Bristol's Mother Language Day Ceremony

The City of Bristol Lieutenancy was pleased to be represented at the ceremonies to mark Mother Language Day on Wednesday 21st February in a ceremony hosted by Cllr Sultan Khan on behalf of Bristol City Council.  The successful language movement led by students in 1952 ensured that Bengali was preserved as an official language in Pakistan.  In recognition of their sacrifice, the Bengali national flag was raised on College Green and a wreath was laid in memoriam.  International Mother Language Day has been observed in Bristol every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity.  The theme in 2018 is sustainable development; highlighting that learners must first have access to education in their mother tongue in order to foster learning and development.  Local languages, especially minority and indigenous ones, transmit cultures, values and traditional knowledge, thus playing an important role in promoting sustainable futures.  International Mother Language Day supports target 6 of Goal 4 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which states "Ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.”  According to the 2011 census, over 90 languages are spoken in Bristol: English, Polish, Urdu and Somali predominate.