International mother language day has been observed in Hastings every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
The community of Hastings celebrated International mother language day last weekend on Sunday, 4 March at a special event hosted by the Hastings Bengal forum. The event took place at Concordia Hall and was well attended by the diverse communities of Hastings.
The Mayor of Hastings, Cllr Judy Rogers, who opened the celebrations, commented: “Once again this was a tremendous event attended by hundreds of people. We were treated to a colourful variety of performances including song, dance and poetry.”
She added that, “This important event celebrates the diversity of linguistic identities, recognises cultural and linguistic heritage and promotes a sense of belonging to the town.”
“Our thanks must go to the organisers of this very important event as it brings together communities of different nationality and faith and it really does show that we are “One Hastings, many voices”.