The International Mother Languages Day was celebrated with many events, including the launch of the Nezahualcóyotl Mexican Languages Literature Award.
The first international “Legal Pluralism and the Exercise of Linguistic Rights” conference was also carried out in the National Center for the Arts (Cenart). The conference focused on the cultural and linguistic diversity in Mexico, said the Federal Culture Secretariat.
Saúl Juárez, in charge of culture and arts at Cenart, said that they are working to integrate linguistic rights in public policies and that in 2017 the Mexican Constitution will be translated to the 68 languages of the country.
“Today, more than ever, we need to talk about linguistic rights, because they are the key to national social equality. Because of this, institutions agree to create a framework of multicultural inclusion in which our language are valued as examples of knowledge and greatness,” Juárez expressed.
With the help of the Culture Secretariat and the National Institute for Indigenous Languages (Inali), a work certification program for professors of indigenous languages will begin in 2016.
During the celebration, certifications were awarded to the interpreters Octavio Alejo Reynoso for the Purépcha language, María Concepción Hernández for the Hidalgo Huasteca language, América Hernández for the Tojolabal language, Rafael García for the Pápago language and Lázaro Ramírez for the Totonaca language, among others.
The general director of Inali said that mother languages are a deep part of our identities and part of the legacy left behind by our ancestors. Because of this, it is important to keep them alive and pass them down to future generations.
