Diversity

Promoting, valuing, respecting and preserving diversity is a key concern for Global Citizenship Education. This includes cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity just as well as the biological diversity of the plant and animal species living on our Planet. The 2002 Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development stated that “our rich diversity . . . is our collective strength”.

Cultural diversity designates the coexistence of many different human social groups, belief systems and ways for adapting to situations in different parts of the world. Language is a good indicator of cultural diversity, with over 6,000 languages currently being spoken across our Planet.

Local knowledge and languages are key resources in understanding the environment and in using it sustainably to the best advantage. They foster and promote local cultural specificities, customs and values. The preservation of cultures is linked to economic development. However, tourism and cultural industries can run the risk of modifying culture for outsiders. Cultures must be respected as the living and dynamic contexts within which human beings find their values and identity.

Diversity expands choices, nurtures a variety of skills, behaviours and worldviews, and provides wisdom from the past to inform the future. It exerts strong influence on Education for Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development in that education must always be locally relevant and culturally appropriate. Intercultural understanding is essential in order to be able to live together sustainably and peacefully, tolerating and accepting differences among cultural and ethnic groups and learning from each other. Furthermore, culture influences what the current generation chooses to teach the next generation, including what kind of knowledge, which skills, ethics, languages and worldviews are valued and fostered.

In the final push to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, UNESCO is continuing to strengthen its advocacy and action in favour of the link between culture and sustainable development. The resolution adopted in December 2013 by the United Nations General Assembly, recognizing the role of culture as a driver and enabler of sustainable development, is an invitation to further mobilize the potential of cultural diversity. This diversity is a valuable resource for attaining development goals, including fighting poverty and promoting gender equality, quality education and human rights, and we must fully integrate it into the global strategies for sustainable development.


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