Unesco International Mother Tongue Day

EDM number 2739 in 2010-12, proposed by Hywel Williams on 20/02/2012.

That this House celebrates the UNESCO International Mother Tongue Day on21 February 2012; notes that languages are amongst the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage; believes that all moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue; further notes the need to maintain inter-generational continuity in languages through individuals and communities; recognises the important role of community and individual bi- and multilingualism; supports the promotion of additive bi- and multilingualism as a positive factor in our society; and draws particular attention to the maintenance of minority languages which are native to these islands and the requirement to provide sufficient resources for these languages to continue to flourish in future, particularly in the territories in which they are spoken and originate.

This motion has been signed by a total of 22 MPs.