THE BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in the UK has been awarded the Threlford Memorial Cup for 2020 by the Chartered Institute of Linguists.
It recognises the impact of training to promote the learning of the Gujarati language.
Rahul Bhagvat accepted the award on behalf of a team of BAPS volunteers who led a number of projects to develop new Gujarati resources.
The efforts of volunteers produced exceptional results for children taking GCSE and A-levels in Gujarati who passed their papers with excellent scores.
The team used games and other resources, combined with traditional Hindu values to provide a system of ‘knowledge through enjoyment’ or ‘gammat sāthe gnān’.
Students were taught using an eight-book comprehensive Gujarati syllabus to GCSE level.
Interactive board and card games, such as Gujarati Whiz, Gujarati Spinner, Gujarati Flash Cards and Gujarati Strips, as well as games for pre-school children, including a wooden Gujarati alphabet board and wooden Gujarati cubes, are available through the BAPS online gift shop.
According to BAPS, the accessibility and simplicity of these resources helped improve the knowledge and performance of teachers, enabling centres worldwide to replicate the methods and standards for their schools in the UK, Europe, north America, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, the UAE, and even Gujarat.
Bhagvat said, “Gujarati is an integral component of our services for children at BAPS. It is inspired by Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s teaching that “Bhāshā jashe to sanskār jashe” – “If language is lost, culture is lost.”
Damian Talbot