Multiculturalism as a Universal Value
of Humanity
Diversity is in the true nature of the humankind. It
is impossible to imagine the world without this value. If we look back at the
history, it clearly seems that the greatest pieces of art, culture are the
products of interactions of various cultural movements. This is why, ethnic,
cultural, social diversities in various societies are to be considered the
greatest values of the humankind.
Promotion of multicultural values, emergence of the
multifaceted concepts in this field may be seen as a contemporary cultural
trend. However, multiculturalism, which is coeval with mankind, has deep roots
in the cultural history of the world. There are multicultural ingredients in all peaceful ideas of the world history.
Through the evolution of the cultural processes the significance of
multiculturalism as an integral idea of the humanity has risen. Today’s world
needs multicultural values as a collaborative and interconnected instrument for
ensuring peaceful existence of the humankind and promoting stability on a
global scale as never before. It is of high importance to encourage multicultural
values in terms of disseminating seeds of tolerance, peace and dialogue. In order
to achieve it, all major players in both in global and regional, local levels
should take take part in this process. In a word, governments, NGOs, regional
and international organizations need to take necessary steps in the promotion
of multicultural values. This can only be achieved through close collaboration
and ensuring mutual trust among aforementioned actors. Thus, it becomes clear that multicultural values have powerful
influence on the behavior of states, governments and international bodies. If
these players use these values as part of political ethics, this will undeniably
strengthen the cooperation and trust among states and diverse societies across the world.
The importance of multicultural values
increased especially after the pace of globalization accelerated. Some
political circles try to describe the globalization process as a formation of
one polar world. For instance, American political scientist Samuel Huntigton brought to the surface the idea of “clash of
civilization” as a post-Cold War new world order. Unfortunately, this kind of distorted
explanation of globalization has become pervasive on a global scale. For this
reason, conflictual situations are prevalent in the world. Acceptance of
globalization as a one-sided enlargement of certain group of civilizational
values is very dangerous for the world. In the end, it will certainly bring
conflicts and hardly solved problems in local, regional and global levels. In
order to prevent these negative aspects, the idea of globalization needs to be re-evaluated
in the context of multicultural values. It is significant in terms of bringing a
new breath to the process of globalization. In case if multiple cultural,
religious views are considered in the global arena, this will only have
positive repercussions.
Some countries have a rich experience in ensuring
tolerance and mutual respect within diverse societies. Learning and
transplanting these experiences is not too far from the reality. For instance, deeply
rooted multicultural environment has become a deeply respected tradition in
Azerbaijan throughout history. As a country, which is situated at the
crossroads of civilizations, Azerbaijan has set up a cultural bridge between
the West and the East. This sacred place has proved that people from different
backgrounds could live together in a peaceful state of co-existence. The people
of this space have seen the cultural, ethnic, religious variety as a source of
richness. For this very reason, these kind of differences did not pave the way
long-lasted conflicts and misunderstanding in the society. Despite its
sensitive geopolitical location, Azerbaijan has been able to turn its
multinational and multiconfessional characteristics into a model of mutual trust
and understanding. In a word, Azerbaijan has formed a model of tolerance, which
is truly accepted by the world community nowadays.
Azerbaijan
demonstrates its loyalty to the principles of multiculturalism with the
organization of numerous events related to the promotion of religious, ethnic
tolerance, dialogue between
civilizations. 7th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations
, which was held in April 2016, is one the bright examples of Azerbaijan’s
willingness in fostering tolerance environment in a global context. In addition, the establishment of Baku
International Multiculturalism Center with the decree of the President of
Azerbaijan in 2014 was an important step in preserving and promoting
multicultural values. Declaration of
2016 as a Year of Multiculturalism in Azerbaijan by the President of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is an additional
catalyzer in ensuring multicultural harmony in the society. Special Action Plan
was also approved for the implementation of events related to the Year of
Multiculturalism. According to the presidential decree, Baku
International Multiculturalism Center
is the major coordinating body in arrangement and executiion of the Action
Plan. These kind of actions demonstrate that multiculturalism is supported and
promoted at the state level in Azerbaijan. Being part of the state policy, multicultural
values permeate to all layers of society in Azerbaijan.
Multiculturalism
is not only a close relationship between
different cultures, beliefs and idendities. It is also a well-founded bridge
between the past and modernity. Harmonious relationship between these two
elements means a lot for the humanity. It mainly means looking forward for the better
future while not forgeting the past and traditions, which were inherited from
our ancestors. For the sake of humanity we need to preserve and pass
multicultural values to the future generations. In this way, it will be
possible to prevent cultural isolation and foster interreligious dialogue and
tolerance. By other words, religious, ethnic, cultural varieties will be source
of pride rather than divisive tool in the world. “Symbol to Multiculturalism”
by Francesco
Perilli erected in Toronto is the
first monument devoted to multicultural values. This symbol means developing
peaceful collaboration, mutual respect and promoting interreligious dialogue
across the world. However, it does not mean that these values carry only
symbolic mean. It is time to turn this symbolism into a reality for peaceful
co-existence of various ethnic, cultural, religious groups.
by Savalan Suleymanli
IMN Country Representative in United Kingdom
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