International Mother Language Day – Feb. 21

(February 21, 2011) The International Mother Language Day was marked worldwide on Monday with an aim to raise awareness of the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity and multilingual education. The theme of this year’s celebration focussed on the importance of information and communication technologies for the safeguarding and promotion of languages and linguistic diversity. As half of the world’s 6,000 languages are endangered, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, underlined the importance of preserving this cultural and linguistic wealth, highlighting the enormous potential of new technologies for safeguarding, documenting and promoting the use of mother languages. For this year’s International Mother Language Day, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova issued a statement emphasising that each language is a unique source of meaning for understanding, writing and expressing reality and that the international observance is a moment to recognize their importance and to mobilise for multilingualism and linguistic diversity. “We must harness the power of progress to protect diverse visions of the world and to promote all sources of knowledge and forms of expression,” she added. The International Mother Language Day was first announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, and the first observance was marked on Feb. 21, 2000.