MELBOURNE – On the occasion of ‘International Mother Language Day’, Punjabi Theatrical and Folk Academy (PTFA) organised an event on 23rd Feb to promote mother tongue Punjabi.
International Mother Language Day or what is termed as ‘Maan Boli Dehara’ in Punjabi language is celebrated every year on February 21 since the year 2000. The main purpose of celebrating this day is to promote the awareness of language and cultural diversity all across the world. It was first announced by UNESCO on November 17, 1999.
At the beginning of the programme, PTFA main organisor Amardeep Kaur welcomed the guests and underlined the importance of the mother tongue Punjabi.
The event also paid tributes to the two highly-decorated leading lights of Punjabi literature, Punjabi writers Dalip Kaur Tiwana and Jaswant Singh Kanwal who recently passed away.
The event featured a number of performances in Punjabi language by Australian born children.
There was a special interactive discussion organised to understand the importance of teaching Punjabi to the children in Australia and the various challenges faced by the community. The discussion brought many ideas as well as concerns from parents, teachers and other community leaders present there, which were discussed in an interactive manner with some suggestions.
Free Punjabi Alphabet charts were also given out to the children who attended the event.
The community appreciated the efforts of the organizers especially Amardeep Kaur, who has been taking the lead to connect the new generation of Australian born and raised children with Punjabi language and culture.
SinghStation appreciated the efforts of PTFA team as well as all the supporters of this event and welcome more of its kind of events to promote Punjabi language.