Children and young people across the North East are being encouraged to celebrate their mother tongue and dive into cultural diversity ahead of a global celebration of language. International Mother Language Day marks its 25th anniversary on 21st February, with communities worldwide coming together to shine a light on treasured dialects and long held traditions.
Ulfet Sahin, a Turkish language teacher based on Tyneside, who moved to the North East from Turkey eight years ago, is keen to open up more conversations around embracing mother languages during the region’s three-month long Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages:
“It’s really important for children to speak their own language because it’s their identity, it’s their culture and, for many of them, it’s still the most comfortable they feel expressing themselves.
There are certain phrases and facial expressions that are unique to different languages and as a Turkish speaker I only pick up on these things when I speak to fellow Turks. I know how to stress certain words and how to interpret different meanings.
I’m very fortunate to be able to speak English and German but I love my own language and I always feel safer and more confident speaking in my mother tongue. When I ask English people how I sound when I’m speaking Turkish they describe it as a ‘romantic’ language and that’s lovely to hear.
I will always encourage young people living here to learn English and other languages, as being multilingual opens so many doors and opportunities. But I also feel as if we need to provide more support and encouragement to young people who are proud of their mother tongue and who want to retain that link to their culture and their family.“
Ulfet, a tutor at Success4All, works with Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages to promote Home Heritage and Community Languages (HHCL).
This year’s Success4All Festival workshops include in-person Learning Arabic with Team Games and Yorùbá language and culture events.
Schools can also access a downloadable activity pack for Celebrating Indigenous African Languages. Ulfet has also translated this year’s Festival Song, What A Wonderful World, into Turkish so that children can take part in a regional multilingual performance of the Louis Armstrong classic.
Ulfet also established US Language Services and Consultancy in 2018 to bridge the gap between cultures and help individuals navigate linguistic challenges.
Celebrating mother languages within our regional Festival (January-March)
Every year the festival actively supports International Mother Language Day and there are a whole host of activities, events and resources available free to schools, community schools and groups in the North East. Declan Baharini, CEO of International Newcastle and Co-ordinator of Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages is passionate about promoting opportunities to share and celebrate Home, Heritage and Community Languages (HHCL):
“We’re fully invested in International Mother Language Day and celebrating HHCL is at the heart of everything we do.
This year we’re offering a variety of free activities, events, multilingual creative projects and resources that celebrate linguistic diversity and promote the use of heritage and community languages.
These initiatives are designed to engage children, young people in schools and the wider community in recognising and valuing their linguistic heritage.
The opportunities available during the Festival mean that schools can incorporate a mix of activities in the lead up to, on and beyond International Mother Language Day.
These could be part of school wide celebrations, exhibitions and classroom activities celebrating the diverse languages and cultures in your school, college or community school or celebrating other world languages and cultures. Running until the end of March, schools can pick and mix from what’s on offer and register to take part in a wide range of activities.“
Newcastle’s City Library will host its own Love Your Mother Language Day free drop-in on February 24 from 1-3pm. Open to all — but aimed at children aged 5-12 — the event features multilingual storytime, story sharing, games and a range of arts and craft activities. In addition, there are creative multilingual projects running to the end of March and pre-recorded workshops, online events and activities that people can join in to celebrate (click here or see the full What’s On programme here).
It was Bangladesh that first made moves to celebrate International Mother Language Day and an increasingly popular initiative has been observed worldwide since 2000. Backed by UNESCO, who believe in the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity in order to drive sustainable societies, the annual event is seen as a showcase for preserving the differences in cultures and languages that foster tolerance and respect for others. The Bangladeshi language, culture and traditions are celebrated at two in-person Express Yourself events in Newcastle and Sunderland in March run by community associations and reinforcing the key message of International Mother Language Day.
“Nurturing Home Heritage and Community Languages offers significant social, economic, and cultural benefits to children and young people, investing in their personal development, future success and the enrichment of society.
Research shows that by supporting these, schools not only empower individual students but also create a richer, more connected and globally minded school community.
A language, any language, is the route to communicating with other people, exploring their ideas and thoughts and discovering culture, old and contemporary.
Being born into a family or environment with more than one language is an advantage that people can be proud of, use and celebrate in many domains of life, including employment.“
Steven Fawkes, Volunteer and Trustee at Association for Language Learning (ALL)
For further information on the 2025 Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages and to register for activities visit the Festival What’s On page and follow the Festival via Instagram, Facebook and X.
Notes to editors
- Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages celebrates its fifth birthday in 2025 and runs from January to March
- It is a recognition of diverse languages and cultures in the North East and the region’s connections to the world
- The festival raises awareness of other cultures, inspiring children and young people to take up languages, building their skills and confidence and helping prepare them for life in a global society.
- Its reach extends across County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland (UK schools can join in languages and careers webinars and selected online live events).
- 37,633 children and young people participated in the Festival in 2024
- The festival promotes free activities, events and resources for children and young people in schools and community groups to inspire them to try new and creative ways to enjoy languages and cultures, as well as understand the opportunities that speaking different languages can open up for their future lives and careers
- Creative, multilingual music, art and writing projects and teaching activities and resources are available from January to March with most live events taking place in March 2025. Registration is open.
For further information or to request an interview please contact Simon Rushworth at Allies Group on 07949 845848 or email simon@allies-group.com