International Mother Language Day
PRESS RELEASE
Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of
UNESCO, on the occasion of the International Mother Language Day, 21 February
2016
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The theme of the 2016
International Mother Language Day is “Quality education, language(s) of
instruction and learning outcomes.”
This underlines the importance of mother languages for quality education and linguistic diversity, to take forward the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In Sustainable Development
Goal 4, the 2030 Agenda focuses on quality education and lifelong learning for
all, to enable every woman and man to acquire skills, knowledge, and values to
become everything they wish and participate fully in their societies. This is
especially important for girls and women, as well as minorities, indigenous
peoples, and rural populations. This is reflected in UNESCO’s Education 2030
Framework for Action, a road-map to implement the 2030 Agenda, encouraging full
respect for the use of mother language in teaching and learning, and the
promotion and preservation of linguistic diversity.
Multilingualism is essential
to drive these objectives forward – it is vital for success across the 2030
Agenda, regarding growth, employment and health, as well as sustainable
consumption and production, and climate change.
UNESCO brings the same focus
to advancing linguistic diversity on the Internet, through support to relevant
local content as well as media and information literacy. Through the
Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) programme, UNESCO is
highlighting the importance of mother and local languages as channels for
safeguarding and sharing indigenous cultures and knowledge, which are vast
reservoirs of wisdom.
Mother languages in a
multilingual approach are essential components of quality education, which is
itself the foundation for empowering women and men and their societies. We must
recognize and nurture this power, in order to leave no one behind, to craft a
more just and sustainable future for all.
This is UNESCO’s message on
this International Mother Language Day.
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