Professor Liu Bin, President, CEAIE addressing the seminar

International Mother Language Day has been observed in China by local organizations for the first time today. China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), a non-Government organization affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education, organized a day-long seminar on the significance of the Day at the Conference Centre of Beijing Language and Culture University. 

The event was co-sponsored by China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, China National Commission for UNESCO, China State Ethnic Affairs Commission and UNESCO Office in Beijing. A two-week long exhibition on the state of languages and Chinese educational institutions admitting foreign students was also inaugurated on the sidelines of the seminar.

The opening session of the seminar was addressed, among others, by Professor Liu Bin, President of CEAIE, Mr. Ashfaqur Rahman, Ambassador of Bangladesh to China, Dr. Yasuyuki Aoshima, Director and Representative of UNESCO Office in Beijing, Professor Wang Luijiang, Chairman of University Council, Beijing Language and Culture University.

The speakers thanked the Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing for taking the initiative to commemorate the International Mother Language Day in China with the active involvement of the local organisations. They affirmed that the underlying message of the Day had special resonance for Chinese speaking people everywhere since theirs was the biggest mother language in the world in terms of size.

 

The Embassies of France, Switzerland, Japan and Bangladesh made presentations at the Seminar on various aspects of the language and education situations in their respective countries. The Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing made a visual presentation on the origin and current situation of Bangla language as well as the history of the Language Movement at the Exhibition.

A compilation of documentary films on multi-lingualism and endangered languages across the globe was also featured during the programme. Other key participants included UNICEF, SIL East Asia Group, Institute of Applied Linguistics under Chinese Ministry of Education and Institute of Ethnic Education Studies.  It is expected that the organizers of the event would continue to observe the International Mother Language Day in China with a broader scope in the years ahead.