The Scottish Bangladeshi Welfare Association (SBWA) is proud to announce its celebration of International Mother Language Day in Edinburgh. 

The event, held at Portobello, Edinburgh on 23rd of February 2025, which truly promoted social cohesion and cross-cultural awareness between our community and others across Scotland. 

This initiative fostered stronger connections with diverse communities, encouraging linguistic diversity, multilingualism, and the preservation of mother languages worldwide.

In this multicultural festival, Honourable Chief Guest was Mr. Foysol Choudhury, MBE MSP who is the advisor of SBWA since it founded. 

In his speech he said: “It is important for our younger generations to embrace their mother language, as it not only helps to maintain cultural connections, but also plays a vital role in fostering inclusivity in society.” 

The event saw participation from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, including Bangladeshi Scottish, Irish, English, French, German, Polish, African, Spanish, Japanese, Greek, and Indian performers and attendees. 

In his speech, The President of Scottish Bangladeshi Welfare Association, Mr. Ziauddin Khan Siddique (Sumon) said, “We are incredibly proud of this achievement and extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to making the event a success.”

The General Secretary of the organisation Mr. Khan Elahi urged to take necessary steps to establish a permanent ‘Shaheed Minar’ (Monument) in Edinburgh like other cities across the World (London, Paris, Lisbon, Toronto). 

Moreover, The Event management secretary of the organisation Mr. Nazim Ahmed thanked everyone including guests, performers & volunteers to make this program successful.

This organisation’s mission is to address and work on the key issues including the advancement of education, community development, arts, heritage, culture, science, social welfare, and health and wellbeing. 

Since its registration with the Scottish Charity Registry in April 2022, we have been committed to serving the community with dedication and compassion.