Uganda Taps Technology to Preserve Indigenous Languages

Amid growing concerns over language loss driven by globalization and urbanization, the commemoration will blend tradition with innovation, culminating in the historic launch of Lusoga teaching at Makerere University.

However, experts warn that without sustained efforts, many of these languages risk fading into silence.

The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, in partnership with Makerere University’s School of Languages, Literature and Communication, will host the celebrations on Friday, February 20, 2026, at the university’s Main Hall.

Held under the theme “Languages Matter: Harnessing Technology to Document and Develop Uganda’s Indigenous Languages,” the event underscores the urgency of using digital tools to safeguard linguistic diversity in a country that boasts 41 living indigenous languages.

International Mother Language Day, observed annually on February 21, traces its origins to the 1999 declaration by UNESCO and its formal recognition by the United Nations General Assembly in 2002.

The day commemorates the 1952 Bengali Language Movement in Bangladesh, where students protested for recognition of their mother tongue, affirming language as a cornerstone of human rights and cultural survival.

Dr. Gilbert Gumoshabe, Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of African Languages at Makerere University, says the observance resonates with Uganda’s education policy framework, which emphasizes mother tongue instruction in early learning.

The 1992 Government White Paper on Education mandates the use of local languages as the medium of instruction up to Primary Four, with English introduced earlier as a subject.