On February 29, 2016, the Public Defender and member organizations of the Public Defender's Council of National Minorities held an event dedicated to the Mother Language Day.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, the Office of State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality and members of the Council of National Minorities.

In his welcome speech the Public Defender talked about the protection and preservation of mother languages of small ethnic groups.

Members and a coordinator of the Council of National Minorities delivered speeches about the situation of native languages of national minorities.

At the end of the meeting the Public Defender awarded honorary certificates to the members of the Council - Simon (Mamuli) Neshumashvili, Naira Bepievi, Meka Khangoshvili, Regina Jakobidze, and Kerim Ankosi – for their particular contribution to the protection and preservation of the mother language.

21 February was founded as the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO in 1999 in order to preserve, develop and promote the linguistic and cultural diversity. Since February 2000 the International Mother Language Day has been celebrated every year throughout the world.

The Public Defender of Georgia attaches great importance to the protection of native languages of national minorities. He has provided a number of recommendations to the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia with regard to introduction of teaching of the languages of national minorities at Georgian schools.

The Public Defender appreciates the decision of the Ministry of Education to teach languages of small national minorities (Ossetian, Assyrian, Udi, Kurdish, Avar) in some of the Georgian schools.

Today’s event was organized by the Public Defender, the Public Defender's Council of National Minorities and the USAID-funded project of the UN Association of Georgia (UNAG) - “Promoting Integration, Tolerance and Awareness” (PITA). The event was initiated by the Union of Russian Youth of Georgia – one of the member organizations of the Public Defender's Council of National Minorities.