The Municipal Language Director for Ga East Municipal Assembly, Mercy Naa Oyoe Quartey, has stressed the significance of mother languages as a means of connecting with one’s heritage.

Speaking at a Ghana Reads Initiative event to mark the 2025 International Mother Language Day on Friday, February 28, at ROCHMA School, she urged students to take pride in speaking their local languages as a way of building a bond with their heritage.

"Yes, our languages are very important to us. Why? Because these various languages, when we use them and read them, give us a special mother tongue. It’s the language that our family, friends, and community know us by. We communicate with our friends, we communicate with our family—we communicate better. Research has also proven that when learners are able to communicate effectively in their own languages, they become excellent students in their various endeavors. Yes, speaking our mother tongue is like wearing a warm, cozy blanket that comforts our souls, makes us happy, and connects us to our culture, our traditions, and our heritage. As learners, as children, as families, and as a community, we always reconnect with our roots, our heritage, and our traditions whenever we speak our local language," she said.

She also implored parents and teachers to take an interest in promoting the use of local languages by students to help the younger generation gain a better grasp of their mother tongue.

The National Director of Ghana Reads Initiative, Paa Kwasi Koomson, expressed delight over the interest shown by the schoolchildren in reading and learning their local languages.

He noted the significance of International Mother Language Day as an event through which the Ghana Reads Initiative has, over the years, leveraged to promote local language literacy.

“We are very impressed with the outcome of the event. The enthusiasm shown by the children indicates their willingness to learn our local languages. Being able to speak the English language is a good thing, but we also don’t need to be foreigners in our own country. Therefore, we are using Mother Language Day to remind the children of their local languages and to also remind parents of the need to incorporate their language in nurturing their children,” he stated.

International Mother Language Day 2025, observed on February 21, marks the 25th anniversary of this global event, established by UNESCO in 1999 and first celebrated in 2000. The day promotes linguistic and cultural diversity, multilingualism, and the preservation of mother tongues worldwide.

The 2025 theme, "Languages Matter: Silver Jubilee Celebration of International Mother Language Day," reflects a quarter-century of efforts to safeguard endangered languages, enhance education through mother-tongue instruction, and foster cultural identity. Celebrated globally, it’s a national holiday in Bangladesh, featuring tributes at the Shaheed Minar, while UNESCO hosts events like panel discussions at its Paris headquarters to advance these goals.

The Friday, February 28, 2025, commemoration by Ghana Reads Initiative was supported by Adwinsa Publications.