International Mother Language Day at Asinitas

A celebration of languages in the heart of Torpignattara

In the Torpignattara neighborhood, within Rome's Municipio V, International Mother Language Day is more than just a date on the UNESCO calendar: it is a true celebration, filled with voices, instruments, shared dishes, and children singing in their parents' native tongue. Since 2014, the Asinitas intercultural center, located at via Policastro 45, has hosted this event every late February, making it one of the most anticipated moments for the neighborhood's community life and, more broadly, for intercultural dialogue in the Lazio region.

Why February 21st?

The date chosen by UNESCO commemorates February 21, 1952, when university students in Dhaka were killed by police while demonstrating for the recognition of the Bengali language. From that movement—the Bhasha Andolan—a linguistic consciousness was born, which Bangladesh later proposed to UNESCO as a universal symbol. In 1999, February 21st became International Mother Language Day. At Asinitas, this memory remains vivid and concrete, as Torpignattara is home to one of the largest Bangladeshi communities in Italy.

Sushmita Sultana and the Sanchary Sangeetayan school

The heart of the festival is Sushmita Sultana, an intercultural mediator and former student of the Asinitas Italian school for women. For years, she has directed Sanchary Sangeetayan, a school for Bengali singing, art, and dance that involves dozens of second-generation children and teenagers every year. Her work acts as a bridge between Italy and Bangladesh: teaching the Bangla language, the harmonium, the tabla, and traditional dances means restoring to younger generations a cultural richness that the Italian school system alone could not preserve.

Choirs, poetry, and linguistic diversity

The Asinitas stage becomes a mosaic of voices. Alongside the Bengali choir, local groups from the neighborhood and Rome perform, such as the Coro Multietnico Romano Balzani, which grew within the Simonetta Salacone primary school, and the women's choir Le Coeur, which performs Italian folk songs and regional dialects. The repertoire ranges from Ekusher Gaan, the commemorative song of the Bengali language movement, to poetry readings and even Bella Ciao: a juxtaposition that perfectly captures the spirit of the day.

The shared Iftar

When the date falls during the month of Ramadan, the festival concludes at sunset with an Iftar, the breaking of the fast: everyone eats together, sitting on rugs, believers and non-believers alike. It is arguably the most beautiful moment, when the day stops being a performance and simply becomes a community sharing a meal.

A broader educational project

The festival is the visible part of a year-round effort. Asinitas runs mother-tongue courses—in Bengali and Arabic—aimed at neighborhood children, including support programs for exams recognized by diplomatic missions. These activities are part of the Torpignattara network projects, alongside local schools, libraries, and associations that enliven the area.

• Where: Asinitas intercultural center, via Policastro 45, Rome (Torpignattara)
• When: Late February, around the UNESCO date of February 21
• Who: Asinitas Onlus with the Sanchary Sangeetayan school of Sushmita Sultana
• For whom: Families, children, neighborhood residents, and curious visitors from all over Rome

Visiting as a guest

This is not a festival built for tourists and there is no ticket office: it is a neighborhood celebration open to anyone who wishes to participate. For this very reason, it is one of the most authentic opportunities to understand how contemporary Rome lives outside the historic center, in a neighborhood where dozens of languages coexist and where Italian is learned—and taught—every single day.