Diversity of culture is the key to sustainable development and achieving world peace
Diversity of culture is the key to sustainable development and achieving world peace
In various regions of the world, culture takes multiple forms that express the depth of human experience. On the outskirts of Asia, stories are told orally by moonlight, in the heart of Africa, memory is transmitted from one generation to another through drums and songs, and on the sidewalks of European cities, artists play tunes that express multiple identities. This is how the world lives in its diversity, and this is how culture is a universal language that does not need translation.
From this standpoint, reality imposes a fundamental question: How do we build bridges that transcend borders and are based on common human values that promote understanding and coexistence? The answer lies in culture as a soft force that manifests itself in stories, songs, symbols and celebrations, and carries within it the memory, spirit and aspirations of peoples.
In this context,Earth Guards highlights in this article the importance of the International Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, which UNESCO celebrates on May 21 of each year, emphasizing its close connection to the goals of sustainable development, and its vital role in consolidating the foundations of world peace; So keep reading.
The role of culture in achieving peace and development
Culture has never been a luxury. Rather, it has always been a basic human need, representing a solid basis for building just peace and achieving sustainable development. Peoples and nations have realized this fact; It sought to consolidate the place of culture in daily life and in public policies. Hence the International Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. To be an annual call to the world to reconsider the position of culture, the vital role it plays, and the opportunities that can emerge from respect for cultural diversity and openness to others.
On the twenty-first of May of each year, UNESCO raises the flag of culture worldwide to celebrate cultural diversity and to remind that dialogue among civilizations is the only way to ensure a more stable and just future, as United Nations data shows that about 89% of current conflicts in the world arise in countries that lack intercultural dialogue, which makes this day a necessary occasion to enhance communication and understanding. In their absence, the earth becomes ripe for conflict and division.
The International Day for Cultural Diversity came as a result of UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity in 2001, and its subsequent adoption by the United Nations General Assembly in 2002. In 2015, the United Nations reaffirmed the importance of culture when it adopted a resolution linking it to sustainable development in its three dimensions, noting that the world’s diversity – whether natural or cultural – constitutes an essential element in the path of development and progress.
Historic Declaration to Promote Cultural Diversity
In September 2022, more than 150 delegations from around the world gathered in Mexico for the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policy and Sustainable Development, the largest cultural conference of the past 40 years, which resulted in the historic Declaration on Culture, which redefined culture as a global public good and not a secondary matter.
This international declaration came to confirm the necessity of integrating culture as an independent goal within the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, with a focus on protecting the rights of artists and indigenous communities, and regulating major digital platforms to ensure diversity, justice, and ease of access to cultural content, in addition to preserving and promoting cultural and natural heritage.
Since the adoption of this plan, it has become clear that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cannot be achieved in isolation from culture, given its profound impact in the areas of education, equality, health, and climate action. This is what prompted UNESCO to develop the “Culture Indicators 2030” to be a scientific tool to evaluate the true role of culture in achieving comprehensive development.
It is worth noting that the cultural and creative sector – according to UNESCO – accommodates more than 48 million jobs around the world, almost half of which are occupied by women. It also contributes 3.1% to the global gross domestic product, and the culture sector is the sector that most contains young people under the age of thirty, which makes it a strategic tributary to the future of societies.
Cultural diversity plays a pivotal role in supporting economic production, enhancing social cohesion, and building positive identities based on pluralism and openness. It also establishes the values of tolerance and nourishes the spirit of coexistence. Therefore, it is an effective tool for fighting poverty through creative means, and a mechanism for renewing societies from within, and shaping a future based on justice and innovation.
This occasion recalls the importance of working in accordance with four pivotal goalsof the 2005 Convention to Protect and Promote the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, adopted by UNESCO, These goals are: supporting sustainable cultural policies, facilitating the movement of artists and cultural content, integrating culture into public policies, and ensuring freedom of expression and creativity. These goals translate the international conviction in the role of culture in building more inclusive societies. And flexibility.
Earth Guardsrealizes that the International Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development represents an opportunity to reconsider the place of culture among the world’s priorities, and to renew recognition of its role in confronting crises, as a soft power capable of stimulating change and building a more just and sustainable future.
