Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) celebrates the International Kiswahili Language Day commemorated on the 7th of July every year, the day adopted by UNESCO makes Kiswahili the first and currently the only African language to be recognized by the United Nations in that manner. With over 200 million speakers, this rich multi-dialect was recognized by the African Union as an official working language in 2022.
This year’s international theme is “unleashing Kiswahili’s potential in the digital era” while Uganda’s theme is “Kiswahili and multilingualism: achieving more together.”
MUST started a Kiswahili language club in September 2022 that is aimed at equipping MUST staff and students with Kiswahili language skills. In a bid to advance the language, training sessions have been planned by the MUST International Relations Office. Today the first cohort of staff to be trained in basic Kiswahili language facilitated by the MUST-UCoBS project will graduate.
Let us embrace Kiswahili language which is vital in promotion of internationalization across the region.
Succeed we must!