Mother Language Day Celebrated at “Hayartun” Center of Armenian Diocese in Georgia

On February 21, 2026, International Mother Language Day was solemnly celebrated at the “Hayartun” Educational and Cultural Center of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia. The event was organized by the students of the St. Gregory of Narek (Surb Grigor Narekatsi) Saturday School of the “Hayartun” Center, under the guidance of their distinguished Armenian language and literature teacher, Tamara Gaboyan. The program also featured the “St. Nerses the Gracious” (Surb Nerses Shnorhali) choir and solo performers, led by choirmaster Aida Bazoyan-Surmalyan, with the participation of pianist Karen Mirzoyan.

The event offered a historical reflection on the period of the creation of the alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots, the Armenian golden language, and the stages of its development. Prayers and hymns, songs and recitations were performed in the mother tongue in the hall, along with quotations from prominent figures of the nation dedicated to the Armenian language and the homeland.

At the conclusion of the event, Rev. Father Kirakos Simonyan offered his blessing. He conveyed to those present the paternal blessing of His Grace Bishop Kirakos Davtyan, Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, congratulated everyone on the occasion of Mother Language Day, and emphasized the great work carried out by the Diocese’s one-day Armenian language schools in preserving and promoting the mother tongue far from the homeland. He urged the attendees to be devoted to their nation and united, to gather around the Armenian Church and this Armenian spiritual and cultural center, and to study and preserve the Mesropian Armenian script.

Writer and poet Ruzanna Hovasapyan, journalists Susanna Khachatryan and Gayane Bostanjyan, Inga Aghekyan from the “Arevik” Foundation, poet Marina Mosesova-Kirakosyan, and others spoke about preserving national identity, as well as spiritual and national values, far from the homeland.

Summing up the event, the director of the “Hayartun” Center, Eugenia Markosyan, expressed her satisfaction with and gratitude to all the participants. She stressed the importance of the delicate and respectful attitude toward the mother tongue that ran through the entire program and was reflected in the children’s performances. The organizer of the event, Tamara Gaboyan, in turn, extended her thanks to the students, parents, teachers, all the participants, and those in attendance.

International Mother Language Day was proclaimed in 1999 by a resolution of the General Conference of UNESCO, and since 2000, February 21 has been observed as a day in support of the recognition and use of mother tongues.