Skopje, 19 February 2026 (MIA) - Without our mother tongue we cannot truly be human, it is like the stem cell of identity and culture. This day is dedicated to the love, care, nurture, and respect for all mother tongues, both here and around the world, stressed President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova at an event Thursday marking International Mother Language Day at the “Krste Misirkov” Institute of Macedonian Language.

“Respect for linguistic diversity means respect for cultural diversity. Every mother tongue that is spoken in our country is a valuable part of the shared cultural mosaic, since the respect and nurture of all communities will strengthen the culture of dialogue and tolerance, it will instil trust and create a society in which diversity won’t be seen as an imposed force, but as a force that brings us together,” Siljanovska-Davkova said.

The President said that in unpredictable times it is always smaller nations and smaller languages that are threatened, noting that the defense lies in the hands of the speakers of the Macedonian language, but also in the hands of institutions, professors, teachers, linguists, and the media.

“We must constantly remind ourselves that language is the foundation of identity, the guardian of collective memory, and the only bridge that carries us forward into the future. Within it are recorded the experiences of all past generations, and within it are embedded the aspirations of those who will come after us. This day is not merely an occasion for commemoration, but also a reminder of the responsibility we bear toward language as an invaluable cultural heritage and treasure, and as a powerful instrument of peace. Let's nurture and develop our mother tongue in education, science, culture, and the digital sphere, creating the conditions for it to continue evolving in step with the modern world,” Siljanovska-Davkova stressed.

The Director of the “Krste Misirkov” Institute of Macedonian Language, Elena Jovanova-Grujovska, in her address at the event stressed that the centuries-long struggle for freedom, statehood, and recognition of the Macedonian language has taught the country mutual respect for different cultures and languages.

Professor Goce Cvetanovski, author of the first Macedonian Etymological Dictionary, spoke about the importance of the mother tongue, noting that the question of language is not merely linguistic, but a matter of dignity, identity, and the right to exist.

At the event held at the Institute of Macedonian Language to mark International Mother Language Day, actor Nikola Ristanovski recited verses by Macedonian poets Koneski, Shopov, and Andreevski.

UNESCO declared February 21 as International Mother Language Day in 1999, in honor of the students from East Pakistan, today’s Bangladesh, who were killed in 1952 while protesting because their mother tongue, Bengali, was not recognized as an official language.

Photo: MIA