WORLD DAY FOR CULTURAL DIVERSITY FOR DIALOGUE AND DEVELOPMENT

Three-quarters of the global conflicts have a cultural background. Cultural diversity should be seen as a driving force for development, and a means to lead a more fulfilling life. To bridge the gap between cultures, the UN established the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development observed every year on May 21st. Other popular names for this holiday include World Diversity Day and World Cultural Day.

History of World Diversity Day

In September 2001, massive destruction of the Buddha statues of Bamiyan was experienced in Afghanistan due to terrorist attacks. The resultant was United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), adopting the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity on November 2001 during a conference in Paris, France. Initially, the day was established to decrease the cultural stigma brought about by the terrorist attacks.

The World Cultural Day has been observed from the year 2013. Since then, people across the world have embraced the holiday as a way to promote peace and tolerance across different cultures.

Through World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, we get to deepen our understanding of cultural diversity values and how we can live together in harmony.

On October 20th, 2005, UNESCO came up with four goals that strive to protect and promote cultural diversity. These are:

- Promotion of human rights and freedom

- Supporting governance for culture’s sustainable systems

- Integration of culture into the sustainable development frameworks

- Increasing the mobility of artists and cultural professionals and achieving a steady flow of cultural goods and services.

How to Celebrate World Diversity Day

World Cultural Day is a holiday for everyone. However, the types of celebrations might vary from one country or profession to another.

For instance, those working in cultural offices might mark the day by holding seminars and cultural workshops. Schools often observe this day by organizing various cultural activities aimed at appreciating the multiculturalism in the institutions.

As an individual, take this as the best time to learn a new language or explore aspects of another culture you are unfamiliar with. You can do this by attending a music festival or an art exhibition dedicated to the particular cultural group. You can as well invite people from a different culture to learn your customs.

Other great ways to observe the holiday include listening to music from a different culture, cooking traditional food of a different community and even learning about a different religion.

Don’t forget to spread the word about the importance of cultural diversity to family and friends via social media using the hashtag #WorldDiversityDay, #WorldCulturalDay or #WorldDayforCulturalDiversityforDialogueandDevelopment.

Importance of World Day for Cultural Diversity

Cultures are a hub of extraordinary traditions and habits which preserve customs that could appear absurd yet very fascinating to people of a different community. The World Day for Cultural Diversity opens our mind to fight negative stereotype but instead, agree that diversity is our strength. Although not a public holiday, the observance of this day makes it our responsibility to sustain diversity in the world as we learn to live together in the diversity of our languages, cultures, and religions.

World Cultural Day Facts

- There are more than 6000 languages spoken globally today with a few hundred speaking some of the minority languages.

- Africa is the most linguistically diverse content with about 1500 language groups.

- Spain is the least populated country in Europe with 33% fewer people than the UK.

- Niger has the highest women fertility in the world where every woman is capable of getting about seven children

- About 4% of Americans are vegetarians

- English, German, Portuguese, French and Swedish spell the word taxi the same way.