Russian Language Day 6 June 2023
“As a material of literature, the Slavic-Russian language has an undeniable superiority over all European ones: its fate was extremely happy. In the 11th century, the ancient Greek language suddenly revealed to him its lexicon, a treasury of harmony, bestowed on him the laws of its deliberate grammar, its beautiful turns, its majestic course of speech; in a word, he adopted him, thus saving him from the slow improvements of time. By itself, already sonorous and expressive, from here on it acquires flexibility and correctness. The vulgar dialect had to be separated from the bookish one; but subsequently they became close, and such is the element given to us to communicate our thoughts.
A. S. Pushkin
Russian Language Day at the UN
June 6, the birthday of the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin, as part of the program to support and develop multilingualism and cultural diversity, the UN celebrates the Day of the Russian Language. One of the goals of this program is to maintain the equality of all six official languages of the UN: English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French.
The decision to hold language days was made by the Department of Public Information (now the Department of Global Communications) on the eve of International Mother Language Day , celebrated annually on February 21 at the initiative of UNESCO.
The aim of the UN Language Days is to raise awareness of the history, culture and development of each of the six official languages of the UN among the staff of the Organization. Each language is given the opportunity to find its own unique approach and develop its own program of activities for the day, including inviting famous poets and writers and developing information and thematic materials.
Cultural events, among others, may include the performance of musical and literary works, competitions, exhibitions, lectures, variety performances and performances by cultural figures, national cuisine days and performances by folklore groups, film screenings and express language lessons for those wishing to learn another from the official languages of the UN.
UN and multilingualism
Multilingualism , which is an important factor in harmonious communication between peoples, is of particular importance to the United Nations. While promoting tolerance, it also ensures effective and more active participation of all in the working process of the Organization, as well as greater efficiency, better results and greater stakeholder involvement. Multilingualism must be preserved and promoted through various measures taken within the United Nations system for the benefit of sharing and communication.
Balancing the six official languages - English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French (with English and French being the languages of everyday professional communication) - was a constant concern of all secretaries general. From 1946 to the present, numerous steps have been taken to promote the use of the official languages so that the United Nations, its purposes and actions are understood by the general public.
The official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. English and French are also the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat ( Resolution 2 (I) of February 1, 1946).
In its resolution 54/64 of 6 December 1999, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to appoint a multilingual focal point throughout the Secretariat from among the senior staff of the Secretariat.
Multilingualism issues should be considered from different points of view, in particular from the point of view of internal and external communication. Internal communication takes place within the Organization, whether it be formal interactions between Member States and all parties involved in the work of the United Nations, or between Member States and the Secretariat of the United Nations. It requires a distinction between working and official languages. External communications aimed at the general public may cover languages other than the official ones, as well as the question of the media used to disseminate United Nations messages. Finally, in order to promote all aspects of multilingualism, the issue of human resources needs to be considered separately.
The functions of the Department of Global Communications include, in particular, ensuring that the ideals and messages of the United Nations are known and understood throughout the world in order to facilitate support for the Organization, with the participation of key intermediaries such as the press, non-governmental organizations and educational institutions. To this end, the widest possible and timely dissemination of information and materials should be ensured. In this regard, the Department is constantly striving to expand the worldwide reach of its information products and results, such as television and radio programmes, the website, the network of United Nations information centers and tour programs in major offices.
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