On Wednesday, the 21st of February, 2024, in the hall of the University Cultural Center, in the presence of Prof. Dr. Edrees Muhamad Tahir Harki, the Rector of the Erbil Polytechnic University, several party and government officials, members of the university council, experts, academic staff Erbil Polytechnic University arranged a panel entitled “The Importance and Role of Language in the Survival of the Nation and Coexistence in Kurdistan”.
The panel began with a minute standing in silence for the souls of the martyrs of the Kurdish liberation movement and Kurdistan with the national anthem Ay Raqib mixed with several poems in the sweet Kurdish language.
Before the panel program, the university Rector delivered a speech: “In the name of God, on behalf of myself and the council of Erbil Polytechnic University, we warmly welcome the guests in general, especially the guests from outside our university, Dr. Rashad Miran, Professor Dr. Abdullah Hussein, Asst. Prof. Dr. Salar, Mr. Sabah, Mr. Steven ( Journalist), and Mr. Talaat Tahir.
The Mother Language Day falls on the 21st of February, and is celebrated every year by UNESCO. The history of this day goes back to the time when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan in 1952, on a day like today on February 21 Bangladeshis held a demonstration to demand the Pakistanis to study, communicate and be educated in their mother tongue. The Pakistani response to the Bangladeshis was arms and violence, they killed many of them. Later, Bangladesh gained independence and the 21st of February, 1999, was declared World Mother Language Day at the request of Bangladeshis to UNESCO.
Ladies and gentlemen, we Kurds understand the suffering of Bangladeshis very well. In the history of our country, we have often faced the trauma to destroy the Kurdish language and Kurdish nation. We at the Erbil Polytechnic University felt it necessary to play a role in celebrating these anniversaries. Our goal is to raise awareness, multilingualism, multicolor, multiculturalism, to be able to live together in a free country. Fortunately, today in Kurdistan, thanks to the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Kurdistan authorities, we have been able to achieve this goal to a large extent. The free coexistence of communities in Kurdistan has echoed in the region.”
Later the panel program was delivered which consisted of two topics, the first topic was entitled (Role and importance of mother tongue in the process of nation-building) with the participation of Asst. Prof. Dr. Salar Osman (Academic and author), Asst. Prof. Dr. Rashad Miran, the Vice President of Kurdish Academy, Steven Shani, Chaldean journalist and activist, Prof. Dr. Abdullah Hussein Ruandzi, a lecturer of Kurdish Language Department of Salahaddin University, Prof. Tal’at Tahir Hamad Saadi, a lecturer of College of Language of Salahaddin University, in which the participants discussed in detail the importance of mother tongue in the nation-building process. Furthermore, they also discussed the coexistence of communities that are freely studying in their mother tongue in educational institutions thanks to the Kurdistan Regional Government. The panelists presented data on the number of schools and cultural centers related to the communities. The topics were enriched with questions and suggestions from the guests and students and their answers by the panelists.
The second topic of the panel was entitled (Mother Tongue and Coexistence in the Kurdistan Region) with the participation of M. Sabah Saleh Ahmad, Director General of Turkmen Teaching of the Ministry of Education, Prof. Sirwan Anwar Majid, a lecturer at Erbil Polytechnic University, Steven Shani, a Chaldean journalist and activist, and Dr. Ali Abdullah Saleh, a lecturer at Erbil Polytechnic University The number of schools and cultural centers for the communities was presented with data. The topics were enriched with questions and suggestions of guests and students and their answers by the panelists.
Finally, Prof. Dr. Edrees Harki presented the awards of the Erbil Polytechnic University to the panelists and the topic managers, and thanked them again.
