21 February: International Mother Language Day

International Mother Language Day is an observance held annually on 21 February worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. It was first announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999. Its observance was also formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the International Year of Languages.

International Mother Language Day originated as the international recognition of Language Movement Day, which has been commemorated in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) since 1952, when a number of students including the students of the University of Dhaka were killed by the Pakistani police in Dhaka during Bengali Language Movement protests.

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.

"Information and communication technologies can be especially useful in promoting mother languages. We must harness the power of progress to protect diverse visions of the world and to promote all sources of knowledge and forms of expression. These are the threads that weave the tapestry of humanity’s story. "

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO
Message for International Mother Language Day 2011

Did you know that Irina Bokova is a Bulgarian? Proud to be Bulgarian!

20 February - World Day of Social Justice

 20 February - World Day of Social Justice

       Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. We uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants. We advance social justice when we remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability.

     For the United Nations, the pursuit of social justice for all is at the core of our global mission to promote development and human dignity. The adoption by the International Labour Organization of the Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization is just one recent example of the UN system’s commitment to social justice. The Declaration focuses on guaranteeing fair outcomes for all through employment, social protection, social dialogue, and fundamental principles and rights at work.

     The General Assembly proclaimed 20 February as World Day of Social Justice in 2007, inviting Member States to devote the day to promoting national activities in accordance with the objectives and goals of the World Summit for Social Development and the twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly. Observance of World Day of Social Justice should support efforts of the international community in poverty eradication, the promotion of full employment and decent work, gender equity and access to social well-being and justice for all.

"Social justice is more than an ethical imperative, it is a foundation for national stability and global prosperity. Equal opportunity, solidarity and respect for human rights -- these are essential to unlocking the full productive potential of nations and peoples.."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the 2011 World Day of Social Justice
20 February 2011

Source: http://www.un.org

On this day: February 15

Holidays

United States: Susan B. Anthony Day.

United States: USS Maine Memorial Day.

Canada: Flag Day

Events

1758 - The first mustard, made by Benjamin Franklin, went on sale in America.

1804 - New Jersey became the last northern state to abolish slavery.

1842 - In New York City, adhesive postage stamps were used for the first time.

1879 - President Rutherford Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court.

1898 - The USS Maine, sent to Cuba on a friendly visit, exploded and sank in Havana harbor, killing 260 crew members. The origin of the explosion is unknown. This incident led to the Spanish-American War.

1933 - An assassin aiming at President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt had his aim deflected and instead killed Anton J. Cermak, mayor of Chicago.

1942 - British forces in Singapore surrendered to Japanese, after their worst defeat of World War II.

1965 - The new Canadian Maple Leaf national flag was raised above Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

1969 - R. G. Edwards of the Cambridge Physiological Laboratory, Cambridge, England, made the first in vitro fertilization of human egg cells.

1971 - Great Britain and Ireland switched to decimal-based currency.

1978 - Boxer Leon Spinks defeated Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight boxing crown.

2004 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the Daytona 500 six years to the day after his father won his only Daytona 500.

2005 - YouTube, a popular video-sharing Web site, is started.

Births

1564 - Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer.

1797 - Henry Steinway, American piano maker.

1820 - Susan B. Anthony, American suffragist.

1929 - Graham Hill, British two-time Formula One World Champion.

1935 - Roger Chaffee, a U.S. Navy pilot who became an American astronaut in the Apollo program.

1951 - Jane Seymour, an English actress

1954 - Matt Groening, American cartoonist; Simpsons creator.

1964 - Chris Farley, American actor and comedian.

On This Day: February 14

Holidays Happy St. Valentine's Day! Bulgaria: Viticulturists' Day / Trifon Zarezan. International Book Giving Day Events 1849 - The first photograph of a U.S. President, James Polk, was taken by Matthew Brady, in New York City. 1859 - Oregon was admitted to the Union as the 33rd state. 1870 - Esther Morris became the world's first female justice of the peace. 1876 - Rival inventors Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell both applied for patents for the telephone. 1899 - President William McKinley signed legislation authorizing states to use voting machines for federal elections. 1912 - Arizona became the 48th state of the Union. 1912 - The first diesel engine submarine was commissioned, in Groton, Connecticut. 1920 - The League of Women Voters was founded in Chicago; its first president was Maude Wood Park. 1924 - Thomas Watson founded International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). 1929 - The St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place in a Chicago garage when Al Capone's employees gunned down seven members of the George "Bugs" Moran North Siders gang. 1945 - Peru, Paraguay, Chile, and Ecuador joined the United Nations. 1946 - The world's first all-electronic computer was unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania, ENIAC. 1966 - Rick Mount of Lebanon, Indiana became the first high school male athlete to be pictured on the cover of "Sports Illustrated." 2003 - Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, was euthanized by veterinarians after being found to be suffering from progressive lung disease. Births 1819 - Christopher Sholes, American, typewriter inventor. 1847 - Anna Howard Shaw, American, influential leader of the women's suffrage movement. 1859 - George Ferris, American engineer, inventor of the Ferris wheel. 1894 - Jack Benny (Benjamin Kubelsky), American comedian of vaudeville, radio, and television. 1913 - Jimmy Hoffa, American labor leader. 1921 - Hugh Downs, American TV host. 1948 - Teller, (born Raymond Joseph Teller), American magician, best known as the smaller, silent half of the comedy magic duo Penn & Teller.

On This Day: February 13

 

Fact of the Day: potato chips

Potato chips were invented in 1853 at Saratoga Springs, New York, where chef George Crum of Moon's Lake House shaved potatoes paper thin and sent them out to a patron who had complained that his French fries were too thick. The customers were delighted, ordered more, and encouraged Crum to open up his own restaurant. Crum's new restaurant had people standing in line to get potato chips. Wise potato chips were introduced in 1921 by grocer Earl V. Wise as a way of dealing with overstocked and old potatoes. He sold them in brown paper bags the then in cellophane starting in the 1930s.

Events

1633 - Galileo was detained by the Italian Inquisition in Rome.

1635 - The oldest public school in the United States, the Boston Public Latin School, was founded.

1689 - Following the Glorious Revolution in Britain, Mary II, the daughter of the deposed king, James II, and William III prince of Orange, her husband, were proclaimed joint sovereigns.

1741 - "The American Magazine" was published in Philadelphia, and became the first U.S. magazine, beating Benjamin Franklin's "General Magazine" off the presses by three days.

1795 - The first U.S. state university opened, the University of North Carolina.

1914 - The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) was founded.

1920 - The League of Nations recognized the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland.

1945 - Allied planes began the controversial and devastating bombing the German city of Dresden.

1974 - Russian novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the USSR.

2001 - A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit El Salvador, killing at least 402 people just one month after another quake killed more than 800 people.

Births

1728 - John Hunter, English surgeon and founder of pathological anatomy

1849 - Lord Randolph Churchill, English politician and father of Winston Churchill

1891  - Grant Wood, American painter

1910 - William Shockley, American Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose work led to the miniaturization of radio, TV, and computer circuits.

1950 - Peter Gabriel, English musician.

1956 - Princess Alia bint Al Hussein, Jordanian Royal Family member.

1974 - Robbie Williams, an English singer-songwriter and occasional actor.

1979 - Mena Suvari, an American actress, fashion designer, and model.

Do You Like Me? Valentine's Day

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