February
21
International
Mother Language Day
International Mother Language Day (UNESCO)
Language Movement Day (Bangladesh)
The first day of Musikahan Festival, celebrated until February
27. (Tagum City)
February
21 : International
Human Rights Commission Constitution Day, recognized by the
IHRC
February
21 : International Mother Language Day
Languages,
with their complex implications for identity, communication,
social integration, education and development, are of strategic
importance for people and planet. Yet, due to globalization
processes, they are increasingly under threat, or disappearing
altogether. When languages fade, so does the world’s rich tapestry
of cultural diversity. Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique
modes of thinking and expression – valuable resources for ensuring
a better future – are also lost.
More than
50 per cent of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken in the
world are likely to die out within a few generations, and 96
per cent of these languages are spoken by a mere 4 per cent
of the world’s population. Only a few hundred languages have
genuinely been given pride of place in education systems and
the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital
world.
Cultural
diversity and intercultural dialogue, the promotion of education
for all and the development of knowledge societies are central
to UNESCO’s work. But they are not possible without broad and
international commitment to promoting multilingualism and linguistic
diversity, including the preservation of endangered languages.
International
Mother Language Day was proclaimed by UNESCO's General Conference
in November 1999. The International Day has been observed every
year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural
diversity and multilingualism.
In January
2006, UNESCO set up a strategic monitoring body (the Task Force
on Languages and Multilingualism, chaired by the Director-General)
and an operational monitoring structure (the network of focal
points for languages) to ensure synergy among all sectors and
services concerned by languages. Through this well-designed
combination, strengthened and revivified from February 2008
by the creation of an Intersectoral platform on language and
multilingualism (IPLM), the Organization is working internationally
to promote the principles enshrined in or derived from standard-setting
tools relating to languages and multilingualism, and locally
to develop coherent national and regional language policies,
in conformity with its mid-term strategy.
On 16 May
2007 General Assembly proclaimed 2008 International Year of
Languages, pursuant to the resolution adopted by the General
Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization at its thirty-third session on 20 October
2005, and named the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization to serve as the lead agency for the Year.
This initiative
did not only increase awareness of language issues, but also
mobilized partners and resources for supporting the implementation
of strategies and policies in favour of language diversity and
multilingualism in all parts of the world
The International
Year of Languages comes at a time when linguistic diversity
is increasingly threatened. Language is fundamental to communication
of all kinds, and it is communication that makes change and
development possible in human society. Using – or not using
– certain languages today can open a door, or close it, for
large segments of society in many parts of the world.
In the meantime,
there is growing awareness that languages play a vital role
in development, in ensuring cultural diversity and intercultural
dialogue, but also in strengthening co-operation and attaining
quality education for all, in building inclusive knowledge societies
and preserving cultural heritage, and in mobilizing political
will for applying the benefits of science and technology to
sustainable development.
Events
February 21
1440 – The
Prussian Confederation is formed.
1842 – John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the
sewing machine.
1848 – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist
Manifesto.
1878 – The first telephone book is issued in New Haven, Connecticut.
1948 – NASCAR is incorporated.
1952 – The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes
identity cards in the UK to "set the people free".
1971 – The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at
Vienna.
1972 – The Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon.
1995 – Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming
the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean
in a balloon.
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