Trinidad and Tobago
National Commission for UNESCO
Presentation
CULTURAL DIVERSITY FOR DIALOGUE AND DEVELOPMENT
GUYANA HIGH SCHOOLS
Bishops’ High, Brickdam Secondary, Central High ,
St. Joseph’s High, St. Rose’s High, St. Stanislaus College .
June 14th 2013
by
Dr. Vashti Singh
Introduction
 United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO):
inaugurated on November 4,1946
 196 Member States and 8 Associated Members
 UNESCO Office in Kingston , Jamaica:
Cluster Office to the Caribbean Region including
Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago
UNESCO: Theme of Culture
 UNESCO’s aim: to contribute to the building of peace,
the eradication of poverty, sustainable development
and intercultural dialogue through education,
sciences, culture, communication and information.
 Culture prom0tes cultural acceptance but also the
maintenance of cultural diversity as well as the
protection of cultural heritage.
World Day for Cultural Diversity for
Dialogue and Development
 The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and
Development was proclaimed by the UN General
Assembly in December 2002 and is celebrated each
year on 21st May.
 The day provides people across the globe with an
opportunity to deepen their understanding of what
cultural diversity means in their everyday lives and its
interconnectedness with dialogue and development.
Interrogating Cultural Diversity
The UNESCO Declaration on Cultural Diversity
 Art.1. Culture takes diverse forms across time and space.
This diversity is embroiled in the uniqueness and plurality of the
identities of the groups and societies making up humankind.
 Art.4. Cultural diversity implies a commitment to human rights
and fundamental freedoms , in particular the rights of persons
belonging to minorities and those of indigenous peoples.
 Art.7. Cultural heritage in all its forms must be preserved ,
enhanced and handed down to future generations as a record of
human experience and aspirations , so far as to foster creativity
in all its diversity and to impose genuine dialogue among
cultures.
Caribbean Culture and Diversity
“Expressions of the mind: Philosophy and the Making of
the Caribbean Nation”- Professor Rex Nettleford.
 The typical Caribbean person: part African, part
European, part Asian , part Native American but
totally Caribbean.
 The awesome complexity of Caribbean life and
culture ranges from language and religion to artistic
manifestation in the literary, performing and visual
arts is more than “the binary syndrome of Europe
suggests.”
Rex Nettleford : Creative Diversity
 “The Caribbean’s Diversity is also a matter of the creative
mind…That very mind also constructs for the intellect and
the imagination, a bastion of discreet identities as well as
quarries of very invaluable raw material that can be used to
build bridged across cultural boundaries.”
 Culture in its broadest sense undergirds the Caribbean’s
educational system: as an expression of creative intellect
and creative imagination , it requires greater focused
attention on dialogue for the building of bridges in the
development process.
Definition of Intercultural
 Intercultural means that “equitable exchange and
dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples
based on a mutual understanding and respect and the
equal dignity of all cultures is the essential
prerequisite for constructing social cohesion,
reconciliation among peoples and peace among
nations’’(UNECO’s action as a part of the global
framework of an Alliance of Civilizations launched by
the United Nations,2005).
Dialogue for Creativity:
The Caribbean Context
 For the 21st century, cultural diversity in the Caribbean
needs to be addressed in terms of dialogue , creative
capacities , and new specific challenges it may present for
educational systems, minority groups ,inequalities , the
digital divide, preservation of cultural heritage (material
and symbolic),news and entertainment media and the
business world . Thus, a number of new pathways may
emerge for development strategies towards poverty
eradication , environmental action and human- centred
governance.
Cultural Diversity for Development
 UNESCO Declaration on Cultural Diversity(Art.3).
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 ,emotional , moral and spiritual existence.
 “No society can meet the requirements of peace and
development today ,if it does not dynamically and resiliently
connect cultures together”(Irina Bokova, Director General of
UNESCO) on the occasion of the seminar- ‘ Cultural Diversity for
sustainable development and dialogue among civilizations
organized by the sultanate of Oman on behalf of the Group of
Arab Gulf countries at UNESCO on May 27th,2013.
Intercultural Competencies:
The Ideal Caribbean Person
Saint Lucia’s Didicus Jules (Registrar and Chief Executive
Officer of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) based in
Barbados)-Rethinking Education in the Caribbean(2010).
Caribbean Education must produce the Ideal Caribbean Person
in accordance with UNESCO imperatives for Learning: Learn to
Live Together, Learn to Be, Learn to Do, Learn to Learn. Such
a person is described as an individual who:
 Is imbued with a respect for human life since it is the
foundation on which all other desired values must rest
 Is emotionally secure with a high level of self-confidence
and self-esteem
 Sees ethnic , religious and other diversity as a source of
potential strength and richness
Intercultural Competencies:
The Ideal Caribbean Person (Cont’d)
 Is aware of the importance of living in harmony with the
environment
 Has a strong appreciation of family and kinship values,
community cohesion, and moral issues including
responsibility for and accountability to self and community
 Has an informed sense of cultural heritage
 Nourishes in him/herself and in others, the fullest
development of each person’s potential without gender
stereotyping and embraces differences and similarities
between females and males as a source of mutual strength
Intercultural Competencies:
The Ideal Caribbean Person (Cont’d)
 Demonstrates a positive work ethic
 Demonstrates multiple literacies , independent and critical thinking ,
questions the beliefs and practices of past and present and brings this to
bear on the innovative application of science and technology to problem
solving
 Values and displays creative imagination in its various manifestations and
nurtures its development in the economic and entrepreneurial spheres in all
other areas of life
 Has developed the capacity to create and take advantage of opportunities
to control, improve, maintain and promote physical , mental social and
spiritual well-being to contribute to the health and welfare of the
community and country
Adopted by the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM)- (Education for All in the Caribbean: Plan of Action 2000-2015).
Intercultural Dialogue and Change:
The Role of YOUTHS
 A Critical Need: we must reach out to youth movements
across all Caribbean countries to enhance their knowledge
on the diversity of cultures for increased dialogue, social
cohesion and peace and development.
 From Dialogue to Action: Youths are imperative for
building a world community of individuals committed to
support diversity with real and everyday life gestures in
their schools ,homes , communities and the wider society.
 UNESCO Clubs: they can play an instrumental role in the
move from Dialogue to Action for meaningful change.
Developing a Culture of Peace
 It is vital to let all youths around the globe come in the
mainstream of the global development and mitigate
hazards lying in the world via dialogue and mutual
understanding ( Bibhu Luitel – Nepal).
 We now live in a global village and we are in one single
family. Its our responsibility to bring friendship and love
from all different places around the world to live together
in peace(Jackie Chan).
 All we are saying is give peace a chance(John Lennon).
 Be the change you want to see in the world(Mohandas K.
Gandhi).
Bibliography
• Bokova, I. (2013). Cultural Diversity for Sustainable development and
dialogue among civilizations. The sultanate of Oman on behalf of the
Group of Arab Gulf countries: UNESCO.
• CARICOM (2000). Education for All in the Caribbean: Plan of Action
2000 – 2015. Paris : UNESCO.
• Jules, D. (2010). Rethinking Education in the Caribbean. Retrieved June
7th , 2013 from http://www.cxc.org/?q=nod/7174.
• La Rose, M.(2008). Caribbean Culture too diverse to be labeled- Prof
Nettleford.
Retrieved
June
1st,
2013
from
http://dloc.com/CA00100562/00001.
Bibliography (Cont’d)
• Nettleford, R. (2003). The Caribbean Creative Diversity : The Defining Point
of the Region’s History. Second Lecture in the Distinguished Lecture
Series Commemorating the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Caribbean
Community. Guyana: University of Guyana.
• United Nations (2005). United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. Many
cultures. One humanity. Retrieved June 3rd, 2013 from
http://www.unaoc.org/
• UNESCO (2001). Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Paris : The
Author.