International Mother Language Institute (IMLI) is statutory body in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

whose function is the preservation of languages.

History

Declaration of 21 February as the International Mother Language Day by the United Nations on 17 November 1999 is an unprecedented event not only for the Bangla language but also in the history of all mother languages of the world. In a historic meeting commemorating this achievement on 7 December 1999 the honourable Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina announced that an international mother language institute would be established in Dhaka for the research and the preservation of the dignity and the rights of augmenting/expanding as well as nearly extinct languages of the world. According to that declaration, she laid the foundation of the International Mother Language Institute (IMLI) at 1/ ka Segunbagicha,

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

on 15 March 2001. The then Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi A. Annan was present on that occasion. Honourable Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...

inaugurated the newly constructed building of the International Mother Language Institute on the Martyrs' Day and International Mother Language Day, 2010. Since then, the International Mother Language Institute is moving ahead with its set mission and vision. Construction started on 6 April 2003, stopped with the next change of government, and resumed on 11 February 2008. Six stories of the proposed twelve has been built. It was officially completed on 21 February 2010. In 2015 UNESCO applied Category II Institute status to IMLI.

Background

The Bengali language movement of 1952 and

International Mother Language Day International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formally r ...

are the main inspiration behind the institute.

Structure

There are 40 employees including researchers, officials and employees. Professor Hakim Arif is the present director general.

References

{{authority control Buildings and structures in Dhaka Language advocacy organizations Cultural organisations based in Bangladesh Research institutes in Bangladesh