International MotherLanugage Day is an initiative of Bangladesh. It falls every year on February21. It was approved at the 1999UNESCO General Conference and has been observed throughout the world since2000.
AudreyAzoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of International MotherLanguage Day said, "The theme ofthe Day this year, "Fostering multilingualism for inclusion ineducation and society", thus encourages us to support multilingualismand the use of mother tongues, both at school and in everyday life. Thisis essential, because when 40% of the world's inhabitants do not have access toeducation in the language they speak or understand best, it hinders theirlearning, as well as their access to heritage and culturalexpressions. This year, special attention is being paid to multilingualeducation from early childhood, so that for children, their mother tongue isalways an asset."
UNESCO also mentions that linguistic diversity isincreasingly threatened as more and more languages disappear. According toUNESCO, 40% of people in the planet don't have access to get education in theirnative or mother language.
UNESCO mentions, "Multilingual andmulticultural societies exist through their languages which transmit andpreserve traditional knowledge and cultures in a sustainable way."
"The theme of the 2021 International MotherLanguage Day, “Fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education andsociety,” recognizes that languages and multilingualism can advanceinclusion, and the Sustainable Development Goals’ focus on leaving no onebehind. UNESCO believes education, based on the first language or mothertongue, must begin from the early years as early childhood care and educationis the foundation of learning," UNESCO website added on World Language Day2021.