On Wednesday 21 February 2024, the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts, in cooperation with the General Directorate of Syriac Education and the Directorate of Education of the Outskirts of Erbil, organised the activities of a celebration for International Mother Language Day, in the hall of the Syriac Heritage Museum at Ankawa District Centre, Erbil Governorate.
The celebration, which was held to commemorate our Syriac language, and in which the Syriac schools in Ankawa district participated, began with a welcome speech delivered by Director of Syriac Heritage and Museum Bernard Youssef, in which he referred to the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts’ role in commemorating this annual occasion for the valuable historical status of the Syriac language, as well as its sanctity, which it derives from being a descendant of the language spoken by Jesus Christ two thousand years ago.
Then, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Transport and Communications Minister Anu Jawhar Abdoka, gave a speech in which he referred to the saying of Jesus Christ, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” indicating that the ninth government cabinet pays attention to preserving the antiquity of the existing ethnic languages. He stressed that “more than 50 schools teach using materials in the Syriac and Turkmen languages throughout the region.”
This was followed with a speech by the Culture and Youth Ministry’s Undersecretary in the Regional Government, Arian Salah al-Din, in which he expressed his pride in the linguistic diversity present in the region. He also pointed out the Ministry of Culture’s role and its support to the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts in working to preserve this language.
Then the Ur Syriac School presented a song titled “Lishana” (Language), after which Director General of Syriac Education in the Regional Ministry of Education, Nizar Hanna, delivered his speech, through which he explained the heritage and originality of our people in the land of our ancestors and the role of Syriac education in the continuity of education in the mother tongue.
The ceremony included a hymn titled “Shimsha d-Hirutha” (Sun of Freedom) by students of the Syriac Hammurabi School, followed by a poem titled “Lishana d-Yimma” (Mother Language) by the distinguished Syriac poet Gorgis Nabati, whose words were influential in terms of the strength of their meanings, and the desired goal of the poem was to cling to the mother tongue and not be drawn to foreign languages.
After that, students of the Arbailu Syriac School sang another anthem entitled “Matha” (Homeland), so that the festive day concluded its activities with a folkloric dance in our people’s traditional costumes, performed by the students of Ur Syriac High School.
Mr. Rami Nuri, Ankawa District Commissioner, Dr. Mona Yaqo, Head of the Independent Commission for Human Rights, and Ms. Florin Gorgis, Head of the Office of National and Religious Components Affairs in the Presidency of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, all participated in the celebration, in addition to a large number of directors of Ankawa District departments, educational bodies, teaching staff, their students, as well as a group of intellectuals and those interested in the Syriac culture and its ancient language.
It is worth noting that International Mother Language Day is an annual celebration around the world to enhance awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. February 21 was considered International Mother Language Day, and was officially approved by the United Nations General Assembly.
