This celebration is also a final event for the annual Youth Forum “Moscow - City of Many Faces and Diverse Languages” traditionally carried out in Moscow with the aim of promoting the ideas of linguistic and cultural diversity, respect for all languages and multilingualism, support to minor languages and preservation of endangered languages, encouragement of intercultural dialogue, education for all and the development of knowledge societies – those are central to UNESCO’s work.

This event is also a practical lesson for the school students on tolerance and culture of peace as the way of living in multicultural mega-city which is Moscow today. Students from Moscow high secondary schools such as UNESCO Associated Schools, Ethno-cultural schools, schools participating in the work of the International Youth Club “Etnosfera” as well as leading Embassy Schools and Schools of Foreign Cultural Centers in Moscow will take part in the event.

This year the event will take place in the School of the Moscow Institute of Open Education with mathematics, invention and technical profile of training. The representatives of the Moscow Government, national and cultural autonomies as well as public and non-governmental organizations will be the guests and active participants of the event as well. The representatives of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education have been also invited

The International Mother Language Day 2012 will include the Youth Conference “To Intercultural Dialog Through Learning Languages” as a final event. At the Conference the finalists of the Forum will present their reports and speeches emphasizing the experience of intercultural and multilingual learning in their schools. The scope of the conference will cover issues such as: Why does one support and promote their language? Why do we need to support minority languages? Why does a competent citizen have to master a state language? How to preserve and promote ethno-cultural identity through languages? What shall we do to ensure that international consent become the principle of both high-level policy and every day life of people?
During the event participants can visit an exhibition of the different materials on the issues of intercultural relations published by the UNESCO Chair and get a copy of necessary materials.

The awarding ceremony implies handing the certificate of attendance along with the special prize – Tree of Languages which has become a symbol of this day celebrated traditionally in the Moscow City. The best reports and presentations of the schoolchildren are to be published afterwards.
Sources:

• UNESCO Moscow Office

• UNESCO Chair of Moscow Institute of Open Education (Tel. +7 (495) 739 55 94, fax (499) 134 50 98, E-mail:UNESCOchairMSC@yandex.ru)

• Photo taken from the IMLD 2011 by the UNESCO Chair