Topic 2: Promotion of Multilingualism and the Education Thereof

Country: Mozambique
Committee: SHCESL

School: Skyview
Name: Natalya Skiba

Mozambique in less than 25 years has changed from a colonial society into an independent nation. It has lived through a protracted period of civil strife depriving millions of people of life or livelihood and destroying large parts of its economic and social infrastructure, including what it had carefully built up after independence to provide learning opportunities for its young, the future of the world community.

Technological resources have become available, among other areas for communication, the power and pervasiveness of which had not been imagined at the time Mozambique became independent. For those who went to school, no curriculum of the kind still most commonly practiced could have adequately prepared them for the changes they would face.

Learning – both at the individual level and at the level of organically related groups of people, such as agricultural communities, women’s groups, street children – plays a very important role in that context. Learning allows people and communities to be proactive, to adjust to new circumstances and to prepare for change.

The notion of crossing frontiers and thereby reducing barriers to learning is fundamental to the development of learning without any kind of hindrance. What better way of crossing these frontiers can be but the promotion of multilingualism, enabling individuals from different corners of the world being able to understand each other and to communicate ideas and negotiate any world issues. Multilingualism allows citizens of any country to travel around the world, for the purpose of learning and acquisition of knowledge and experience.

As the country on its path of modernization, economic and social development Mozambique strongly advocates the adaptation of a universal language. While the adaptation of English as a universal language has raised numerous concerns among world community Mozambique sees it as the opportunity to unite all of the world countries into a true union of nations. It has been proven numerous times that the ability to communicate in the same language can bring people together and enable them to work together. The adaptation of a universal language does not meant the destruction of the tradition language each people has. In Mozambique while most people talk in Portuguese the traditional tribal languages still remain. Since the colonization of Mozambique by Portugal in the 16th century we were able to retain our cultural identity and our language as the main root of our tradition. The adaptation of English will be simply another Portuguese language only a much more convenient since English is the one of the most common languages in the world spoken.

The adaptation of a universal language and the proliferation of such among the world communities will promote the stimulation of economical development, diplomatic relations and of course the general ability of ordinary citizens from China being able to communicate to a Mozambique tribe member.