The Mother Language Lovers Of The World () is a non-profit organisation that works for the protection of languages. It was vital in getting 21 February declared the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO. 21 February is known as the

Language Movement Day (''Bhasha Andolôn Dibôs'') , nickname = bn, শহীদ দিবস (''Shôhid Dibôs'') , duration = 1 day , frequency = Annual , observedby = Bangladesh and Bengali speakers in India and elsewhere , date = 21 Feb ...

, which is a national holiday of Bangladesh taking place on 21 February each year and commemorating the Bengali language movement.

History

The Mother Language Lovers Of The World was established by Rafiqul Islam in 1998 with ten members in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In 1999, The Mother Language Lovers Of The World successfully got UNESCO to declare 21 February the International Mother Language Day. The Mother Language Lovers Of The World was awarded the

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak ( bn, একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contribut ...

in 2011.

References

1998 establishments in Canada Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Organizations based in Vancouver {{Canada-org-stub