FORUM: "Youth voices on multilingual education." International Mother Language Day 2026. Young people are not only inheritors of linguistic diversity: they are key actors in its future. Ensuring that youth can access education, information and digital spaces in their own languages is essential for inclusion, equity and sustainable development. The theme emphasizes that language is more than a means of communication: it is central to identity, learning, well-being and participation in society. The celebration underscores the importance of education systems that recognize and value every learner’s language to support inclusion and learning outcomes.The 2026 edition will also highlight the growing digital dimension of multilingualism. Online content remains heavily concentrated in a limited number of languages, while AI systems rely primarily on dominant-language data. UNESCO continues to advance multilingualism in cyberspace through global policy frameworks, partnerships and initiatives supporting Indigenous and underrepresented languages. In February, UNESCO will celebrate the 26th anniversary of International Mother Language Day, reaffirming the importance of linguistic diversity and multilingualism in fostering dignity, peace, and understanding. This milestone highlights decades of efforts to preserve mother tongues, safeguard cultural heritage, and improve education. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #IMLD2026, #MotherLanguageDay, #mothertongue; #21February, #Multilingualeducation, #LanguagesMatter.
EVENT: On February 21st; The symposium to mark the 26th edition and the International Mother Language Day 2026 will take place from 17:00 pm to 18:30 pm in Room I at UNESCO House (Fontenoy). This year’s edition will highlight the vital role of youth in shaping multilingual education. Language is more than a communication tool. It is key to identity, learning, well-being and social participation and reaffirms the need for education systems that value every learner’s language to foster inclusion and improve outcomes. UNESCO places youth at the heart of this global conversation under the theme “Youth voices on multilingual education.”. The program of the 2026 celebration, organised by the Permanent Delegation of Bangladesh, will feature a high-level panel discussion with opening remarks by H.E. Khondker M. Talha, President of the General Conference, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Bangladesh to UNESCO, and H.E. Nasser Hamad Hinzab, President of the Executive Board, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Qatar to UNESCO, followed by an address by UNESCO Director-General Prof. Khaled El-Enany. A keynote address by Prof. Damián Blasi on “The future of mother languages in the AI era” will explore how artificial intelligence can either reinforce linguistic inequalities or help revitalize underrepresented languages. A ministerial panel discussion moderated by UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini will examine the role of language in peacebuilding and sustainable development. The evening will conclude with cultural performances (from 7pm to 8:30pm) organized by the Permanent Delegation of Bangladesh, featuring contributions from Member States and celebrating the richness of the world’s linguistic heritage while reaffirming the value of every language. The event is by invitation only. Register to participate!
Young people are the main guardians of the world’s linguistic diversity. They are the
inheritors of nearly 7,000 spoken or signed languages – and of the responsibility to keep
them alive and pass them on.
Still, young people need to be introduced to linguistic diversity, and this begins at an
early age, through education. This is why UNESCO’s theme for the celebration of this
year’s International Mother Language Day, initiated by Bangladesh, is youth voices on
multilingual education.
The research on the subject is clear. As indicated in our recent report Languages Matter:
Global Guidance on Multilingual Education, learning in one’s mother tongue promotes
academic success, builds self-confidence and strengthens the predisposition to learning
new languages. Yet 40% of the world’s children learn in a language which is not the one
they speak at home.
In light of this observation, UNESCO is pleased to be collaborating with Cameroon on
the integration of more than 200 local languages into school and literacy programmes
as international languages are also gradually being introduced. Likewise, within the
framework of our collaboration with Mozambique, one in four schools now offers
multilingual education, thanks to teacher training.
Beyond its proven cognitive benefits, linguistic diversity is also a cultural and ecological
matter, since each language carries with it a way of thinking, communicating and being
in the world. Our Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity thus
ensures the preservation of several types of oral expression on every continent: from
the pasillo of Ecuador to the Mongolian Tuuli and to the Xeer Ciise in Ethiopia, Djibouti
and Somalia. That is also why, as the lead agency for the International Decade of
Indigenous Languages (2022–2032), UNESCO provides more than 30 countries with
support in this field: from the preservation of Mayan languages in Latin America to the
preservation of the languages of the Hadzabe in the United Republic of Tanzania and
the preservation of the languages of the Ju/’hoansi San in Namibia.
Preserving linguistic diversity is ultimately also a digital issue. With most of online content
produced in a dozen or so languages, linguistic exclusion becomes a form of digital
exclusion. However, digital technology can also become a tool for transmission, and
UNESCO is taking action in this area. For example, with Malaysia, it has helped young
people to enrich Wiktionary by adding nearly 3,000 words from 25 endangered
Indigenous languages. It has also launched the English–Kiswahili AI Dictionary in order
to make artificial intelligence more accessible by providing clear definitions in Kiswahili
of key terms related to AI. Finally, the UNESCO World Atlas of Languages enables
greater knowledge of all endangered languages.
On this International Mother Language Day, UNESCO is calling for investment in
language transmission by placing young people at the heart of the solutions involved.
Because linguistic diversity is a pillar of peace, dignity and inclusion. And no voice should
be missing from the story of our humanity.
Mr Khaled El-Enany,
Director-General of UNESCO.
