Term paper on: Cultural liberty in today’s diverse world
Finding Key Thoughts: Human
Development Report (2004)
Course Name: Human Development
Course Code: BDS-2418
ID 18121017

• a)Introduction
• b)Cultural liberty and human development
• c)Multicultural Policies
• d)Cultural Domination
• e)Globalization
• f)Conclusion point here

Cultural Liberty
•Ability to choose one’s identity
•A vital part of human development
•Freedom to practice their religion openly
•To speak their language
•To celebrate their ethnic or religious heritage .

Managing Cultural Diversity
The existence of a variety of cultural or ethnic groups within a society.

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States need to forge national unity amid this diversity
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Cannot be ignored by any state or the international community
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Confrontations over culture and identity likely to grow

Cultural liberty is a human right and an important aspect of human development
And thus worthy of state attention and action

Human Development
•Health, education, a decent standard of living and political freedom
•People’s cultural identity must be recognized and accommodated by the states
•People must be free to express these identities without being discriminated

Multicultural Policies
• Cultural liberty will not just happen
•Governments need to adoptive them even if there is no clear policies of oppression or discrimination
•States must recognize cultural differences in their constitutions, laws and institutions
•Must ensure that interests of minorities, or historically marginalized majorities are not ignored by the majority or by dominant groups
•Should focus on five central policy areas

(1)Policies for ensuring political participation
(2) Policies for ensuring religious freedom
(3) Policies for legal pluralism
(4) Language Policies
(5) Socio-economic Policies

Cultural Domination
• Takes different forms: political parties, militias, violent groups, international networks and even the state
•Underlying causes include manipulative leadership, poverty and inequality, weak or ineffectual states, outside political interventions and linkages with the diaspora
•Assert cultural superiority and intolerance, targeting freedom and diversity
•Democratic accommodation works; intolerance is a real challenge for cultural liberty and legitimate means must be used

Globalization
•Expanding cultural freedom presents new challenges and dilemmas
•Policies need to explicitly recognize and respect cultural differences
•Also need to address imbalances in economic and political power
•An approach that respects and promotes diversity while keeping countries open to global flows of capital, goods and people is advocated

Cultural liberty in today’s diverse world relate to Bangladesh context:
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The report, 'Cultural Liberty in Today's Diverse World', lauds Bangladesh as the third best performer among developing countries in reducing child mortality from 144 deaths a thousand in 1990 to 77 in 2000.
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Bangladesh with more than 45 different ethnic groups is also considered a multicultural society, as the groups make up approximately two percent of the population
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Reduction in income poverty was also referred to as a sector where
Bangladesh was effective as the percentage of citizens living under the poverty line came down from 51 to 49.8 percent
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Bangladesh's life expectancy also jumped up to 61.1 years.
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Bangladesh as a non-secular country, citing the government's formal alliance with Islam is exclusively benefiting the religion, which goes against constitutional emphasis on secularism

Expanding Cultural Freedoms
•An important goal in human development, needing urgent attention in the 21stcentury
`•All people want to be free to be who they are and to express their identity
•In the era of globalization, there must be greater respect for diversity and stronger commitment to unity