UNESCO International Mother Language Day-2025 observed by Bangladesh Deputy High Commission

Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Karachi observed the UNESCO International Mother Language Day-2025 on 21 February at the Chancery premises. Echoing the UNESCO initiatives, discussion, art competition and cultural evening were arranged by the Bangladesh Mission to mark the Day. Diplomats, government officials, UN officials, journalists, business leaders, academicians & columnists, cultural activists, and others including children and women participated at the programs. They enjoyed the cultural evening at the Chancery.

UNESCO has been observing the Silver Jubilee Celebration of International Mother Language Day- 2025 on 21-22 February this year. UNESCO attaches huge importance to preserve linguistic diversity and promote mother tongues across the world. Languages are essential to education and sustainable development, serving as the primary means through which knowledge is transferred and cultures are preserved. With approximately 8,324 languages in the world today, many are at risk of disappearing due to globalization and societal changes. Ensuring that education systems support the right to learn in one’s mother tongue is crucial for improving learning outcomes, as students who are taught in a language they fully understand show better comprehension, engagement, and critical thinking skills.

UNESCO emphasis that multilingual education, particularly for minority and indigenous languages, not only helps learners but also fosters a deeper connection between education and culture, contributing to more inclusive and equitable societies. Multilingual education not only promotes inclusive societies but also aids in preserving non-dominant, minority, and indigenous languages. It is a cornerstone for achieving equitable access to education and lifelong learning opportunities for all individuals.

The 25th anniversary of International Mother Language Day celebrates a quarter-century of efforts of the UNESCO to preserve linguistic diversity and promote mother tongues. This milestone emphasizes the importance of language preservation in safeguarding cultural heritage, improving education, and fostering more peaceful societies. International Mother Language Day, first proclaimed by UNESCO and later adopted by the UN General Assembly, underscores the role of languages in promoting inclusion and achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

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.

UNESCO is concerned that in every two weeks a language somewhere across the globe disappears taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. UNESCO estimates that there are 8,324 languages, spoken or signed. Out of these, around 7,000 languages are still in use. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world.

Multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages, which transmit and preserve traditional knowledge and cultures in a sustainable way. International Mother Language Day is observed by UNESCO every year to promote linguistic and cultural diversity, multilingualism, unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism.

The Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Karachi has been striving in promoting cultural cooperation and enhanced people-to-people contacts.