International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the International Year of Languages.
1952: The foundation for the day.
1999: UNESCO proclaimed 21 February (Ekushey February) as the International Mother Language Day
2000: Inaugural celebration of the International Mother Language Day
2001: Second annual celebration
2002: Linguistic-diversity theme, with 3,000 endangered languages (slogan: In the galaxy of languages, every word is a star.)
2003: Fourth annual celebration
2004: Children-learning theme; the UNESCO observance included “a unique exhibition of children’s exercise books from around the world illustrating the process by which children learn and master the use of written literacy skills in the classroom”.
2005: Braille and sign languages
2006: Languages and cyberspace
2007: Multilingual education
2008: International Year of Languages
2009: Tenth annual celebration
2010: International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures
2011: Information and communication technologies
2012: Mother tongue instruction and inclusive education
2013: Books for mother tongue education
2014: Local languages for Global Citizenship: Spotlight on Science
2015: Inclusion in and through education: language counts (with an event in Paris)
2016: Quality education, language(s) of instruction and learning outcomes
We pay our tribute to those brave hearts who laid down their lives for the mother language.
'মোদের গরব, মোদের আশা, আমরি বাংলা ভাষা' আন্তর্জাতিক মাতৃভাষা দিবসে সকলকে আমার জানাই শুভেচ্ছা #অমরএকুশে
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) February 21, 2017
'আমার ভাইয়ের রক্তে রাঙা একুশে ফেব্রুয়ারী আমি কি ভুলিতে পারি?' ১৯৫২র ভাষা শহীদদের জানাই প্রণাম #অমরএকুশে
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) February 21, 2017
সব ভাষাই সমান। মাতৃভাষাই হোক মতপ্রকাশের মাধ্যম pic.twitter.com/QwSLM44ZMF
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) February 21, 2017
21 February, International Mother Language Day. "Bengali Language" pic.twitter.com/DVBvTIPfjE
— Asaduzzaman Milton (@AsaduzzamanMi17) February 20, 2017
The world is observing #InternationalMotherLanguageDay today.
Theme of 2017 is:Towards Sustainable Futures through Multilingual Education pic.twitter.com/LU7JIptzh8— ALL INDIA RADIO (@AkashvaniAIR) February 21, 2017
2,500 languages of the world are at risk of extinction; Feb 21 is #InternationalMotherLanguageDay pic.twitter.com/LFk6NmPnLA
— Newsflicks (@newsflicks) February 21, 2017
Language is best source of promotion of cultural heritage; @CMShehbaz's message on #InternationalMotherLanguageDay https://t.co/2JI23Qf4h5 pic.twitter.com/70ymd7WEZb
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) February 21, 2017