How Rafiqul Islam proposed IMLD to the UN
MLLWS
In 1998, Rafiqul Islam wrote to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposing an international day to honour mother languages. The idea travelled from a Vancouver-area advocate to UNESCO, which proclaimed February 21 as International Mother Language Day in 1999, with support from Bangladesh and 29 countries including Canada.
That letter is why MLLWS exists: to keep mother languages visible, taught, and celebrated — not only on one February day, but in the life of communities.