Diversity of linguistic talents

The International Festival of Language and Culture is an annual celebration and showcase for the diversity of linguistic talents from across the world. The International Festival of Language and Culture first started in 2003 and proceeded with participation of only 17 countries. However, last year, 145 countries took part in this event with more than 2000 participants in 20 different countries.

The IFLC-2016 is expected to take place in 40 different countries. The participating countries are given opportunities to represent their cultures in variety of ways with musical performances, folk dances, and poem recitations, with their traditional costumes. In order to achieve a quality presentation of Bangladeshi culture in international platforms, the International Turkish Hope School, has been organizing Inter-school Bangla Olympiad for the last five years. With this outstanding event, nominated students perform in International Festival of Language and Culture programs abroad. Only in 2015, the school has visited six countries to exhibit the exquisite Bangladeshi culture with various performances. The participating countries were the Philippines, Thailand, Albania, Morocco, Mongolia and Australia. Again in 2016, the school has been invited to IFLC programs in seven different countries.

The IFLC programs are scheduled to occur in the following countries: USA, Romania, Albania, Philippines, Senegal, Kazakhstan, and Kirgizstan. The mission of The International Festival of Language and Culture is to be both a resource and an advocate for the value of diversity and inclusion. The IFLC is serving to support young students around the world learning different languages. It also gives them an opportunity to promote their own cultures to their peers from around the world and to local audiences. It is our mission to support and promote fellowship and dialogue amongst the youth of all cultural backgrounds. We are trying to promote research, eagerness for learning and exchange of information in support of peace, friendship and understanding. Students try to engage with the visitors and local community through initiating and participating in social, cultural and educational activities. They are building strong ties and lasting friendships and raising hopes for world peace.

Respect, tolerance and goodwill are the keystones to enjoying the diversity of our world. We are all linked together in a world created for all of us to share and enjoy. Each member of humanity has a potential contribution to make to the whole. It is our duty to encourage and promote those contributions. We set a distance between ourselves and that which is foreign. Communities and nations tend to be defensive about communities and cultures with which they are not familiar or do not communicate with. Dialogue is the key to overcoming this state of communicative failure. Dialogue is the most fundamental rule for achieving a lasting, universal peace. Through dialogue, people, nations and countries can get to know each other as equals, and stereotypes and fears will be replaced by peace and fellowship. It is no coincidence that the official song, repeated by all those who are involved in the efforts to build a new world of hope and beauty, has the following revolutionary lyrics: "I saw a luminous future in my dream one Night / lights were silently pouring down everywhere / It was like a harmoniously working clock / Dark nights had gone away / A new world! A new world! / They were building a new world / everywhere sparkled like the skies / they were building a new world."

Diversity is our treasure and the festival aims to serve this commitment to global community.

Published on The News Today, 11 May 2016, Wednesday

View more posts on Bangladesh