International Mother Language Day and the International decade of Indigenous Languages
MEDS participated in the 2023 celebration of the UNESCO
International Mother Language Day at the University of Kurdistan Hawler, Iraqi Kurdistan and continues to be committed to ‘multilingual education’ and ‘to the preservation of the diversity of languages as a common heritage, and working for quality education
– in mother tongues – for all.’ (UNESCO 2023)
Iraq today has a mosaic of languages, from its own different
communities and also the languages of its refugee communities.
Serving these host, displaced and refugee communities, with their
various and often deep needs, has been the continuing focus of MEDS.
Recognising and valuing the different Kurdish languages and dialects is a focus which MEDS shares with UNESCO, which
‘believes in the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies. It is within its mandate for peace that it works to preserve the differences in cultures and languages that foster tolerance and respect for others.’
(www.unesco.org/en/days/mother-language)
A Kurdish postgraduate student, volunteering with MEDS, gave a
presentation explaining how the children’s graded readers created by
MEDS, initially in simple Sorani Kurdish and English, are deliberately placed in a local setting and illustrated by a well known local artist. All these encourage early learners to enjoy their first experience of reading.