International Mother Language Day was celebrated at the UNESCO Headquarters

On February 21, 2020, at the initiative of the UNESCO Secretariat and the Permanent Delegation of Bangladesh to UNESCO, the International Mother Language Day was celebrated at the UNESCO Headquarters. Twenty-six countries, including Azerbaijan, participated in the organization of the Mother Language Day. Within the framework of the event, there was an opening of the exhibition of stands made by each country. At the opening ceremony, Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director General for Education, and Kazi Imtiaz Hossain, Bangladesh's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, spoke about the role of the native language in the creativity and development. It was noted that the belonging to Bangladesh initiative to celebrate the Mother Language Day, was approved by the UNESCO General Conference in 1999 and has been celebrated in all countries since 2000. It has been said that culture and language diversity are essential for sustainable development, the preservation of cultural and language diversity is a UNESCO mandate, and multilingual, multicultural societies live through the languages ​​that preserve knowledge and traditions and pass on to the future generations. Then S. Giannini visited the stands prepared by the countries, and the countries representatives informed her about their languages.

Despite the difficulties that Azerbaijan has experienced throughout the history of the crossroads of civilizations, our native language has been preserved and passed down from generation to generation. The third secretary of our Permanent Delegation to UNESCO Nigar Gurbanova stated this. Noting that more than 50 million people speak Azerbaijani in the world today, N. Gurbanova explained the extract of the poem by Imadaddin Nasimi, a great thinker and poet who plays an exceptional role in the development of our native language. She also reminded to ADG, that last year the 650^th anniversary of his birth was celebrated at the UNESCO Headquarters. It was said that over the course of history, the Azerbaijani alphabet has changed many times for certain reasons, but it has not affected our language. After Azerbaijan gained its independence, the country switched to Latin graphics.

Afterwards there was a cultural program dedicated to the International Mother Language Day, and the countries presented their languages ​​through music, poetry and dance. Sama Mogadam performed "One hundred One" Azerbaijani folk dance. Azerbaijani cuisine with other countries was also presented during the event.

February 21, 1952 is celebrated as the International Mother Language Day in Bangladesh in honor of the memory of four students who were killed because of their struggle for the official language of Bengal.