UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged all to join hands in promoting linguistic diversity and multilingualism to build a better world and a life of dignity for all.
“Let’s all join forces to promote linguistic diversity and multilingualism as a key element in our efforts to build a better world and a life of dignity for all,” he said.
The UN Chief made the call in a message, issued for the first time, in observance of the International Mother Language Day with the theme ‘Local languages for global citizenship: spotlight on science’.
Representative to the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN Dr AK Abdul Momen thanked the UN Chief for issuing message for the first time.
In his message, Ban said the International Mother Language Day celebrates linguistic and cultural diversity alongside multilingualism as a force for peace and sustainable development.
“As we work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals while mapping out a post-2015 sustainable development agenda, this diversity can encourage dialogue, mutual understanding, innovation and creativity,” he said adding that this in turn can help build more just and inclusive societies.
Quoting late President Nelson Mandela, the UN Chief said, “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.”
“This will help ensure that the latest scientific knowledge is more widely shared. At the same time, it will help deepen and enrich our global knowledge base with more traditional but often overlooked scientific wisdom,” said the message.
International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) in November, 1999.
On May 16, 2007, the UN General Assembly in its resolution called upon member states ‘to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world’.
By the same resolution, the General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international understanding through multilingualism and multiculturalism.
International Mother Language Day 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 and people from all walk of society took to the streets in Dhaka to protest the then Pakistan government’s refusal to recognise Bangla as one of the state languages and imposition of Urdu as the only official language of Pakistan.
Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and a few other brave sons of the soil sacrificed their lives on this day to establish Bangla as one of the state languages of the then Pakistan.
Source: UNB Connect
