International Mother Language Day marked in Moldovan capital

Chisinau, 21 February /MOLDPRES/ - The Interethnic Relations Bureau (BRI) today organized an exhibition of photos on the work of BRI in 2016 and a roundtable titled „Limba care ne uneşte” (The Language Uniting Us), on the occasion of the International Mother Language Day, annually marked on 21 February.     

Attending the event were adviser of the prime minister, Mihai Godea, Hungarian Ambassador Mátyás Szilágyi, leaders of ethnic and cultural organizations, as well as representatives of the civil society.   

In his speech, BRI director general Oleg Babenco said that the organization of more cultural actions dedicated to this holiday at the institution had become a yearly tradition on the International Mother Language Day. “The goal of the today’s action is to contribute to the protection and revival of the wealth of the cultural diversity through the promotion of languages as form of communication, interaction and understanding between different nations,” Oleg Babenco said.    

The PM’s adviser, Mihai Godea, congratulated those present at the event on behalf of the government on the occasion of this holiday. He stressed that “a living language can be only through us, its bearers.” “As long as there is the mother language, there is the nation. The language is the essence of a nation,” Mihai Godea stressed. The official also said that the Moldovan government had in its focus problems dealing with the development of the languages spoken in Moldova, each of them representing a wealth of the national culture.     

Hungary’s Ambassador to Moldova Mátyás Szilágyi said that there about 7,000 languages all over the world; yet, unfortunately, two languages disappear in Europe each month.  

At the event, the head of the research and analysis section at the Constitutional Court, Maria Strulea, unveiled the text of Moldova’s Constitution in more languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Romany, as well as with the Braille alphabet. The project was carried out with the support of the United Nations Development Programme in Moldova and the European Union’s Support for Moldova’s Constitutional Court Project.  

The International Mother Language Day was proclaimed on 17 November 1999 at the UNESCO General Conference. On this occasion, the UNESCO member states committed to contribute to the protection and revival of the wealth of the cultural diversity through promotion of languages as form of communication, interaction and understanding between different nations.

(Reporter N. Roibu, editor A. Raileanu)