UNESCO Establishes World Day of the Turkic Language Family

At its 43rd General Conference in Samarkand, UNESCO decided to establish a World Day of the Turkic Language Family, to be celebrated annually on December 15.

The date was chosen to honor a significant event in the history of the study of Turkic languages: on December 15, 1893, the Danish scholar Wilhelm Thomsen deciphered the 8th-century Orkhon inscriptions, among the oldest written records of the Turkic alphabet.

The initiative to establish the day was put forward by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Co-sponsors of the proposal included Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. The project was supported by 26 countries, including Turkmenistan.

According to UNESCO, Turkic languages ​​are currently spoken by over 200 million people worldwide. Turkey's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Gülnur Aybet, noted that the decision demonstrates the organization's commitment to strengthening multilingualism and cultural diversity.