Deliverability of Cultural Diversity Concept - Coursework Example

Cultural Diversity is a Concept that can be delivered upon Introduction The way people perceive themselves; their origin, beliefs, values, convictions and their sense of belonging has its core in their cultures. Global Education defines culture as “the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a society or social group. It includes not only the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs” (Global Education, 2010. p. 1). There are many societies and social groups in the world and people move from one place to another for different reasons. This means that, in any particular time, people from diverse cultures interact in different settings. This brings in the concept of cultural diversity. Cultural diversity includes “language, race, ethnic background, country or region of origin, dress, values, religion and assorted practices, social and community responsibilities, sexuality, disability, family members and political views” among others (Global Education, 2010. p. 1). The way people with all this distinctive features live coherently together in different social settings is what the concept of cultural diversity is embedded upon. People across the world are increasingly becoming connected with the movements of technologies, ideas, finance and the media. This has resulted to the assertion that cultural diversity is a concept that cannot be delivered upon. However, as Babacan (n. d) affirms, “Social exclusion of people of culturally diverse backgrounds still occurs in all elements of public life” (p. 1). Even with globalization, there is need to recognize and respect people’s cultural identities in order to live together harmoniously and to foster full participation of persons in the societies they find themselves in. This paper contends with the fact that cultural diversity is a concept that can be delivered upon. It asserts that cultural identities should be valued and maintained rather than being ignored or discarded. This is because cultural diversity fosters individuals’ identities, fosters development and contributes to peaceful interactions. In addition, cultural diversity unites peoples and societies giving their members freedom to participate fully in their different fields and respect each other’s human rights. Rather than undermining cultural diversity, globalization will foster cultural diversity. Ethnic and Cultural Demographics Australia is a highly multicultural country. According to Hazlehurst (1987), in every four Australians, one is a post- war immigrant or offspring of those immigrants. Australia has around 150 ethnic backgrounds and approximately 90 languages are spoken in the Australian society. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) says that according to the 2011 census, “over a quarter (26%) of Australia’s population was born overseas and a further one fifth (20%) had at least one overseas parent (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012. Online). There are three generations in Australia The first generation: these are people born overseas but they live in Australia. They include permanent residents, long-term temporary residents as well as Australian citizens. The 2011 census revealed that the first generation Australian were a total of 5.3 million. This group made up 27% of population. The second generation: these are people born in Australia, with at least one parent born overseas. The 2011 census disclosed that the second generation Australians were 4.1 million which makes 20% of the population. Third plus generation: these are people born in Australia whose both parent were born in Australia but one or more of their grandparents could be overseas-born or several generations of their ancestors were born in Australia. Most Aboriginal and Torrent Strait Islander people are included in this group. According to the 2011 census the third plus generation Australians were 10.6 million. This group made up 53% of the Australian population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012). The top five countries of birth include United Kingdom (20.8%), New Zealand (9.1%), China (6.0%), India (5.6%) and Italy 3.5%. Statistics show that most Australians have English ancestry, followed by Australian ancestry. Other ethnic ancestry includes Irish, Scottish, Italian, German, and Chinese among others. Data on religious affiliations of the Australian people reveal that, 61% of Australians are Christians, 7.2% are Non-Christian (Buddhists, Islamists, Hindus and others) and 22.3% do not have a religion. The recent pattern of migration coupled with the cultural and ethnic identities of Australians confirm that Australia is a richly diverse society. The diversity is exemplified in the variety of ancestries, birthplaces, languages and religions among other cultural characteristics. This means that the Australian people should embrace cultural diversity not only to be able to identify and value oneself but also to be able to value and respect others. Cultural Diversity: A Common Human Heritage and Respects to Human Rights Respect of personal dignity is inseparable with cultural diversity. A commitment to enforce cultural diversity guarantees a respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms like the freedom of speech and expression and religion. Global education emphasises on five areas; social justice and human rights, interdependence and globalization, peace building and conflict resolution, sustainable futures and identity and cultural diversity. Identity and cultural diversity plays a significant part in all the other areas. Culture is related to the development of societies. Therefore cultural diversity and tolerance fosters sustainable development, peace and social justice. The UNESCO declaration of cultural diversity views cultural diversity as the common heritage of humanity. Just like biodiversity is necessary for nature, so is cultural diversity to mankind. The declaration appreciates the fact that respect for cultural diversity as well as intercultural dialogue are paramount to peace building. The World Summit on Sustainable development that took place in 2002 in Johannesburg agreed that UNESCO incorporate Universal Declaration on Cultural diversity into the Millennium Development goals. According to Global Education (2012), this was facilitated by the espousement of two paragraphs. First, “We are determined to ensure that our rich diversity, which is our collective strength, will be used for constructive partnership for change and for the achievement for the common goal of sustainable development”. Secondly, “recognising the importance of building human solidarity, we urge the promotion of dialogue and cooperation among world’s civilians and peoples, irrespective of race, disabilities, religion, language, culture and tradition.” The inclusion of cultural diversity in the Millennium Development Goals proves the importance if this concept to sustainable development and the free participation of individuals, peoples and societies towards global development. Cultural diversity and personal identity The first step to seeing others with respect and respecting their identities is to learn to develop a personal identity and a sense of belonging. Every person is born in a culture which is within other subcultures. For example, in Australia, everyone in Australia is in the Australian culture which is made up of many subcultures according to the many cultural characteristics. Therefore for people to work together in diverse communities and be able to participate fully, they need to learn how to embrace each other regardless of their cultural differences. Ethnocentrism, tribalism, racism and nepotism have coasted world economies a lot of development resources. It would be dire if people living in culturally diverse societies like Australia do not learn to be culturally relative and embrace cultural diversity and tolerance. Cultural imperialism, a concept Keniston (1998) defines as a policy which exist in some nations which insists on a single culture and prohibits all other cultures that are not in the dominant group, threatens personal identity and it results in inferiority complex. Workplaces, schools and other public places bring together many people with diverse cultural characteristics both inward and outward. Individuals’ identities are embedded in the past heritage, the present experiences and the future promise. One of the major characteristics of culture is that it is learnt and shared across a period of time. That means that even in the promise that globalization could give birth to a global culture, individuals still draw a large part of their personal identity in their origin, ancestry and the past experiences. That is why cultural diversity cannot be ignored or discarded. People should learn that just like their past heritages, origin and ancestry is important to them, it is also important to the people they interact with everyday and so this will foster cultural relativity. Cultural Diversity and Globalization The growth of the information technology has resulted in global networks, electronic commerce and instant communication which have indicated that the world is developing a monoculture. American hegemony has resulted to uproar from other countries since America is accused of ethnocentricity. This is because, it sells its culture at every available opportunity in a bid to undermine, weaken and override traditional cultures. African, Indian and Asian cultures cry foul of the massive westernization that take place in their countries threatening local cultures and heritages. The dominance of one culture across all important sectors of the world is referred to as the ‘global monoculture’ (Keniston, 1998). This has, to some extent, resulted overwhelming of other culture or even reducing them to an inferior status. Embracing a global culture has resulted to cultural imperialism especially linguistic imperialism which means that it is “impossible to so business, to be educated, or to conduct any but the most intimate family life in any language other than the mandated and official language. (Keniston, 1998. p. 5). Cultural diversity and tolerance can exist even in the most culturally diverse societies. For example India has been recognised as one of the world’s democratic state regardless of its immense linguistic and cultural diversity. Maintaining the distinct Indian states, it has been able to maintain its unity as a federal nation. However, India has embraced the use of English as a unifying factor to the rest of the world. Scholars have discarded the notion of a global monoculture as Americanization. This means that it is not a universally constructed and embraced culture but rather a dominance of the American culture which has been propagated by the appeal of television and Hollywood films. Toru Nishigaki, a Japanese Scholar asserts that the spread of the American culture (oftenly confused as a global culture) is a plague that has infected and relegated other cultures as insignificant. The impact of technological change, urbanization and rapid immigration trends is cushioned by the strength of its people groups (Hazlehurst, 1987). That explains the reasons for embracing cultural diversity. If cultures close themselves and refuse to accept other cultures in the world, they will lag behind in terms of development, technological advancement and commerce. Similarly, if some cultures are exalted more than others in social setting, it breaks the social fibre and robs individuals of their sense of belonging. Cultural diversity and tolerance balances between these two challenges ensuring that people have a pride in their cultural identities and also embrace other cultures. This enriches societies instead of threatening them. Certain aspects of globalization are feared to undermine cultural diversity. Firstly the consumerist culture which is propagated through global marketing campaigns which take advantage of similar lifestyles and material desires. For example the coca-cola campaign. Secondly, as earlier discussed, cultural imperialism; western ideals are deemed universal and override local traditions. Thirdly, ‘Americanization’; the American culture has gained a hegemonic influence on other world’s cultures. This is through the use of news media and popular culture to promote its values and habits. Regardless of all this views, there are strong reasons to believe that globalization will promote cultural diversity. First, through ‘glocalization’ this is a situation where global practices and norms are construed differently in reference to local traditions. Secondly, since there are increased interactions across borders, many cultures have mixed in particular practices and places. This has resulted to pluralism which fosters cultural diversity. Thirdly, the spread of ideas and their integration often result in resistance. Contestation is a term that explains this concept. To be able to come to a consensus the ideas have to be viewed in a culturally relative lens. Fourthly, international organizations and movements have incorporated the global value and have embraced diversity; institutionalization. Finally, there is reason to believe that heterogenization and homogenization will work together in a cycle and will underpin each other. This affirms the assertion that cultural diversity is a concept that can be delivered upon. Conclusion The movements of technologies, ideas, finance and the media have resulted to the information age which seems to suggest that the world can exist as a global village with a universal culture. But a critical look at globalization has revealed there is no universal culture, rather a dominant western culture is being propagated to the rest of the world at the expense of local cultures. This threatens not only human rights but also cultural identities of individuals, peoples and societies. With the global trends in finance, technology and media, human interactions continually increase. Since culture is an important aspect of humanity, then cultural diversity and tolerance is the best way that people with culturally distinctive features live coherently together in different social settings and participate fully in developments. References Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2012. Reflecting a Nation: Stories from the 2011 Census. Retrieved from: Babacan, H. 2005. Challenges of inclusion: cultural diversity, citizenship and engagement. Proceedings of International Conference on Engaging Communities International Conference on Engaging Communities. , 14-17 August 2005, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Global Education. 2012. Identity and Cultural Diversity: A Global Education Learning Emphasis. Retrieved from: Hazlehurst, K. 1987. Migration, Ethnicity and Crime in Australian Society. Australian Institute of Criminology. Canberra, Australia. Keniston, K. 1998. Cultural Diversity or Global Monoculture: The impacts of the Information Age. Massachusetts Institute of technology: Conference paper on “The Global Village” Conference in Bangalore India, on November 2, 1998. Nishigaki T. (n.d.) Multilingualism on the Net, Institute of Social Science. Institute of Social Science, Tokyo Japan, Retrieved from: Read More