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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