When: Saturday 11 April 2026 | 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Where: Community Room 1, Bryan Brown Theatre, Bankstown
About: The day features two practical sessions presented by Heidi Lindgren — educator, ADHD coach, and Master of Special and Inclusive Education (with distinction).
Session 1: Strategies to Include Neurodivergent Students — a grounded look at ADHD and Autism with evidence-informed adjustments you can use straight away.
Session 2: Designing for Every Learner: UDL & Tiered Support — a hands-on introduction to Universal Design for Learning and matching the right support to the right student.
If you'd like to make the session even more relevant to your own context, feel free to bring along a current unit of work. For more information contact Enya on 0409 719 658
If you missed it, click the button to hear the recording.
27 February 2025This International Mother Language Day week, ACLS had the opportunity to join ABC local radio to talk about the important role of community language schools in supporting young people learn their heritage language.Education Officer, Enya Gannon, along with SICLE Project Officer, Thidarat Thongdang, and 2025CLSP Language Ambassador Karina Hunt, shared insights into how community language schools help young learners stay connected to their cultural heritage, strengthen their identities, and develop invaluable bilingual skills, and why supporting community language education is so important for our diverse communities. A huge thank you to Mel and everyone at ABC Radio for giving us a platform to share this important conversation—and to everyone who tuned in!
ACLS on ABC Local Radio
INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY
FEBRUARY 21
International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. At the initiative of Bangladesh, 21 February was declared International Mother Language Day by UNESCO on 17th November 1999. The declaration pays tribute to Bangladeshi students who, on 21 February 1952 (in what was then East Pakistan), were shot dead by police while protesting the decision to impose Urdu as the only state language, despite Bangladeshis having their own distinct and rich mother language, Bangla.
Since 2000, International Mother Language Day has been observed throughout the world to promote linguistic and cultural diversity in recognition that ‘multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages, and it is through languages that traditional knowledge and cultures are maintained.
As an organization dedicated to the preservation and celebration of community languages, ACLS observes International Mother Language Day with a profound respect for linguistic and cultural diversity. We understand that languages are not merely tools of communication but are the keys to the maintenance of heritage, culture, knowledge, and identity. ACLS commends the community language schools and their teachers who work tirelessly to preserve their mother languages and reaffirm our commitment to promoting inclusivity, respect, and appreciation for all languages and cultures.
