Events.
Mother Language Day is the one afternoon a year when the whole network is in the same room. Below it, the other dates IHLA takes part in.
Mother Language Day — Many Languages, One World.
Why 21 February
In 1952, students in Dhaka were killed demonstrating for the right to be taught in Bangla. UNESCO designated 21 February International Mother Language Day in their memory, and the day has since become a global marker for linguistic rights and the languages at risk of disappearing.
IHLA has held its own showcase since 2004. The format has barely changed: each member school brings a performance and a display table. Students sing, recite poetry, perform folktales and dance. Families bring food, textiles, instruments and objects from home. Nothing is translated, and nothing needs to be — the point is that all of it happens in the same room at the same time.
What to expect
- Student performances from across the member network — song, dance, poetry, recitation and folktale
- Cultural craft and heritage displays staffed by each school
- Free and open to the public; families especially welcome
- Held in the rotunda at Edmonton City Hall, usually the Saturday nearest 21 February
The Mother Language Day book
Each year IHLA publishes a book collecting student writing, translation and artwork from across the membership — in the students' own languages and scripts. For many families it is the first time they have seen their child's writing set in print in the language their grandparents use.
Back issues of the book, along with the quarterly newsletter, are held by IHLA and available to member schools.
Twenty years of showcases, on film
Mother Language Day 2023, Edmonton City Hall
Other events
- 27 June 2027
- Canadian Multiculturalism DayThe national observance, proclaimed for 27 June each year since 2002.
- 24 May 2025
- YESfestThe Youth Ethnocultural Spring Festival.
- 21–30 July 2023
- K-DaysEdmonton's summer fair. IHLA's confirmed festival appearance.