On February 21, Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs traditionally celebrates the International Native Language Day. Employees of the Department of Social and Humanitarian Work of the University organized a video lecture for cadets and students of the university, which was conducted by Nataliia Yelnikova, a senior lecturer at the Department of Ukrainian Studies of the Faculty № 2.
The lecturer focused on the history of the holiday, which, unfortunately, has a tragic beginning. On February 21, 1952, in Bangladesh, East Pakistan, student demonstrators who opposed a government ban on the use of their native language, Bengali, were brutally shot dead. Only in October 1999, at the XIII session of the General Conference of UNESCO, was the International Native Language Day introduced as a reason to reflect and focus on the language issue. This holiday has been celebrated in Ukraine since 2002. Since then, it has become another day of
honoring the native language in every educational institution, libraries, cultural centers, educational organizations in Ukraine.
The lecturer focused the attention of the listeners on the significant events in the history of the Ukrainian language and the main factors that influenced its formation, because the language is the brightest marker of the people's identity.
Let each language become a spiritual source of unity and interethnic harmony in the multinational Ukrainian society. Respect and love your native language, reveal its greatness and beauty!