2. An inter-sectoral report involving all
fields of competencies of UNESCO
• Education
• Culture
• Natural Sciences
• Human and Social Sciences
• Communication and Information
3. • Mexico Conference (1982)
A broader definition of culture, encompassing “the
whole complex of distinctiveness spiritual, material,
intellectual and emotional features that characterize
a society or social group, not limited to the arts and
letters, and including modes of life, the fundamental
rights of the human being, value systems, traditions
and beliefs”
• The report of the World Commission on Culture and
Development Our Creative Diversity (1996)
Cultural Diversity is not simply an asset to be
preserved but a resource to be promoted
The rethinking of cultural diversity
in latest years
4. • The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity
(2001)
Cultural diversity “widens the range of options open
to everyone; it is one of the roots of development
understood not simply in terms of economic growth,
but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory
intellectual, moral and spiritual existence”
• An expanding interest:
UNDP Human Development Report 2004 Cultural
Liberty in Today’s Diverse World
WHO 2002, first traditional medicine strategy
World Bank 1999, International conferences Culture
counts
The rethinking of cultural diversity
in latest years
5. • Advisory Committee of 15 experts
• 50 background papers
• Released in October 2010, available in all six UN
official languages
• Summary available in six languages + Catalan,
Portuguese, German, Dutch, Indonesian and
Vietnamese
• The World Report has 8 Chapters, 10
Recommendations
The World Report
6. Objectives of the World Report
- To analyze cultural diversity in all aspects, by attempting to
show the complexity of the processes at work while at the
same time identifying a main thread among the wide range
of possible interpretations;
- To show the importance of cultural diversity in different areas
(languages, education, communication and creativity),
which, their intrinsic functions apart, may be seen as
essential for the safeguarding and promotion of cultural
diversity;
- to convince decision-makers and the various stakeholders of
the importance of investing in cultural diversity as an
essential dimension of intercultural dialogue, since it can
renew our approaches to sustainable development, is a
prerequisite for the exercise of universally recognized
human rights and freedoms, and can serve to strengthen
social cohesion and democratic governance
7. Preconceptions that need to be
re-examined:
• Globalization leads inevitably to
cultural homogenization
• Cultural diversity is reducible to the
diversity of national cultures
• Cultural diversity and intercultural
dialogue are mutually exclusive
• Cultural diversity and the economy
are mutually incompatible
8. Preconceptions that need to be
re-examined:
• Scientific and technological progress
and the diversity of cultural practices
are mutually incompatible
• There is an irreconcilable
contradiction between cultural
diversity and universalism
9. The World Report
• Suggests a new approach that
emphasizes the dynamic character
of cultural diversity.
10. The implications of cultural
diversity for public policy
• In the field of languages
• In education
• In the area of communication and
cultural contents
• In the private sector
11. Main challenges to be
addressed
• It is necessary to combat the spread of
cultural illiteracy
• There is a need to strengthen the
foundations of universalism
• There is a need to explore the new
approach opened up by recognition of the
multiple – multidimensional – identities of
individuals and groups in order to further
the development of cultural pluralism
12. Recommendations
• Consideration should be given to
establishing a World Observatory on
Cultural Diversity to monitor the
impacts of globalization and to serve
as a source of information and data
for comparative research with a
forward-looking function
13. Recommendations
• Support should continue to be given
to networks and initiatives for
intercultural and interfaith dialogue at
all levels, while ensuring the full
involvement of new partners,
especially women and young people
14. Recommendations
• National language policies should be
implemented with a view to both
safeguarding linguistic diversity and
promoting multilingual competencies
• In order to further the process of learning
to live together, there is a need to promote
intercultural competencies, including
those embedded in the everyday practices
of communities, with a view to improving
pedagogical approaches to intercultural
relations
15. Recommendations
• There is a need to encourage
cultural sensitivity in the production
and consumption of communication
and information contents, thereby
facilitating access, empowerment
and participation
16. Recommendations
• Creativity being a source of social
and technological innovation, there is
a need to invest in its development,
both in the cultural sector and in the
business sector, within which cultural
diversity is to be understood as a
source of profit and enhanced
performance, conducive to corporate
“cultural intelligence”
17. Recommendations
• The principles of cultural diversity, as
embodied in particular in the Cultural
Diversity Lens, should be duly taken
into account in the design,
implementation and monitoring of all
development policies
18. Recommendations
• As universally recognized human rights,
should be guaranteed to every individual,
their effective exercise can be fostered
through the recognition of cultural
diversity, which can also reinforce social
cohesion and encourage renewed modes
of democratic governance. Policies
conducive to the preservation and
promotion of cultural diversity should be
encouraged to this end
19. Recommendations
• There is a need to promote awareness
among policy- and decision-makers about
the benefits of intercultural and interfaith
dialogue, while bearing in mind its
potential instrumentalization
• Consideration should be given to
establishing a national mechanism for
monitoring public policies as they relate to
cultural diversity, with a view to ensuring
improved governance and the full
implementation of universally recognized
human rights
