On this page we (network members) can have a conversation around the issue of cultural diversity...

In the last four days I attended an international conference of the UNESCO in Essen. It was on the convention for the protection and the promotion of cultural diversity (Paris, 2005). There were a lot of superficial speeches – maybe they are “normal” in open conferences of international institutions. At the end of the conference you could think: All the things are ok. We will do it, no problem!

In the conference a lot of speakers spoke very hopefully about the civil society: “the civil society must do this and that and that and this” (yes, the civil society, not the governments ;-D) At the same time there were no representatives of the real civil society in the conference, as speakers. So there was not a discussion about the real problems of the cultural diversity.

On the other side I met some interesting people. There was a point in the discussion, that was very interesting: How can you define “cultural diversity” concrete? If you try to protect and to promote the cultural diversity in a normative way, you can kill the (dynamic of the) diversity.

It is a little bit like in my discussion with Sacha: Can we speak about the values “be open!”, “communicate!”?

What alternatives do we have for a “protection” of the multicultural expressions and a self-reliance? In which way we can define and promote an “open be open!”, that wants to work concrete at the same time?

(by Davide Brocchi, Apr 30 2007)