The theme of the 2022 International Mother Language Day, “Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities”, will discuss the potential role of technology to advance multilingual education and support the development of quality teaching and learning for all.
International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of Linguistic diversity and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism.
It was the initiative of Bangladesh to set up the International Mother Language Day, which was approved at the 1999 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) General Conference and has been celebrated ever since annually.
Linguistic diversity is increasingly threatened as more and more languages disappear. Globally 40 per cent of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. Nevertheless, progress is being made in mother tongue-based multilingual education with growing understanding of its importance, particularly in early schooling, and more commitment to its development in public life.
Multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages which transmit and preserve traditional knowledge and cultures in a sustainable way.