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Event Mother Tongue Literature Festival Date February 20 & 21st 2016 Venue Lok Virsa, Islamabad
Organized by Indus Cultural Forum (ICF) and Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO)
Press coverage date February 21 & 22 Date of Compilation February 22 Number of Pages 15 pages including title page
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Express Tribune Linguistic diversity: State urged to promote all Pakistani languages
ISLAMABAD: With at least 60 languages in Pakistan, the society must realise that a language must be given its due respect regardless of whether its speakers are few in numbers, linguist Dr Tariq Rehman said in his keynote address at the two-‐day Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival. Speaking about the percentages of speakers of different languages and their numbers he stressed that if a language has few speakers, it must draw attention to preventing it from getting extinct,” he said. The literature festival, organised by Indus Cultural Forum in collaboration with Lok Virsa and Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) began at Lok Virsa on Saturday. The first day featured discussions on the folk literature of mother languages, discussion of literature and prose of mother languages, print and electronic media in mother languages, why it is important to teach students in their mother language, endangered languages of Pakistan and various other sessions of contemporary trends in Pakistani languages. Niaz Nadeem from Indus Cultural Forum gave a brief introduction to the festival and different sessions planned for the two days. “I would like to thank Lok Virsa, the schools, volunteers and writers who have supported us and made this event possible,” he said. Naseer Memon from SPO underlined major objectives behind holding the festival. “Today’s word challenges the beauty of the mother languages. In the past, we have tried to develop an artificial society, which has harmed us more than it has benefited us. It is now time to value all languages of the nation, regardless of whether they are uncommonly used,” he said. The Chief guest, acclaimed Urdu and Sindhi writer Noorul Huda Shah said that we often host huge literature festivals without representing the endangered languages of Pakistan. “This literature festival, however, is a great effort by everyone. Such a platform where the future generation is gathered with people who speak, write and promote mother languages of Pakistan is significant,” she said. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Executive Director of Lok Virsa Dr Fauzia Saeed said that culture and traditions are embodied in language. “A mother’s rhyme is in the mother language, when we laugh the most it is on jokes that are in mother language, we connect most with people who speak our mother language too,” she said. She further said that folk culture also exists in mother languages. “In order to preserve folk culture, we need to preserve our mother languages. The beauty of our region lies in the diversity of the mother languages spoken here. It is important to acknowledge the diversity of mother languages in order to truly understand the diversity of the culture of Pakistan,” she said.Lok Virsa Mandwa Film Club screened Balochi Film “Saawad” directed by Waheed Baloch on the occasion. The festival was attended by writers, linguistics, researchers, youth, students and families. The festival will continue through Sunday, 21st February 2016. Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2016.
Visitors taking keen interest in books at Book Exhibition in Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival at Lok Virsa (top). Panelists speak at a session in the festival. PHOTOS/MUHAMMAD JAVAID/ HAFSAH
SARFARAZ/ EXPRESSS
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Pakistan Observer
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Pakistan Observer
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Pakistan Radio
Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival -‐ 20-‐21 February 2016
Pak is tan Mother Languages L i te ra ture Fes t iva l “Festival to celebrate Pakistan’s linguistic diversity” A unique and first of his kind opportunity to experience Pakistan’s linguistic and cultural diversity. Come, meet and listen to over 150 writers, Poet and Cultural activists from over 15 Pakistani mother languages.
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Dawn Writers, scholars call on govt to promote, protect mother languages IKRAM JUNAIDI | ASMA KUNDI — PUBLISHED ABOUT 5 HOURS AGO ISLAMABAD: Ali Ahmed Qamar is a writer from Gilgit-‐Baltistan, who has written two books in the Balti and Potohari languages. In 2010, he submitted both to the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) to be considered for the Kamal-‐e-‐Fun award. However, PAL said neither of the languages was being considered for the award, and suggested he write in one of the languages that are being considered instead. Since then, Mr Qamar has been engaged in efforts to have both Balti and Potohari recognised, because they are the mother tongues of hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis. Mr Qamar raised the issue once more on Sunday, at an event marking International Mother Language Day at PAL, saying all the languages of Pakistan should get recognition. Historically, Pakistan’s history with mother languages is not a positive one. On Feb 21, 1952, students at Dhaka University in what was then East Pakistan protested, calling for Bangla to be made Pakistan’s national language because 56pc of the population was Bangla-‐speaking. In response, police opened fire on the demonstrators, resulting in the death of five students. Talking to Dawn, Mr Qamar said: “After [I was told] that both languages were not considered for the award, I submitted a case to the Federal Ombudsman. In 2011, PAL assured the Federal Ombudsman that approval will be sought from the prime minister and soon both languages would be considered for the award.”
Events held to mark International Mother Languages Day
“Although my books cannot be considered for the award now, I have been working to get recognition for both languages, but even in 2016 I only get assurances that the issue will be addressed soon.” Many other poets and writers at the event demanded that regional languages be given more significance, and endangered languages in particular should receive special attention. As many as 72 languages are spoken in Pakistan, of which 27 are currently considered ‘endangered’ or ‘near extinction’. Inayatullah Faizi, from Chitral, said a bill was drafted that would have categorised 22 languages as ‘national languages’ but could not be tabled in the National Assembly. Dr Fayaz Khateeb, from Sindh, said it was unfortunate that parents were not speaking to their children in their mother tongues. He also said that books written in regional languages should be translated to Urdu so they may reach more readers.
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In response, National Book Foundation managing director Inamul Haq Javed offered the organisation’s services to translate such texts to Urdu. The adviser to the prime minister on national history and literary heritage, Irfan Siddiqui, said the government should work to promote mother languages across the country. He said the government is planning to organise conferences across the country at regional levels, including in Gilgit-‐Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. Mr Siddiqui said the National History and Literary Heritage Division would be the first to implement Urdu as the country’s official language. Mother Languages Literature Festival The first ever Mother Languages Literature Festival concluded on Sunday, with a sense of achievement and hope for a better future. Over 150 writers from more than 15 Pakistani languages, and a number of visitors, made the initiative a great success. The festival was organised by Lok Virsa, the Indus Cultural Forum (ICF), Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) and USAID in order to promote Pakistan’s linguistic diversity and encourage interest in other languages. Speakers called for policy-‐level measures to promote and preserve mother languages. Speaking at the festival, Information Minister Pervez Rasheed said the government was in the process of broad consultations to devise a policy by March, to promote and protect various cultures. Analyst Ayesha Siddiqa said: “This is the first time people gathered and talked about the promotion and preservation of mother languages, which is a tremendous initiative. These local languages contain beautiful literature that is veiled due to the language barriers.” The festival also featured mobile libraries by the National Book Foundation and the USAID-‐funded Pakistan Reading Programme. The USAID mobile library engaged children in various activities that also promoted local languages and screened a documentary highlighting the importance of mother tongues. Amir Khan, the pre-‐service manager of the programme, told Dawn: “It is a very alarming situation that fifth grade students can’t read third grade level Urdu books. If this is the situation of our national language, you can imagine what the situation of local or mother languages will be.” He said USAID initiated the five-‐year project to support Pakistan’s provincial and regional education departments in improving children’s reading skills. He said that parents prefer teaching their children English due to socioeconomic pressures, which is eroding native languages. Humaira Waseem, a teacher, said events like these promote reading, which she added was losing its popularity amongst the youth in favour of ‘digital activities’. She said that the festival would also help people find texts in their native languages, adding that she had found poetry and novels written in Punjabi. Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2016 http://www.dawn.com/news/1241085/writers-‐scholars-‐call-‐on-‐govt-‐to-‐promote-‐protect-‐mother-‐languages/print
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The News Promoting Pakistan’s linguistic, cultural diversity
intellectuals, linguistics, academicians, artists and activists gathered here in Lok Virsa to attend the Pakistan Mother Languages Festival held on Saturday. The two-‐day event has been jointly organised by National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage and Indus Cultural Forum in collaboration with Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) and USAID-‐Funded Pakistan Reading Project. More than 150 writers from over 15 mother languages are participating in the event as speakers and moderators. The objectives of the festival are to promote Pakistan's linguistic and cultural diversity as an instrument of social harmony, peace and tolerance and encouraging reading culture in other languages. The festival is an occasion to showcase a wide range of literary works in these languages. The main attractions of the festival include discussions on various topics of languages, literature and culture, book launches, mother languages mushaira, mother languages musical evening, audio visual screening, cultural performances, book stalls, food courts, cultural exhibitions, mobile library, etc. The personalities who spoke in the opening ceremony included Dr. Fouzia Saeed, Executive Director, Lok Virsa, Niaz Nadeem from Indus Cultural Forum, Naseer Memon from SPO, Dr. Tariq Rehman and others. In her welcoming address, Lok Virsa Executive Director Dr. Fouzia Saeed said that Lok Virsa is proud to host this important festival. “We want to create a pluralistic society where people should feel proud in practicing their indigenous folk culture and mother languages. Lok Virsa is a national institution dealing with research, collection, documentation, preservation and dissemination of Pakistan's tangible and intangible cultural heritage. We have the mandate to document and preserve our rich cultural legacy. We are providing platform to all provincial bodies, cultural institutions, literary organizations, local and community based associations to project their culture in an effective manner. This festival is also step forward in this direction". Niaz Nadeem from Indus Cultural Forum gave a brief introduction to the festival and different sessions planned for two days. Naseer Memon from SPO underlined the major objectives behind holding the festival. Dr. Tariq Rehman presented keynote address. A cultural diversity show was also presented during the opening ceremony focusing on almost all mother languages. Later, sessions on various mother language topics were held at different locations of Lok Virsa which included ‘One Message -‐ Many Voices’ moderated by Prof. Dr. Rawish Nadeem, Folk Literature of Mother Languages by Dr. Fouzia Saeed, Glimpses of Mother Languages Literature-‐Prose (English Session) by Ajmal Kamal, Endangered Languages of Pakistan by Dr. Tariq Rehman, Print and Electronic Media in Mother Languages by Niaz Sahito, Why Teach Children in Early Grades to Read in Mother Tongue by Dr. Naazir Mahmood, Contemporary Literary Trends in Mother Languages of Pakistan (Prose) by Kaylaash, Launching of new Books in Mother Languages by Hakim Buriro, Fiction in Mother Languages of Pakistan (Novel and Short Story) by Najeeba Arif and Translation of International Literature in Pakistani Mother Languages by Ajmal Kamal.
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A multi-‐lingual Mushaira (poetry recitations) moderated by Naseer Mirza was also arranged at Lok Virsa Heritage Museum. The poets in Urdu, Kashmiri, Potohari, Balti, Punjabi, Seraiki, Sindhi, Torwali, Hazaragi, Shina, Wakhi, Gojri and Burushaski participated in the mushaira and shared their renderings with the audience. Lok Virsa Mandwa Film Club screened Balochi Film "Saawad" directed by Waheed Baloch on the occasion. A large number of people belonging to different walks of life including writers, researchers, linguistics, youth, students and families visited the first day of the festival and appreciated the efforts of the organisers. The youth took part in different sessions attired in colourful traditional costumes.
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Pakistan Today
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Daily Pakistan Mother Language Day being marked today LAHORE (Staff Report) – International Mother Language day 2016 is being celebrated today Sunday across the globe including Pakistan with its theme “Quality education, language(s) of instruction and learning outcomes”. This underlines the importance of mother languages for quality education and linguistic diversity, to take forward the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “Mother languages in a multilingual approach are essential components of quality education, which is itself the foundation for empowering women and men and their societies”, said by Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General on the occasion of the day . International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999 and proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism. International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues served not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue. In Pakistan the two-‐day Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival held at Lok Virsa, Islamabad on Sunday which features a variety of cultural activities in fifteen to twenty languages also include discussions on languages, literature and culture, book launches, mother language symposiums, music events, audio-‐ visual screenings and performances. Different organizations also held programmes, including walks, seminars, and cultural events to highlight the cultural and linguistic diversity. http://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/intel-‐mother-‐language-‐day-‐2016-‐being-‐celebrated-‐today/