Bangladeshi Aminul Islam is receiving the ‘Medal of Good Citizenship’ award

Aminul Islam of Bangladeshi origin has been nominated for the prestigious ‘Medal of Good Citizenship’ Award by the Government of British Columbia, Canada. This award is presented annually by the British Columbia government for outstanding contributions to its community. This year 21 people have been nominated for this award. This medal will be handed over to them on January 25. Aminul Islam is getting this prestigious medal for the first time as a Bangladeshi.

British Columbia government said in a notification, Aminul Islam has played an important role in the mother tongue practice among students in the schools of Surrey, British Columbia province. Students in Surrey have been able to engage in 172 mother tongue activities through the ‘British Columbia’ model he developed. His model has also gained popularity in schools outside Surrey. This model has even been adopted for UNESCO’s Education Framework 2030.

It is also said that Canada is the first country outside Bangladesh to recognize February 21 as International Mother Language Day in 2023. Aminul Islam has also played an important role in this regard. Besides, to raise awareness about different mother tongues, the ‘Mother Language Festival’ is being celebrated in Canada since 2013. In 2009, Canada’s first mother tongue monument, Lingua Acqua, was erected on his initiative as a tribute to the diversity of mother tongues.

He has been nominated for the British Columbia Government’s prestigious ‘Medal of Good Citizenship’ award in recognition of these important contributions to the practice and spread of the mother tongue.

Note that Aminul Islam has been serving as the President of Mother Language Lovers of the World Society (MLLWC), Canada. MLLWC has been playing an important role in the practice of mother tongue Bengali abroad. The organization was awarded the Ekushe Padak in 2001 for playing an important role in the process of declaring February 21 as International Mother Language Day. For maintaining this consistency, the organization won the International Mother Language Medal 2023.

Aminul Islam told the media, I think giving an award to someone means recognizing that person’s performance through proper evaluation. On the one hand, the award brings out the efficiency of the people, encourages their work, on the other hand, I think that recognizing or marking the success of a work through an award must act as a milestone or controller for the next step of progress.

Aminul Islam was born in Baniaganti village of Sirajganj district. His father is Jonab Ali. He has been staying in Canada since 1987. Even though he is abroad, he has deep love for his motherland. And because of that love, he is working on the practice and spread of the mother tongue abroad. If you get a chance, run to your homeland.