On the occasion of International Mother Language Day, UNESCO restates its wholehearted commitment to linguistic diversity and multilingualism. Languages express who we are, they structure our thoughts and identities. There can be no authentic dialogue or effective international cooperation without respect for linguistic diversity, which opens up true understanding of every culture. Access to the diversity of languages can awaken the curiosity and mutual understanding of peoples. That is why learning languages is at one and the same time a promise of peace, of innovation and of creativity.

在国际母语日之际，联合国教科文组织重申其对语言多样性和使用多种语言的全部承诺。语言表达我们自己，构建我们的思想和我们的身份。如果没有对语言多样性的尊重，就不可能有真正的对话和有效的国际合作，因为语言多样性开启了真正理解每一种文化的门户。进入语言多样性的环境，就能激发好奇心，就能增进各民族之间的相互了解。所以说，学习语言对和平、创新和创造力都是一种承诺。

International Mother Language Day, devoted this year to multilingual education, is also an opportunity to mobilize for the Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular, SDG 4, to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. Education and information in the mother language is absolutely essential to improving learning and developing confidence and self-esteem, which are among the most powerful engines of development.

国际母语日今年的主题是多语言教育。这也是一个契机，让我们动员起来推动实现可持续发展目标，特别是可持续发展目标4：确保包容和公平的优质教育，让全民终身享有学习机会。母语教育和信息对于改善学习、培养自信和自尊是至关重要的，这是发展的主要推动力。

We are beings of language. Cultures, ideas, feelings and even aspirations for a better world come to us first and foremost in a specific language, with specific words. These languages convey values and visions of the world that enrich humanity. Giving value to these languages opens up the range of possible futures, and strengthens the energy needed to achieve them. On the occasion of this Day, I launch an appeal for the potential of multilingual education to be acknowledged everywhere, in education and administrative systems, in cultural expressions and the media, cyberspace and trade. The better we understand how to value languages, the more tools we will have to build a future of dignity for all.

人类是有语言能力的存在。文化、思想、情感，甚至对一个更美好世界的愿望，首先并且总是以明确的语言、具体的词句呈现在我们面前。这些语言承载着丰富人类的价值观和世界观。重视这些语言的价值，可以使未来具有更大的可能范围，也可以让实现这样的未来所需要的能动力得到加强。值此国际母语日，我呼吁，无论是在教育和行政系统，还是在文化表现形式方面以及传媒、网络空间和商业来往中，都要普遍重视多语言教育的潜力。我们越是懂得重视语言的价值，就越有办法为所有人建设有尊严的未来。