Bangladesh’s embassy in Morocco observed International Mother Language Day with a ceremonial program in Rabat on February 13, highlighting linguistic diversity and multiculturalism, according to a statement received in Dhaka on Saturday.

The Embassy of Bangladesh in Rabat, in partnership with the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture and the UNESCO Regional Office for the Maghreb, organized the event in advance of the official February 21 observance, which this year coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to the statement.

Bangladesh’s ambassador to Morocco, Sadia Faizunnesa, addressed the program along with Ahmed Boukous, rector of the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture, and Charaf Ahmimed, director of the UNESCO Regional Office for the Maghreb. They also played a recorded message from Khondker M. Talha, president of the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference.

The event drew senior officials and diplomats, including the director general of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as ambassadors and representatives from a wide range of countries based in Rabat. The statement also mentioned the attendance of officials from Morocco's foreign ministry and representatives from cultural and academic institutions.

The program featured a series of multicultural performances by artists from Bangladesh, Morocco, and several other countries, reflecting the theme of linguistic and cultural diversity.

International Mother Language Day commemorates the 1952 language movement in Bangladesh, when demonstrators were killed while demanding recognition of Bangla, an event later recognized by UNESCO as a global symbol of the right to use one’s mother tongue.

The embassy said the program helped strengthen Bangladesh's profile in Morocco and underscored its long-standing advocacy for the protection and preservation of multilingualism and multiculturalism at the international level.