue.
Every language is a heritage which needs to be preserved in order to ensure cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. Bangladesh was the first country which initiated the idea of celebrating an International Mother Language Day.
History of International Mother Language Day 2022:
International Mother Language Day is the brainchild of two language activists, Rafiqul Islam and Abdus Salam, who, in 1998, recommended that the day be observed to save the world’s languages from extinction. The proposed day has a historical significance, too – it commemorates the tragic 1952 killings in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan).
In November 1999, UNESCO declared 21st February as International Mother Language Day throughout the world, to protect mother languages and to commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in Bangladesh for their mother tongue.
International Mother Language Day 2022 Theme:
This year, the theme is “Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities”, which will discuss the potential role of technology to advance multilingual education and support the development of quality teaching and learning for all.
Technology has the potential to address some of the greatest challenges in education today. It can accelerate efforts towards ensuring equitable and inclusive lifelong learning opportunities for all if it is guided by the core principles of inclusion and equity. Multilingual education based on mother tongue is a key component of inclusion in education.
During COVID-19 school closures, many countries around the world employed technologybased solutions to maintain continuity of learning. A recent UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank and OECD survey on national education responses to COVID-19 school closures of 143 countries showed that 96 per cent of high-income countries provided remote learning through online platforms for at least one education level compared to only 58 per cent of low-income countries. In low-income contexts, the majority of countries reported using broadcast media such as television (83%) and radio (85%) to support continuity of learning.
According to the United Nations, "Every two weeks a language disappears taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. At least 43% of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered." In order to address this problem, International Mother Language is observed globally.
How is International Mother Language Day 2022 celebrated?
International Mother Language Day is observed in various ways. The day exists to create awareness about and encourage multilingual education. One can participate in any capacity possible, like researching different topics about International Mother Language Day, sharing information through social media, and attending lectures, events, or workshops on multilingualism. Participating in literary programs, promoting movies made and books written in different languages or in your mother language, encouraging the use of mother tongue, or learning a new language are a few more ways to celebrate the day.
