21 February 2018 DHAKA – The Philippine Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh participated in the annual Mother Language Day celebration of Bangladesh. A Filipino musical act was featured as the opening performance for the foreign musical acts portion of the annual Mother Language Day Cultural Night at the Shilpakala Academy on February 21. The Philippines was represented by Mr. Ramon Billanes, who sang in both Bangla and English which was received with cheers and applause by the mostly Bangladeshi crowd. The Cultural Night program also featured performances from Indonesia, Denmark, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Bhutan, Australia, Italy, Colombia, Brunei, Japan, Egypt, Vietnam, France, Spain, India, and Nepal.

On February 24, the Embassy, represented by Third Secretary Ms. LV de Guzman and Cultural Officer Ms. Lauren Arce, called on Professor Dr. Jinnat Imtiaz Ali, Director-General of the Bangladesh (BD) International Mother Language Institute and Professor at the Department of Linguistics of Dhaka University.

The Embassy discussed with the Director-General Ali future collaborations between the Embassy and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Education through the International Mother Language Institute. Future activities discussed included a Philippine Poetry Appreciation and Recital event in November 2018 and a likely seminar on Language and Literature, featuring both the Philippine and Bangladesh works of literature in August as part of the Embassy’s celebration of the Philippines’s Buwan ng Wika. END.

Third Secretary Ms. LV de Guzman (left) and Cultural Officer Ms. Lauren Arce (right), pose with Professor Dr. Jinnat Imtiaz Ali, Director-General of the Bangladesh (BD) International Mother Language Institute at the International Mother Language Institute headquarters in Dhaka, Bangladesh.