21st May - World Day for Cultural Diversity

"Experience shows that efficient development models are those that actually integrate local cultural specificities, thus eliciting the involvement of the communities concerned".

Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO

The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 2002 and celebrated on 21 May, provides an opportunity for mobilization on the part of all actors (governments, policy makers, civil society organizations, communities, cultural professionals) to promote culture in its diversity and in all its forms: tangible and intangible heritage, creative industries, goods and services.

On this Day, UNESCO emphasizes the need to fight against imbalances that exist between global exchanges of cultural goods, and stresses the importance of preserving the world’s most vulnerable cultures, together with the need for cultural policies and structural measures in developing countries. It also highlights the importance of being aware of the value of cultural diversity in languages is also stressed.

Special attention is given to national cultural policies that recognize the contribution of traditional knowledge, particularly when it comes to environmental protection and natural resource management, which promote synergies between modern science and local knowledge.

Under the terms of the UN Resolution, the proclamation of the Day is based on the principle that “tolerance and respect for cultural diversity and universal promotion and protection of human rights, including the right to development, are mutually supportive”.

Information from the web-site unesco.org was used.

21.05.2012

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