Hanoi , February 21 (VNA) – The Ministry of Education and Training,the UNICEF and UNESCO offices in Vietnam jointly held a ceremony inHanoi on February 21 in response to the International Mother LanguageDay 2013.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Education and TrainingNguyen Thi Nghia emphasised the importance of the mother language,which, with its communication, information and education functions,contributes to the development of each individual and the wholecommunity.
“We encourage teaching in the mothertongue, which facilitates the fight against illiteracy and contributesto the quality of education,” UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova saysin her message on the day. She calls on all UNESCO partners, authorsand teachers all over the world, in universities, the UNESCO chairs andAssociated Schools to work together to promote the importance oflinguistic and cultural diversity and of education in the mothertongue.
Participants at the event shared experience inusing the mother-tongue language in improving the quality of educationand the living standards and welfare for children in particular and thecommunity in general.
Vietnam boasts experience inusing the mother language in the teaching and learning of ethnicminority students. With the UNICEF support, the Ministry of Educationand Training has been implementing an initiative on bilingual educationbased on the mother language since 2008 in some kindergartens andprimary schools in Lao Cai, Gia Lai and Tra Vinh provinces.
First launched in 1999, the International Mother Language Day has beenobserved every February 21 since 2000 to raise awareness of linguisticand cultural diversity and multilingualism.-VNA
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