The Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has granted Dhaka’s International Mother Language Institute (IMLI) Category II status.
The Paris-based UN agency took the decision in response to a proposal put forward by Bangladesh during its 38th General Conference on Saturday, Education Ministry officials said.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid is leading the Bangladesh delegation to the ongoing conference in Paris.
Ministers and senior officials of 195 Unesco member states, eight associate members and various UN agencies, the media and NGOs are attending the conference.
Unesco has designated 94 international and regional institutes and centres as Category 2 under the auspices of Unesco.
Although not legally part of the organisation, these institutes and centres are associated with Unesco through formal arrangements approved by the General Conference. They are selected upon proposal by member states, based on the strength of their specialisation in one of Unesco’s fields of competence.
The Unesco Executive Board members noted that given the linguistic diversity of the Asia-Pacific region and the institute’s unique emphasis on mother tongue and multilingual education, the IMLI will serve as a hub of knowledge and research.
The establishment of IMLI bears the testimony to Bangladesh’s strong commitment to linguistic diversity, multilingualism and the importance of education through mother language.
On February 21, 1952, many students in Bangladesh sacrificed their lives to uphold the dignity of their mother tongue. The day was proclaimed by Unesco as the International Mother Language Day on November 17, 1999.
Bangladesh will serve as the vice-president of the Unesco General Conference for the 2015-2017 term.
