International Mother Language Day celebrates the vital role of languages in preserving cultural heritage and fostering inclusive societies, emphasising the urgency of multilingual education. In 2024, the theme “Multilingual education: a pillar of learning and intergenerational learning” highlights the significance of policies supporting inclusive education and indigenous language preservation. Proclaimed by UNESCO and the UN General Assembly, the day aims to recognize languages’ pivotal role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals and promoting global inclusion.
The benefits of utilising learners’ native languages in education are well documented, enhancing learning outcomes, self-esteem, and critical thinking skills. This approach also facilitates intergenerational learning and cultural preservation by bridging the gap between home and school.
Multilingual education is not only a key to building inclusive societies but also a means of safeguarding non-dominant, minority, and indigenous languages. It plays a pivotal role in ensuring equitable access to education and lifelong learning opportunities for all individuals.
Languages are of strategic importance for identity, communication, social integration, education, and development. However, globalisation processes pose threats to many languages, with at least 45% of the world’s approximately 7000 languages endangered. The disappearance of languages signifies a loss of cultural diversity, opportunities, traditions, memory, and unique modes of thinking and expression.
International Mother Language Day serves as a call to action, reminding us that every two weeks, a language disappears, taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. Despite the vast number of languages spoken globally, only a few hundred are integrated into education systems and the public domain, with fewer than a hundred used in the digital world.
In essence, the celebration of this momentous day underscores the importance of linguistic and cultural diversity, promoting multilingualism as a means of preserving our global tapestry of traditions, knowledge, and expressions for a better and more inclusive future.
