World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
{{Short description|UN-sanctioned international holiday}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name = World Day for Cultural Diversity
| type =
| longtype = United Nations International Declaration
| image =
| caption =
| official_name = World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
| nickname =
| observedby = All UN member states
| date = 21 May
| duration = 1 day
| frequency = Annual
| scheduling = same day each year
| celebrations = Multiple events worldwide
| relatedto = Cultural diversity
| firsttime = {{start date and age|df=yes|2002}}
}}
The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, sometimes abbreviated World Day for Cultural Diversity, is a United Nations sanctioned observance day for the promotion of diversity and intercultural dialogue. Begun in 2002, it is celebrated on 21 May.{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/events/culturaldiversityday/|title=World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development|publisher=United Nations|access-date=2023-04-25}} It was established by UNESCO in response to the 2001 Taliban terrorist attack that destroyed the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afghanistan.{{Cite web |last=Pioneer |first=The |title=Celebrating the power of cultural diversity |url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/2024/columnists/celebrating-the-power-of-cultural-diversity.html |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=The Pioneer |language=en}}
The 2002 Universal Declaration emphasized the role of culture in achieving prosperity, sustainable development, and fostering global peaceful coexistence.
Background and origin
The Millennium Development Goals issued by the United Nations in 2000 did not mention culture as an aspect or facilitator of development. Since then, some UN agencies, especially the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), have worked to encourage cultural diversity as an integral part of development.{{Cite journal |last=Pathak |first=Dev |date=2014-10-02 |title=Cultural Imagination of Human Development? Framing Questions in a Preliminary Quest |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21598282.2014.954252 |journal=International Critical Thought |language=en |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=433–447 |doi=10.1080/21598282.2014.954252 |s2cid=145088828 |issn=2159-8282|url-access=subscription }} UNESCO's Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity in November 2001 called for measures to protect the world's cultural diversity from the risk of globalisation.{{Cite journal |last1=Choi |first1=Ye jin |last2=Lee |first2=Won Seok |last3=Moon |first3=Joonho |last4=Kim |first4=Kyoung-Bae |date=2021-05-03 |title=The value of preserving endangered folk games using the contingent valuation method |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13683500.2020.1800602 |journal=Current Issues in Tourism |language=en |volume=24 |issue=9 |pages=1319–1330 |doi=10.1080/13683500.2020.1800602 |s2cid=225413916 |issn=1368-3500|url-access=subscription }} This document described cultural diversity as the "common heritage of humanity" and set out actions that member states could take to promote it. It was the first international instrument enshrining the value of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue{{Cite journal |last=Passer |first=Juliette |date=Autumn 2020 |title=Did You Know That There Is the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity? And Why You Should Care? |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/iihcj13&id=426 |journal=International In-House Counsel Journal |volume=13 |issue=53 |pages=6811–6812}} and led to further international efforts to promote diversity as a shared goal.{{Cite journal |last=Matsuura |first=Koïchiro |date=2006 |title=L'enjeu culturel au cœur des relations internationales |url=http://www.cairn.info/revue-politique-etrangere-2006-4-page-1045.htm |journal=Politique étrangère |language=fr |volume=Hiver |issue=4 |pages=1045–1057 |doi=10.3917/pe.064.1045 |issn=0032-342X|url-access=subscription }} One such effort was UN Resolution A/RES/57/249, proclaimed unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 December 2002, naming 21 May as the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.{{Cite web |date=20 February 2003 |title=Resolution adopted by the General Assembly: 57/249. Culture and development |url=https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N02/555/82/PDF/N0255582.pdf?OpenElement |access-date=2023-04-13 |publisher=United Nations}}{{Cite book |last=Peng |first=Shin-yi |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/itbla11&id=226 |title=International Trade and Business Law Review |date=2008 |isbn=9780415442459 |volume=11 |page=223 |chapter=International Trade in Cultural Products: UNESCO's Commitment to Promoting Cultural Diversity and Its Relations with the WTO|publisher=Routledge }}
Through the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and other activities, UNESCO has promoted a new interpretation of culture. While cultural diversity was previously understood in terms of preserving established cultural material, the latest interpretation emphasises an ongoing process of interaction and dialogue. On the 2009 World Day for Cultural Diversity, UNESCO's Director-General Kōichirō Matsuura specified that the organisation "believes that cultures are not monolithic but interdependent, resulting from mutual exchanges and borrowings".{{Cite book |last=Garner |first=Ben |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/51608.pdf |title=Cultural and Ethical Turns: Interdisciplinary Reflections on Culture, Politics and Ethics |publisher=Inter-Disciplinary Press |year=2011 |editor-last=Garner |editor-first=Ben |location=Oxford |pages=26–27 |chapter=Globalisation, Cultural Diversity and the Search for a New Global Ethics |editor-last2=Pavlenko |editor-first2=Sonia |editor-last3=Shaheen |editor-first3=Salma |editor-last4=Wolanski |editor-first4=Alison|oclc=1289758860}}{{Cite journal |last=Adubra |first=Edem |date=2009 |title=Keynote address |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/18186870903102048 |journal=International Journal of African Renaissance Studies – Multi-, Inter- and Transdisciplinarity |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=96–101 |doi=10.1080/18186870903102048 |s2cid=214653220 |issn=1818-6874|url-access=subscription }}
Commemoration
The day is celebrated by events bringing together specialists from many areas of culture and representatives of government and non-government agencies.{{Cite journal |last=Rosca |first=Simion |date=2020 |title=European Cultural Policy – Targets and Objectives |url=https://ibn.idsi.md/sites/default/files/imag_file/121-133.pdf |journal=Relații Internaționale Plus |publisher=Academia de Administrare Publică |issue=2 |pages=125 }} Since 2011, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) has run the "Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion" campaign, in partnership with UNESCO and other public and private organisations. This asks people to spend World Day for Cultural Diversity learning about different cultures or sharing their own culture with others.{{Cite journal |last=Goff |first=Patricia M |date=September 2015 |title=Public diplomacy at the global level: The Alliance of Civilizations as a community of practice |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0010836715574915 |journal=Cooperation and Conflict |language=en |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=412 |doi=10.1177/0010836715574915 |s2cid=143306286 |issn=0010-8367|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion |url=https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/do-one-thing-diversity-and-inclusion |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=United Nations |language=}}
On 21 May 2018, amidst other celebrations of the day in Germany, the German Commission for UNESCO and the Bertelsmann Foundation used the day to promote a report arguing that a diverse cultural sector promotes harmonious living in a diverse society. It recommended that cultural institutions and public bodies extend their support for art from diverse cultures and remove barriers to participation for immigrant artists and performers.{{Cite web |date=18 May 2021 |title=UNESCO-Welttag der kulturellen Vielfalt 2018 {{!}} Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission |url=https://www.unesco.de/kultur-und-natur/kulturelle-vielfalt/kulturelle-vielfalt-weltweit/unesco-welttag-der-kulturellen |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=www.unesco.de |language=de}}{{Cite web |date=17 May 2018 |title=How culture promotes understanding |url=https://www.dw.com/en/how-culture-promotes-understanding-study/a-43820642 |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en}}
The observance day is regularly celebrated in Botswana with national and tribal ceremonies and artistic events. This has helped to raise awareness of the Batlokwa minority ethnic culture and enabled observers to document and preserve this culture by recording events.{{Cite journal |last=Nhlekisana |first=Rosaleen O. B. |date=2020 |title=Batlokwa Culture Day: A Celebration of Cultural Identity and Pride |url=https://journals.ub.bw/index.php/marang/article/view/1776 |journal=Marang: Journal of Language and Literature |language= |volume=32 |pages=55}} The organisation Pink Armenia commemorated the day in 2012 with a diversity parade showing posters of Armenia's ethnic minorities.{{Cite news |title=«Փինք Հայաստանը» Հայաստանում գեյ–շքերթ կազմակերպելու նպատակ չունի |url=https://www.1in.am/83699.html |date=21 May 2012 |access-date=2023-04-19|work=1in.am |language=hy}} In 2022 events took place in Cameroon's national museum{{Cite news |last=Nkodo |first=Monica |date=23 May 2022 |title=Diversité culturelle: l'unité dans la différence |work=Cameroon Tribune |url=https://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/article.html/48344/fr.html/diversite-culturelle-lunite-dans-la-difference |access-date=2023-04-14}} and at Mankono in the Ivory Coast.{{Cite news |last=Koffi |first=Kouassi Patrice |date=12 November 2022 |title=Les populations de Mankono invitées à participer activement à la Journée mondiale de la diversité culturelle |language=fr-FR |work=Agence Ivoirienne de Presse de Côte d'Ivoire |url=https://www.aip.ci/cote-divoire-aip-les-populations-de-mankono-invitees-a-participer-activement-a-la-journee-mondiale-de-la-diversite-culturelle/ |access-date=2023-04-14}} In 2023, the city of Glasgow in Scotland hosted an event curated by Nigerian author Funmi Obisesan to celebrate the variety of diasporas in Scotland.{{Cite web |last=Gbenga-Ogundare |first=Yejide |date=2023-05-31 |title=Nigerian woman gets accolade for curating World Cultural Diversity Day celebration in Glasgow |url=https://tribuneonlineng.com/?p=683400 |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Tribune Online |language=en-GB}} The British House of Lords held an event celebrating Indian languages.{{Cite web |last=Ajum |first=Bengia |date=2023-05-30 |title=Arunachal talking point at London's World Day for Cultural Diversity |url=https://arunachaltimes.in/index.php/2023/05/30/arunachal-talking-point-at-londons-world-day-for-cultural-diversity/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=The Arunachal Times |language=en-US}} Cyprus celebrated the day with a festival held in Nicosia.{{Cite web |last=Philippou |first=Eleni |date=2023-05-17 |title=Celebrating World Cultural Diversity Day 2023 |url=https://cyprus-mail.com/2023/05/17/celebrating-world-cultural-diversity-day-2023/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Cyprus Mail |language=en-GB}} In Zimbabwe, celebrations of the day were extended to a Culture Week, and then in 2022 to a Culture Month, including celebrations of present and historical culture at local and national levels.{{Cite web |last=Antonio |first=Winstone |date=27 April 2022 |title=Culture Week turned into Culture Month |url=https://www.newsday.co.zw/life-amp-style/article/4168/culture-week-turned-into-culture-month |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=NewsDay |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Shumba |first=Ano |date=2022-04-26 |title=Zim: 2022 Culture Month dates announced |url=https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/zim-2022-culture-month-dates-announced |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Music In Africa |language=en}}
UNESCO hosted an international conference on public art in 2011 leading up to the observance day, while celebrations also took place at the UNESCO regional office in Cuba.{{Cite web |title=21 May: World Day for Cultural Diversity, for Dialogue and Development |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/dialogue/21-may-world-day-for-cultural-diversity/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803192224/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/dialogue/21-may-world-day-for-cultural-diversity/ |archive-date=2021-08-03 |publisher=UNESCO}} To commemorate the day in 2022, UNESCO headquarters hosted an event bringing together representatives of 38 signatories of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions with a keynote speech by Sir David Khalili, a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.{{Cite web |date=10 January 2023 |title=Report on the implementation of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity and its fundraising strategy |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000384578 |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=unesdoc.unesco.org}} Khalili's charity, the Khalili Foundation, runs, in partnership with UNESCO, a World Festival of Cultural Diversity culminating in the World Day for Cultural Diversity.{{Cite web |title=World Festival of Cultural Diversity |url=https://www.khalili.foundation/world-festival-of-cultural-diversity/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=Khalili Foundation}}{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=Adrian |date=17 February 2023 |title=Europeana taking part in the Khalili Foundation World Festival of Cultural Diversity |url=https://pro.europeana.eu/post/europeana-taking-part-in-the-khalili-foundation-world-festival-of-cultural-diversity |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=Europeana Pro}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.un.org/en/observances/cultural-diversity-day Official page on United Nations site]