
Promoting Cultural Diversity: A Pathway to Sustainable Development
You cannot deny that the world is full of people with diverse belief systems, customs, religions, languages, races, traditions, and ways of life. Culture embraces every tiny detail, from your mode of dressing to your values, food, skills, and range of knowledge. Still, these unique differences and creativity are where our beauty lies.
The importance of cultural diversity in development cannot be over-emphasized, as it creates and promotes dialogue, tolerance, and acceptance. These sublime attributes lead to peace and mutual understanding amongst nations and societies, which is yet an underlying prerequisite for sustainable development. Therefore, cultural diversity becomes a vital index to measure sustainable development.
What is Cultural Diversity and Why Does it Matter?
Cultural diversity refers to the existence of many cultural behaviors, such as ethnicity, race, religion, and tradition. Understanding cultural diversity means acknowledging, accepting, and respecting the many belief systems of other individuals, races, societies, or nations. It is not limited to ethnicity, culture, or tradition alone; it also includes sexual orientation, disability, age, or socioeconomic background.
The crux of cultural diversity is bringing people together irrespective of their different values and traditions. Most importantly, it also provides an enabling environment by which people's differences are respected and accepted without xenophobic attacks, biases, or violence. It encourages people's creativity, as well as their authenticity. It is simply all about how we are different from one another.
Why does it matter?
The 21st of May 2023, is the United Nations’ World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. This year raises the question: why does cultural diversity even matter?
It is important because we live in societies, work in companies and go to schools that are of different cultures, races, and ethnicities. To work collaboratively and cooperate effectively with people of diversity, then it is imperative you understand their culture. In understanding different cultures, we dispel negative preconceptions and personal biases against various cultural groups.
Furthermore, cultural diversity enables us to acknowledge and accept other people's norms that are not necessarily in line with ours, allowing us to establish and maintain bridges of trust, respect, and understanding across cultures as we build relationships with others.
Lastly, when different creatives come together to achieve a common goal, it is expected to have diverse talents, skills, work ethics, opinions, and contributions inspired by different indigenous backgrounds which makes the world a better place to live in.
Cultural diversity: an enabler and driver of sustainable development
There is an understanding that preserving and promoting cultural diversity is critical to sustainable development. By sustainable development, we describe a long-term improvement in people's quality of life, standard of living, and life prospects. This type of development must be capable of sustaining generations throughout time. It is broadly seen as "development which addresses the necessities of now without jeopardising future generations' ability to fulfil their own needs."
Cultural diversity is necessary for sustainable development for five major reasons:
- Human survival as a cultural way of existence. Humans can successfully adapt to their environments because of the coexistence of multiple cultures. Without the coexistence and preservation of diverse cultural behaviours, we won't be able to overcome and adapt to environmental changes both now and in the future. Furthermore, the existence of various cultures is required for culture to keep its originality and vitality. Culture gives birth to new ideas and the origin of cultural creativity lies amongst diverse cultures.
- The second reason is to ensure human rights are protected. Conflict, wars, and terrorism are all caused by an absence of mutual understanding among countries. Mutual understanding and tolerance between cultures are required to obtain the peace that promotes development. Embracing cultural diversity and understanding cultures other than one's own will help avert conflict and foster peace and sustainable development.
- Cultural diversity promotes food, arts variety and security. With the help of traditional agriculture, indigenous food manufacture, fisheries, and medicine production, people are continuously provided with a sustainable food supply that will sustain the current population and future generations. Indigenous Arts and Crafts, including music, dance, film, and cultural festivals, have become stable sources of income and employment for people.
- Lastly, cultural tourism contributes significantly to the global economy, and as such, its origins can be traced back to a variety of cultures, customs, belief systems, arts, and literature. Between 1998 and 2008, the tourist sector grew at a 7% annual rate, making it one of the world's fastest-growing economic sectors. Diversities in culture, arts, and literature serve as a point of attraction for international and local tourists, which may benefit a country's tourism competitiveness. This lucrative sector is one of the world's largest and fastest-growing sectors globally. With continuous preservation and promotion of cultural diversity, cultural tourism may become the major source of revenue for most countries, especially in Africa. Several regions are taking steps to grow their cultural assets, both tangible and intangible, in order to obtain a competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive tourism market and establish local identity in the face of globalisation.
Also, the creation of the 17 sustainable development goals is a factor in the acceptance of cultural diversity. Without the appreciation and recognition of diverse cultural backgrounds, the agreement that took place in Rio de Janeiro wouldn't have been possible. Many people from different cultural backgrounds came together to create a common goal for the benefit of the world at large. Therefore, embracing cultural diversity is the first step to developing any nation. In fact, the presence of peace, dialogue and mutual understanding are overly underrated factors for development.
The Time Is Now: We Must Protect the Diversity of Our Cultural Expressions
In Africa, we are coloured with unique differences, from our cultures to religions, foods, attires, languages, customs and among others. We have sufficiently seen how the promotion and preservation of this cultural diversity can bring about sustainable development which is undoubtedly absent from our continent as a whole. We must put all hands on deck to ensure we embrace diversities and channel them to better our lives and that of our future generations.
Sustainable Development in Africa is not far-fetched if only we look within and see the beauty in our differences. Today, let's put a stop to religious and cultural discrimination, xenophobic attacks, age discrimination and many others. As Africans, our livelihood is only possible because we are in coexistence with other people from different cultural backgrounds and the best we can do to develop our continent is to:
- Understand and accept other people's cultures, no matter how unaligned it is with yours.
- Avoid forcing your belief systems or values on other people.
- Always advocate for cultural equality at your workplace, school or community, ensuring that the materials being used represent diverse cultural groups.
Conclusion
Now, pause for a minute and imagine a world where diversities are honoured; different religions are respected, ideologies are acknowledged, belief systems are recognized and opinions from all cultural groups are embraced, what will the world look like?
Achieving sustainable development across all nations will become much attainable as peace and mutual understanding becomes suitable to guide policy making.
Also, cultural goods and services are not simply commodities, services, or intellectual property bundles. They are important catalysts for identity formation and country building. The cultural industries are worth investing in because they generate new and indigenous kinds of employment, production, and exports. It also contributes to the diversification of mono-cultural economies and provides a more competitive development platform.
AFIDFF .
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