SELI's International Mother Tongue Day

On Saturday, February 21st, from 1-3:00 pm, the Sentinel English Language Institute hosted an event for the 10th anniversary of International Mother Tongue (Language) Day, declared by UNESCO in 1999. Admission was free with registration in advance. All participants chose the primary language they wished to write in, and spent an hour writing a poem, story, personal experience, and/or a folktale. Then we all gathered in language groups, with light refreshments, to read our work aloud to others who understand our language. The writers took their work home with them, hopefully to continue writing in their mother tongue. For a few, writing in their mother tongue was not new, but for most it was a very challenging, new experience. The New Citizen newspaper was present, and they wrote along with us! The participants thought this should be an annual event, and proposed that those present--just twelve this year, writing in Mende, Themne, Koranko, Susu, and Krio--keep encouraging each other to write, and be the catalyst unit to publicize the event next year. Wonderful idea!