Cultural & Ethnic Diversity

Key Vectors of Cultural Diversity

1. Languages

Languages are not just a means of communication but represent the very fabric of cultural expressions, the carriers of identity, values and worldviews.

4. Diversity and the Marketplace

3. Communication and the Media

Recent research suggests the existence of a

positive link between diversity and the financial

and economic

performance of

multinational

corporations.

An increased supply

of media content

can lead to a ‘false

diversity’, masking

the fact that some

people are

communicating

only with those who

share the same

cultural references.

2. Education

In increasingly complex

multicultural

societies, education

must enable us to

acquire the

intercultural

competencies that

will permit us to live

together with – and

not despite – our

cultural differences.

(Glator, 2012) (Felperin, 2004)

Intercultural dialogue is largely dependent on

intercultural competencies, defined as the complex of abilities needed to interact appropriately with those who are different from oneself. These abilities are essentially

communicative in nature, but they also involve

reconfiguring our perspectives and understandings of the world; for it is not so much cultures as people – individuals and groups, with their complexities and multiple allegiances – who are engaged in the process of dialogue.

The challenges of dialogue in a multicultural world

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of its contents which reflect only the views of authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Created by Aenao NGO as a digital tool for the Erasmus+ project "Otherness

Code: 2015-1 BG-Ka201-014300

UNESCO. (2009). Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue. Paris, France: Unesco. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001847/184755e.pdf

Reference

Cultural and ethnic Diversity

some interesting facts

In the context of globalization and

increasing migration and

urbanization, the interrelated

challenges of preserving cultural

identity and promoting intercultural

dialogue assume a new prominence

and urgency. The World Report

begins by considering the impact of

accelerating globalization processes

on the different facets of cultural

diversity, highlighting the way in

which strong homogenizing forces

are matched by persistent

diversifying trends.

What is at Stake?

Cultural diversity is above all a fact: there exists a wide range of distinct cultures, which can be readily distinguished on the basis of ethnographic observation,

even if the contours delimiting a particular culture prove more difficult to establish than might at first sight appear. Awareness of this diversity has today become much more widespread, being facilitated by globalized

communications and increased cultural contacts.

Cultural diversity is not simply an asset

to be preserved but a resource to be

promoted...

including in areas relatively distant

from culture in the narrow sense.

What is Cultural Diversity?

Cultural stereotypes, while serving to demarcate one group from

the alien ‘other’, carry with them the risk that

dialogue may stop short at difference and that difference

may engender intolerance. Cultures belonging to

different civilizational traditions are particularly prone to

mutual stereotyping.

Cultural stereotypes and intolerance