Island charities Culture Vannin and Mooinjer Veggey are set to jointly host an International Mother Language Day celebration as part of the Isle of Man’s Year of the Manx Language.

The event, which takes place on Saturday, February 21 at PromSpace, located within Loch Promenade Methodist Church in Douglas, looks to celebrate linguistic diversity by representing as many language communities in the island as possible.

International Mother Language Day is observed globally each year on February 21 and is backed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The day promotes linguistic and cultural diversity, multilingualism and the preservation of endangered languages.

Its origins lie in the 1952 Bengali language movement in what was then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, and it highlights the importance of language in education, identity, and cultural heritage.

The International Mother Language Day celebration will also serve as the finale to Culture Vannin’s ‘Say a Manx Phrase Week’, with both initiatives having received support from the government’s Domestic Events Fund.

Tiffany Kerruish, Year of the Manx Language Coordinator at Culture Vannin, is excited by the prospect of bringing the language communities together.

‘This special day, all about cherishing and valuing languages, is celebrated worldwide and we thought it would be wonderful for the Isle of Man to join the party,’ she said.

‘We hope to meet and celebrate with as many of the different language communities on the island as possible and showcase our own Manx Gaelic language within this diverse mix.

‘Our community is enriched by the very many different people who have chosen to live and work here from further afield and we recognise that many within these communities enjoy integrating, meeting new people and discovering more about Manx culture.

‘This is what our Mother Languages Day event will be all about and we really hope that people will get in touch and want to become part of the day’s celebrations.’

Ruth Keggin Gell, Manx Language Development Officer at Culture Vannin, is also looking forward to exchanging languages and teaching some songs.

She said: ‘We hope that the day will be lots of fun and that we can explore our languages through games, workshops, songs, cultural displays and maybe even some cooking.

‘We want everybody to get in touch with ideas about how they might like to bring their language and culture to life - we at Culture Vannin will help them to do this.

‘I will be offering some easy beginner Manx language workshops throughout the day as well as leading a song workshop, and a “singing circle” where we can share songs together.’

Culture Vannin has issued an open call for individuals and groups from different language backgrounds to participate in the event.

Attendance and participation will be free of charge.

The organisers have confirmed the event will be suitable for all ages, with Mooinjer Veggey providing children’s activities and a dedicated play space.

Those interested in taking part are invited to contact Tiffany Kerruish by email at [email protected]