ISLAMABAD: 5th Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival kicked off Friday evening at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in the presence of over 100 intellectuals, writers and poets along with a jam packed hall with the audience from different parts of the country.
The festival is being organized by Indus Cultural Forum in collaboration with PNCA and other institutions has developed ambitious program with added attractions to mark 5th year of success of the festival, which has become one of the key features of Federal Capital’s cultural and literary scene.
Other partners and sponsors of the event include Foundation Open Society Institute (FOSI), Friedrich Naumann Foundation Pakistan (FNF), Alternative Research Initiative (ARI), Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC), Culture Department, Government of Sindh, ECO Science Foundation, Pakistan Science Foundation, Society for Alternative Media and Research (SAMAR) and other organizations.
Zubeda Mustafa, the keynote speaker of the inaugural session, said the language develop the community of people and a basic source of communication among the people.
Researches have shown that children learn much better in their mother languages. But unfortunately we undermine the importance of our own languages. No steps are seen to recognize the mother languages as national languages. She cited many examples of the developed countries that have successfully implemented the learning of their children in their mother languages.
The festival coincides with international mother languages day falls on 21 February, highlights the potential of Pakistan’s linguistic and cultural diversity. More than 150 Writers, intellectuals, artists and activists from up to 20 Pakistani languages will take part in this year’s festival.
Briefing about this year’s attractions at a news briefing in Islamabad, Chairperson of Indus Cultural Forum Niaz Nadeem said that there will be 20 diverse sessions in the festival which will comprise of discussions, book launches, poetry recitations, music performances and theatrical performances. Other attractions will include painting and antiques exhibitions, children’s science fun activities and book stalls. “We are striving for equal dignity and respect for all Pakistani languages as they represent rich heritage and folk wisdom of millions of Pakistanis” said Niaz Nadeem. He said special attention has been given to the constitutional equality of all languages and sessions have been designed in this regard.
Director General of PNCA Dr. Fouzia Saeed in her welcome speech said that mother language play a in important role in personality building and it’s a key component of development for human society .This light will spread and will enlightened the society above the importance of mother language. This festival provides a platform for celebrating all 70 plus languages of Pakistan and encourages language communities to take action for saving these languages from extinction” she said.
Representative of FOSI, Nargis Sultana said “respect for linguistic rights is critical for empowering communities and reducing discrimination”. The festival is to promote Pakistan’s linguistic and cultural diversity by fostering critical thinking and learning through effective use of creative expression in mother languages”. She said the festival has been an important event to highlight the potential of literature and arts in these languages which are usually marginalized.
The festival provides a platform to intellectuals, writers and thinkers representing different languages to come together and present their work on various genres of art, literature, culture and education in mother languages of Pakistan.
Friedrich Naumann Foundation for freedom-Pakistan’s Head of Program and administration Muhammad Anwar said his institution celebrates linguistic and cultural diversity of Pakistan. He said FNF works with partners to bring out real potential of Pakistani languages so that people of Pakistan are aware of their rich heritage and culture.
Chief Executive, SAMAR, Mazhar Arif said that Diversity of languages, cultures and peoples is real Pakistan. Recognition and appreciation of this diversity guarantee strength and prosperity of the country.
Books are calligraphy exhibitions were also inaugurated while the inaugural ceremony was also enriched by the folk dance music performances.
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