IUB launches Sasheen Center for Multilingual Excellence and Center for Endangered Languages

Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) has launched the Sasheen Center for Multilingual Excellence (SCMLE) and the Center for Endangered Languages (CEL). Mr K M Khalid, MP, State Minister for Cultural Affairs, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, inaugurated the two centres as the Chief Guest during a program held at the IUB campus in the capital's Bashundhara R/A on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.

Mr K M Khalid, MP, said, "The Sasheen Center for Multilingual Excellence and the Center for Endangered Languages are being established to enrich not only our mother language but also foreign languages. Our War of Liberation began with the Language Movement. Our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman fought for our language. Bangladesh is a country with many languages. There are 49 small ethnic communities in the country. One of the important priorities of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs is to preserve the languages spoken by the members of small ethnic communities. It is very important for our students to know both the local and global languages."

IUB Vice-Chancellor Professor Tanweer Hasan said, "In this globalised world, learning the languages of emerging economies has become an essential skill. If IUB students want to keep up with the pace of the ever-changing world, they will have to rise to this challenge. As a business professor, I understand the importance of communication, the way it shapes progress. Language is how you communicate. The more languages you know, the more opportunities – economic and social – you can create. Multiple language skills give you a distinct competitive advantage in this era of fast-paced communication and digital transformation."