UNITED NATIONS – On April 23, the “Day of the Spanish Language” is celebrated at the United Nations to raise the awareness of the Organization’s personnel, and the world in general, about the history, culture and use of Spanish as an official language.
In 2010, the Organization decided to celebrate its cultural diversity and multilingualism through the establishment of the “Language Days” for its six official languages. The dates were chosen for their symbolism or historical importance for each of the languages.
March 20 – Day of the French language, coinciding with the International Day of La Francophonie.
April 20 – Day of the Chinese language, dedicated to Tsan Chieh, creator of the Chinese script.
April 23 – Day of the English language, which coincides with the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, the most famous dramatist and poet of English literature.
April 23 – Day of the Spanish language, date on which the death of the great genius of Spanish letters, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, is commemorated.
June 6 – Day of the Russian language, on the anniversary of the birth of Alexander Pushkin, founder of modern Russian literature.
December 18 – Day of the Arabic language, which commemorates the approval in 1973 of Arabic as the official and working language of the General Assembly and its Main Committees.
United Nations offices and offices around the world are encouraged to celebrate the Days of Languages and organize cultural events that show the importance of multilingualism and the richness of each of these languages through music, art, poetry, gastronomy, theater and cinema.
This April 23, the Language and Communications Program of the UN, in collaboration with the Group of Friends of Spanish and with the support of the Spanish Observatory and the Cervantes Institute, organizes several activities to celebrate Spanish.
Activities
Reading extracts from Don Quixote. Students from the language program will participate. It will take place at the UN Headquarters in New York, at the Learning Center (General Assembly Building, 3rd floor.), From 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Test your knowledge of Spanish and earn a free year as a partner at the Cervantes Institute with this quiz that you can do online. It is available in Spanish, English and French.
Roundtable: Inclusive communication to gender in Spanish, challenges and opportunities, a debate to raise awareness about the need to make more inclusive use of the language, especially in a language such as Spanish where the linguistic gender is marked.
