The Greek language, which is to be celebrated on Thursday, is a universal language that has contributed to the linguistic and cultural enrichment of European languages and many other languages of the planet, the Hellenic Union of Romania said.

"It is the official language of Greece and Cyprus, one of the 23 languages of the European Union, recognized as a minority language in Albania, Armenia, Italy, Romania, Hungary and Ukraine. According to the UN data, the Greek language is one of the five official languages from the total of 6,500 spoken today, which have lasted over 4,000 years in the history of humanity and which can be traced in writing, continuously and uninterrupted," the Hellenic Union conveyed in a release sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.

The Hellenic Union of Romania brings to mind that, together with its partner institutions, it has been actively involved over time in promoting the Greek language.

"Eloquent examples in this regard are: the teaching of the Greek language in pre-university educational institutions or at the branch offices of the Hellenic Union of Romania, as a mother tongue/modern language - with grades in the school register; the organization of the National Greek Language Olympiad, as of 2009, in partnership, with the recognition and co-financing of the Romanian Ministry of Education; the initiation and organization in 2014 of the International Greek Olympiad - an event included in the series of Olympiads and school competitions financed by the Ministry of Education; the study of the Greek language at the Neo-Greek Lectureship of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi; university, post-graduate and doctoral studies at the University of Bucharest; the training of the teaching staff with specialists from Universities of Greece, etc.," according to the press release signed by the President of the Union, deputy Dragos Gabriel Zisopol.

Furthermore, in order to raise awareness of the importance of the Greek language in preserving ethnic identity, as well as its role within the Romanian and universal culture, annual cultural events dedicated to this celebration are organized in the Romanian localities where members of the Hellenic Union reside.

The International Greek Language Day was legislated in 2017 in Greece, which coincides with the commemoration day of Greek national poet Dionysos Solomos (April 8, 1798 - February 9, 1857).

In Romania, the legislative proposal regarding the establishment of the Greek Language Day was enacted as a celebration day through Law No. 204 of 20 July 2018 and was celebrated for the first time in Bucharest by the Hellenic Union and its guests in 2019. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Popescu, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Rodica State, editor: Adina Panaitescu)