International Concern Research
Issue in Relation to International Community
1. Culture is defined as the beliefs, customs, arts, etc. of a particular
society, group, place, or time. It gives people a sense of belonging
within their society as well allows people to express themselves. The
threat of cultural extinction has detrimental effects not only to America,
but the world at large. If the every country is Westernized, there will be
a lack of diversity, differentiation, and uniqueness. This pressing conflict
is an issue of international concern considering what is at stake. As
cultural diffusion and the assimilation and intertwining of said cultures
into more popular cultures, the richness of the old, less popular
languages are lost. This makes it harder for said people to find
themselves an identity to correspond with. It also affects the way current
and future generations see human activity, due to the loss of knowledge
of these cultures.
UN Involvement
2. A committee that is involved in this matter is the UNSC (United
Nations Security Council). The Security Council was established as a
body of the UN in 1946. Its purpose is to maintain international peace
and security. Thousands of languages face extinction, UN warns at start
of International Year. The agency warned that when a language fades, so
does a part of the world’s cultural tapestry, adding that globalization is
placing many languages under ever greater threat. Another UN
committee that is involved in this conflict is UNESCO (The United
Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) which is a
specialized agency of the United Nations. The main goal of UNESCO is
to “contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting
collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and
communication. UNESCO has issued the Text of the Conventions for
the Safegaurding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. They have also tried to
promote learning of these cultures, either to the residents within that
country in which these cultures are diminishing. In addition to these
measures, UNESCO has been trying to demonstrate the positives and
consequences of globalization.
International Concern
3. The issue is still of international concern because the threat of cultural
extinction grows larger each day. The causes of cultural extinction
include assimilation into other cultures; global warming, natural
disasters, and globalization are also involved towards cultural extinction.
The world loses a good portion of cultures due to this immense amount
of globalization, which is caused by both natural causes, such as natural
disasters, or by anthropologic motives, such as industrialization, which
eventually make these cultures dwindle down in size. The few left feel
like they need to assimilate into these more popular cultures, since they
feel they’ll be better received, which ultimately leads to that loss of
knowledge. Language is lost, which leads to even traditional customs
and religions being entirely wiped out, replace by modern, more popular
customs.
Important Figures
4. Anthropologists around the world are concerned about this issue,
since the diminishing of the cultures and loss of cultures diminishes the
knowledge available for future generations. The indigenous cultures tell
a lot about the people, how they lived, their roots, and the environment
surrounding them. This has led to multiple groups to put pressure on the
battle on preventing cultural extinction. Actions in Mexico by the Centre
of Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology to try to
promote the use of these indigenous languages by use of modern day
technology, such as books and dictionaries. President Evo Morales of
Bolivia has offered assistance to get involvement of indigenous groups
in decision involving climate change, so they can feel a sense of hope in
trying to resolve issues with their habitats, forcing many to try to go into
urban centers for more opportunities. Other countries are also following
suit, allowing them to discussions potential actions which can be done to
solve a part of the treat.
Social, Political, and Economic Aspect
5. Most of these indigenous people who speak these extinct languages
and follow these endangered cultures are very few in each of their
respective countries, such as the Zapotec and Seri languages in Mexico,
the Uru Chipaya in Bolivia, and a significant portion of Indian languages
(such as Mizo, Baitei,and Mech). Most of these cultures live isolated
from the rest of civilization, which makes it harder for people to interact
with these people and understand, and embrace these older, indigenous
cultures. In India, Bollywood movies, the highest grossing films in that
country, have shifted from more cultural films to films that resemble
western lifestyles. These films, while having a big impact on the
economy of Southeast Asia and other countries worldwide, such as the
United States, the old Bollywood movies now mostly leave out their past
cultures, which dwindles the amount of people who know about these
Indian cultures, making some of them extremely unpopular to the brink
of extinction. This is also very similar in other countries, since
westernization of the world can be identified in almost every country.
From language, to clothes, food, and customs, western brands, and
products are taking over the economy of plenty of countries,
overthrowing old customs and traditions. Therefore, country leaders are
also trying to promote these indigenous cultures, and trying to involve
such groups in political affairs, such as the usage of indigenous tribes
from all over the world in decision-making to combat the issue of Global
warming, which affects these tribes greatly.
Humanitarian Concern
6. This conflict should be considered a humanitarian issue. A
humanitarian crisis is defined as “a singular event or a series of events
that are threatening in terms of health, safety, or well being of a
community or large group of people,” The well being of multiple
communities are at stake due to the threat of cultural extinction. The loss
of culture should be a humanitarian issue because it puts the well being
of the population at risk.