The Global Mother Language Prize was presented by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra, an Indian academic and social worker who works to improve indigenous languages in the state of Odisha.

 

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presented the Global Mother Language Award to Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra, an educator and social worker from India who works to promote indigenous languages in the state of Odisha. Dr. Mishra has spent more than three decades focusing on the language, culture, and education of Odisha`s underrepresented languages. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, underlined the need for "research to protect, revitalise, and promote the mother languages of the world as many languages are being destroyed" when launching a four-day programme of the International Mother Language Institute and presenting the prize.

 

In Dhaka, four awardees received the two national prizes and the two international awards from Prime Minister Hasina. The national prizes went to Habibur Rahman and Ranjit Singha of Bangladesh, while Mahendra Kumar Mishra and Mother Language Lovers of Global Society, Vancouver, received honourable mentions. The prize was established by UNESCO in 2021 and is granted to those who have made exceptional contributions to the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of mother tongues.