“We are today talking the language of peace”: President

“In Sri Lanka, we are today talking the language of peace. I am sure that your decision to hold this conference in Colombo is further proof of the peace that prevails in our country after a long period of conflict, terror and immense hardship to our people, said President Rajapaksa addressing the inaugural session of the 9th Ninth Conference on Language and Development in Colombo yesterday.

“Sri Lanka is at present implementing a policy that seeks to use language to bind our people together. We are committed to safeguarding the language rights of our people and also transforming Sri Lanka into a tri-lingual country with the use of English as a link language among our communities. English would also be the vehicle for our children to access knowledge as we envisage to become a knowledge hub in the region,” President Rajapaksa added. He said: “Our primary focus however would be to ensure that people of this country, irrespective of their ethnicities will learn the main languages, Sinhalese and Tamil, to communicate with each other.

“Language, as we all know, is a means of communication and understanding. However, our own experience shows that language can be an instrument of division and conflict, too. I am, therefore, pleased that this conference with its theme of ‘Language and Social Cohesion’ will have special relevance to Sri Lanka, as it would also be of much value to other countries of the developing world.

“We see the importance of language for economic development, especially in the improving of employment opportunities for our youth, the enabling of social mobility among our people, and opening the way for us to participate in the global economy,” the President said. The three-day conference themed under ‘Language and Social Cohesion’ is organised and hosted by the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration, the Ministry of Education, German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), and the British Council’s Project English. Participants from seventeen countries who are interested in the role language play in development work will discuss the issues of world, national, second and minority languages in relation to economic, social and cultural development, language policy and pedagogy.

Minister of National Integration Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Senior Minister of Science and Technology Tissa Vitarana, German Ambassador in Sri Lanka Jens Plötner and the Australian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Kathy Klugman were among the distinguished gathering at the inaugural session.