Minister Walter Hirche, President of the
German Commission for UNESCO
Lord Mayor of Bonn, H.E. Baerbel Dieckmann
Prof. Dr. Hermann Schaefer, President of the Foundation Haus der
Geschichte of the Federal Republic of Germany and Vice-President
of the German Commission for UNESCO
H. E. Ambassador Hans-Heinrich Wrede, Chairman
of the Executive Board of UNESCO
H. E. Professor Tunde Adeniran, Nigeria's Ambassador
to Germany and former President of the Nigerian
National Commission for UNESCO
Excellencies
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
It gives me immense pleasure to be here with you today; for I consider it a
great honour to have been asked by the German National Commission for UNESCO
to participate with you in the deliberations at this, your 65th General
Assembly, on the subject of "Cultural Diversity - Universal Values".
I must also express my gratitude and appreciation for the warm welcome
extended to me by the city of Bonn especially through its most
distinguished Lord Mayor who has been so kind in his most generous
words of welcome. This is a cherished occasion for me, Your Excellency
and I want to assure you that it will always remain with me a treasured
memory.
Dear friends:
Germany has been a vibrant Member State of UNESCO during 54 years of the
Organization's existence. During this period your Country has shown
itself as an ardent believer in the aims and ideals of the Organization.
This you have demonstrated through unflagging support for the action and
activities of the Organization, both in material terms and through quality
contribution to its plans, to its programmes and its work in general.
It is judicious to recognize your Country's unfailing efforts, with other
Member States of like mind, to ensure that UNESCO is well-placed,
well-tuned and well-endowed to fulfil the responsibilities entrusted
to it by its Member States and by the international community at large.
It is often in times of trouble that the solidity of commitment can be
truly tested and ascertained. Like any other organization with very
important responsibilities in so many fields of great importance to
humanity, UNESCO's task has not always been easy. Indeed UNESCO has
passed through trying times in its history. But it is through the
unshakeable support and continuing guidance of Member States, such
as yours, that have always stood by UNESCO at all times, that
UNESCO has and continues to be faithful to its calling, to serve
fully its Member States and the international community in all the
many areas of its responsibilities.
It is therefore very much in tune with your well-established tradition
that you are asking us in this gathering, to turn our minds to one of
the most burning questions of today in the fields of UNESCO's concern.
"Cultural Diversity - Universal Values" - It may sound like a cliché
if I say that this is a subject that is very much on everybody's mind,
if not on every lip. But it is compelling so, because of its relevance
to the evolution of our relationships and to the nature of our future
together as societies in an emerging globalised world.
Practically all institutions of the United Nations System came into
existence after the Second World War. It will be correct to say that
they were, in a significant way, part of the aftermath of that War.
The period that preceded the war was a world of colonisation, a world
of dictatorships, imperialism, sometimes of the most total kind. It
was a world full of societies that lived comfortably with the
domination of the weak by the strong; a world in which some arrogated
to themselves the role of subjugating and "civilizing" whole societies
for their so called good, by bringing to them the light. Clearly it
was a world in which cultural differences were mostly seen and lived
as sources of conflict, domination, separation, suspicion and a
general situation of us and them.
Complexes, of inferiority or of superiority governed most relationships
and there was little scope or opportunity for giving even the most casual
recognition or appreciation to other expressions of living or being, by
societies outside the dominating ones. This was not the environment that
could be considered as favourable towards realizing, not to even talk of,
embracing the good or the richness in differences. Rather, differences
were often the sources of denigration: differences set people apart; it
did not create "rapproachment" between them. With such relationships
there was hardly any hope for tolerance not to talk of "understanding
each other's ways and lives".
It is to their eternal credit that the founders of the UN System, struck
by the unhealthy situation, and having lived through the devastation of
that war, resolved to do something about the ignorance of each other's
ways and lives, as clearly reflected for example in UNESCO's constitution,
which goes further to declare that one of the purposes for the creation of
UNESCO is the preservation of the independence, integrity and fruitful
diversity of the cultures of the States, members of the Organization.
So, since its creation, UNESCO had been charged with the responsibility
of carrying to the international community the gospel of the equality of
cultures, the diversity of cultures and the strength and richness that
lie in cultural diversity and dialogue between cultures, especially in
the quest for peace. For a long time, UNESCO, with a few other bodies
within the UN System and several non-governmental and professional
bodies, remained faithful to the mandate of preaching and pleading for
the acknowledgement of the relevance, the importance and in fact the
primordial necessity for including cultural considerations in national
and international plans for development and progress. Realization of
this need, came slowly and only after several plans and programmes and
strategies for development had failed due to the absence of the
consideration of the cultures, of the peoples they were being
imposed on.
There was no longer any wisdom in holding on to the misguided notion of
policies and plans based solely on the search for the material progress
of societies without any consideration of their cultures the very soul
of their existence. A new orientation became an unavoidable necessity.
Prominent among UN System efforts to explore ideas for this new necessity
was UNDP's notion of human development which acknowledged the insufficiency
of economic considerations alone for the formulation of viable development
plans and strategies, and sought to explore the inclusion of other aspects
which clearly are based on the cultural norms and lives of the people.
Today, after much questioning and rethinking on the very aim and end of
development efforts, there is now a clear acceptance of the need for the
inclusion of cultural aspects into the mix of any plans for development
if they are to have any chance of success. This acceptance, this
realization of the importance of the relationship between development
and culture, has raised its own questions; on the nature of the
relationship, between development and culture, on the manner of the
inclusion of culture in development, on which aspects of culture truly
deserves consideration for inclusion in the planning of development
programme, on how to ensure that cultural traditions are enabled to
contribute positively to facing the challenges that are emerging with
progress and modernization and yes, gloabilization. The challenge of
exploring new ways of perceiving development is real; looking for
avenues for development that take full cognisance of the importance
of culture to societies and the imperative need of taking this into
account in the conception of development plans that would be suitable
for the realization of societies' own dreams and their aspirations.
The work of the World Commission on Culture and Development jointly set
up by the United Nations and UNESCO: under the Chairmanship of the former
UN Secretary General Ambassador, Perez de Cuellar has contributed immensely
to seeking answers to some of these challenging questions and has provided
most useful pointers to guide further thinking and the way forward. UNESCO,
in line with its vocation, continues to be in the forefront of the movement
in this field, especially as regards its normative action in the sphere of
culture. Among its most recent action in this area is the Universal
Declaration on Cultural Diversity, which was unanimously adopted by the
General Conference in November 2001.
The Declaration, as the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Koichiro Matsuura,
stated in an introduction to the text "aims both to preserve cultural
diversity as a living, and thus renewable treasure, that must not be
perceived as being unchanging heritage but as a process guaranteeing the
survival of humanity; and to prevent segregation and fundamentalism which,
in the name of cultural differences, would sanctify those differences and
so counter the message of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
The 32nd Session of the General Conference, in its Resolution 34 requested
the Director-General to submit to it at its 33rd Session a report accompanied
by the preliminary draft of a convention on the protection of the diversity
of cultural contents and artistic expressions. As the sequel to that decision,
in the last two years UNESCO and its Member States have been engaged in a
colossal endeavour on Cultural Diversity. Their deliberations which took
place during three intensive sessions of Intergovernmental Meetings of
Experts have come to fruition. Their text of a Draft Convention on the
Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Content and Artistic Expressions
is ready for presentation to the next session of the General Conference
later this year for examination and eventual adoption.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
You must be wondering when I was going to bring in perhaps the most important
element today which is set to influence our lives and our relationships at
practically every level; within societies, between societies and between
nations; within and across frontiers, and mostly with not much regard for
national boundaries. I am sure that by now you know I am talking about the
all-pervading phenomenon of gloablization.
There is no doubt that globalization by its very nature constitutes a
challenge to the diversity of cultures. It is a fact that globalization
can bring to cultures certain enrichment and even opportunities for
desirable cultural growth in a world that is impelled by the development,
or should I say the galloping development of innovative instruments of
communication and information, which are becoming more and more
indispensable every day. We must not shy away from these advantages.
We cannot. We must embrace them, but with caution … With our eyes
opened! For we must also be alert to the likely negative effects of
globalization, especially in its steam - rolling aspects, which often
brings with it tendencies towards homogenization and the compression
of cultures by the force of some dominant and often alien trends.
In an environment of true respect for the diversity of cultures and
concern for the aspirations and sensibilities that are proper to the
specificities of cultural differences, the interaction between
gloablization and cultures could be the source of enrichment and not
that of inevitable conflict. But this must be predicated on
commonality of intentions.
The present Medium Term Plan of UNESCO (the 31 C4), which is now on
its last leg, has as its theme "Globalization with a human face". It
was the articulation of UNESCO's plans for facing its responsibility
of making every effort to contribute to the attenuation of some of the
likely negative effects of Globalization especially as concerns weak
and vulnerable nation and societies.
Towards a Conclusion:
There is no doubt that cultural diversity has been assaulted by
globalization and that globalization has challenged multi-lateralism.
The question of course is who benefits from globalization and who
looses by the discontinuance of diversity and multi-lateralism. The
truth is that the United Nations was founded on the principle of
multi-lateralism and respect for diversity. Diversity therefore must
remain inevitable for the promotion of equity, justice and respect
for different levels of development in the International Committee
of Nations. A globalization which seeks to confirm the dominance
and the hegemony of the powerful and the strong will inevitably
collapse within the context of the United Nations.
It is to this end that we must draw the attention to the prophetic
publication of John Raiston Saul titled: The Collapse of Globalism
and the Reinvention of the World. Mr. Saul had eloquently argued
that globalization which saw everything through an economic prison
especially trade prison was destined to fail because the world
could no longer be seen only in terms of economic circumstances
or considerations. He therefore argues that the ideology of
globalization is currently in retreat as governments are
increasingly rediscovering their power to legislate and
regulate for the benefit of their citizens outside the
narrow confines of matters beyond economic considerations.
It is clear that diversity, as demonstrated by the wealth of
languages can both divide and unite. But it is also clear that
pluralism is itself the strength. As the Yoruba put it,
'ona kan o wo ja' which means that there are many paths that
lead to the market place.
UNESCO as an organisation is by its charter committed to the
promotion of diversity and at the same time the encouragement
and promotion of international values and standards. I believe
that it is within this context that the organisation has adopted
the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage. I also belief that it was against this background of
commitment that the organisation had prepared together with the
OECD the guidelines on Cross Border Higher Education which has
been considered by the Executive Board of the organisation and
forwarded to the 33rd Session of the General Conference of UNESCO.
It is therefore also within this context that the Convention on
Cultural Diversity is being proposed by the organisation.
Let it be clear that the world need a system of check and balances
that will ensure ownership and check the threat of hegemony in the
process of building 'one world' as Mahatma Gandhi once said: "I will
not want to live in the world that was not one world". It was such
vision that gave birth to the United Nations and its sister
organisations such as UNESCO. Thus in spite of whatever threat
is posed by hegemony, at the end of the day everyone will appreciate
the value of inclusiveness, democratisation, and active participation
by all.
Honourable Ladies and Gentlemen,
The argument for the need for Universal Values is valid not just for its
own sake but also because of the reality of the requirements of the very
make-up of a world society; or should we say a global society. Society in
the singular but made up of societies, several societies, with entrenched
ways and beliefs and sensibilities and aspirations. But these need not be
causes for contradiction or conflict between diversity of cultures and
international ethics or Universal values. Our future together demands
common understandings, commonly accepted ways of behaviour, mutually
recognized yardsticks for distinguishing good from bad, acceptable
comportment in our relationships, within nations and between nations;
equity between generations and a lot more …fairness in negotiations
and an awareness of the need of ensuring a better life for future
generations.
It is clear that there already exists a large "corpus" of values that have
been universally accepted and form the basis of international interaction
and relationships. Many of them are common to many cultures or have been
incorporated into them. Diverse cultures do have many basic tenets, beliefs
and codes of conduct in common. Universal values such as respect for life,
kindness to one another and concern for human suffering can be traced to
the very soul of many diverse cultures. Morality is not the preserve of
any one culture or any one society. The specificities that make for
diversities cannot be evoked for the erosion of those values, which by
their very nature and by their universality must find their place in a
mutually enriched world.
In its report "Our creative diversity", the Perez de Cuellar Commission
proposed a series of elements as relevant ingredients for a global ethics.
They include human rights and responsibilities, democracy and the elements
of civil society, the protection of minorities, commitment to peaceful
conflict-resolution and fairness in negotiations. The list is offered as
being indicative, not exhaustive. It cannot be otherwise, for the ethics
that would govern the relationships between societies in a dynamic global
world - ever-moving and ever-changing, - cannot be static and at the same
time be adequate and efficient.
The search must go on and we must all be active participants in the search.
Our diverse beliefs and our diverse social orders must be part of our
positive source of strength. While we search, we must open our eyes and
ears and minds to the richness and goodness that may come from elsewhere.
We must also vigilantly look out for "faults" and weaknesses that may lead
to havoc. We must be creative, sensitive and innovative in our search,
keeping firmly in mind that the acceptable outcome of the creation of a
global ethics is essentially its willing acceptance and adoption by the
totality of that global society for which it is intended.
Honourable Ladies and Gentlemen:
I hope I have been able in these few minutes to briefly evoke aspects of the
issues, which you will undoubtedly explore in more details and in greater depth.
The very DIVERSITY of your backgrounds, expertise and experience, and your
perceptions of the subject before you, already promises a RICHNESS that will
be worthy of the German Commission for UNESCO, which is renowned for its
assiduity and its thoroughness. I am also sure that the result of your
deliberations will contribute useful insights into the on-going debate on
this subject of great importance to all of us.
Once again, I thank you very much for your kind invitation and your warm
hospitality. I look forward very much to learning a lot from this
opportunity you have so generously offered me.
I thank you very much for your attention and God bless you!
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