In 2019, all faculty, students, and staff celebrated the university’s history. IU world language learners also celebrated IU's history and sang songs in different languages. Listen to "Hail to Old IU" in nine world languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, Finnish, French, Kyrgyz, Persian, Portuguese, and Urdu as they debut their IU Alma Mater song.
International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on February 21st of each year to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. Like past years this year, Bangladesh Student Association at Indiana University Bloomington and Dhar India Studies observe this day on February 14th. A big crowd of 100+ people including performers from diverse languages presents amazing performances to make the whole program super enjoyable.
Several student organizations celebrate International Education Week and invite public members to the event. Many student organizations come together to put on World's Fare and celebrate their cultures.
Every year undergraduate students compete for the grand prize. It is also a great honor to have some of graduate students singing in both Spanish and Portuguese. Special Guests include community members, children, and parents from La Escuelita para Todos, just to name a few.
With support from the College of Arts and Sciences and various language programs at Indiana University, the Center for Language Technology (CeLT) hosts the World Language Festival (WLF) at the IU Bloomington campus. Short lectures/crash courses in different languages, presentations, and hands-on workshops representing around 30 languages and covering a wide range of topics and interests are featured at the event. Students from IU and high school students enjoy the event along with their teachers, family members, and friends.
The African Languages Festival brings students, instructors, and guests from the university and community together for a night of celebration of the African languages and cultures at IU Bloomington. Students of all language levels perform songs and skits in Akan, Bamanankan, KiSwahili, Yoruba, IsiZulu, and Kinyarwanda. IU African Languages and Cultures Club organizes a variety of cultural events to the wider campus and public.
What life expects of us is that we celebrate.
~José Eduardo Agualusa, an Angolan journalist and writer of Portuguese and Brazilian descent
