On 22 February 2016 the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) will join the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations, World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Ukrainian National Women’s League of America and Volya Institute in a celebration of International Mother Language Day.
The event, being held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA, will focus on the significance of language as the main guarantor of a nation’s cultural legacy. Presentations will address contemporary Ukrainian issues, specifically, Ukrainian Identity and Language in Ukraine after the EuroMaidan, and Persecution of Mother Tongue and the Violation of Cultural Rights in Occupied Crimea.
As Ukraine is forced to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages have become primary targets for the Russian aggressor attempting to nullify the local population’s cultural identity on occupied territories. Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar schools have been closed, Russian language text books have replaced Ukrainian language text books, and instruction in the mother language on these territories leads to persecution.
“As we mark International Mother Language Day on 21 February 2016 we wish to draw the attention of UN member states to the continuing persecution on Ukrainian territory by the Russian occupier, preventing young Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars access to education in their mother tongue,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
The program of the event is available here.
