Youth and Cultural Diversity

My Association, "Vientos del Sur" (Southern Winds) is a partner of the UNESCO-IYP PROJECT ON YOUTH AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY.

Your oppinion about the cultural diversity is very important. To participate, go to WWW.VIENTOSDELSUR.TK
All materials are available in English and Spanish.
------------------------------
An UpDate about the Project:

Over the past few months UNESCO and IYP have been working together in developing a youth version of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. As part of this process 10 global workshops were organised by IYP Action Partners with the aim of getting young peoples opinions on the Declaration and the impact that globalisation is having on their culture. Workshop participants also explored what actions they can take to counteract the negative impacts of Globalisation and harness the benefits of the positive impacts.

All but one of these workshops have now taken place and all have been very successful in getting young peoples perspectives on these issues.
Some of the workshops have been reported on in the local press and some have even made it to TV (Gracias a Ana Maria in Colombia!!). The participants were diverse and included young parents from the poorest areas of Buenos Aires, indigenous Mayan youth in Guatemala, young people representing nine nationalities in Italy and representatives from cultural and theatre groups in Togo. There were also representatives of Governments and UNESCO present at some of the workshops.

Whilst we are still waiting on the output material from some of the workshops, we have taken this opportunity to offer you below a taste of the workshop discussions. We will share a more complete report of all 10 workshops in upcoming newsletters.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

"Thanks for sharing with us and helping us to listen and to understand
other opinions" - Argentina

ABOUT THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY:

If you are interested in reading the declaration go to:

ENGLISH:
http://www.unesco.org/culture/pluralism/diversity/html_eng/decl_en.shtml
SPANISH:
http://www.unesco.org/culture/pluralism/diversity/html_sp/index_sp.shtml
FRENCH:
http://www.unesco.org/culture/pluralism/diversity/html_fr/decl_fr.shtml

"The Declaration is important in the way that it helps us understand the theme of cultural diversity, it refers to all cultures, developed and developing countries alike. In addition, it helps fight against ethnocentrism, opens ways for intercultural dialogue and tolerance" - Togo

"The Declaration should include the distribution of cultural goods and services to benefit the community from where they are from." -
Australia

"Culture is beyond borders" - Italy

ON THE IMPACTS OF GLOBALISATION:

"People in western countries get more and more interested in African culture through art, traditional dances, tales and legends" - Togo

"Employers / Entrepreneurs use culture as a commodity" - Indonesia

"Globalisation should mean the creation of more opportunities and knowledge exchange for all" - Italy

A SNAP SHOT OF SOME OF THE ACTION PLANS:

"Organise carnivals, excursions for the blossoming of African Culture"
- Togo

"The creation of a youth dialogue on culture based on the ethnic conflicts in Indonesia" - Indonesia

"To encourage people to be aware of what products they purchase" -
Australia

"Internet Forums in secondary schools to build up links with students of foreign schools, supported by one-to-one trips abroad" - Italy

HOW CAN YOU HAVE YOUR SAY?

It is still possible to contribute to the discussions by submitting your opinion at: www.vientosdelsur.tk

When you enter to the website of the Vientos Del Sur Association go to the home page and click on the Cultural Diversity icon.

For more information please contact John Morrissey, the IYP UNESCO Project Co-ordinator at: jmorrisey@sydney.caa.org.au