What Diversities?
MAY 21 – WORLD DAY FOR CULTURAL DIVERSITY FOR DIALOGUE AND DEVELOPMENT
On the occasion of the “World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development,” UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, emphasizes the fundamental role of cultural diversity, which enriches people’s lives and enables growth in an innovative, more productive, and economically beneficial environment. UNESCO firmly believes that diversity makes people stronger and that respect for cultural diversity is essential to strengthen intercultural dialogue, sustainable development, and peace.
In the current context of war but also of widespread violence motivated by very strong individualistic impulses, speaking of diversity might seem anachronistic. Historically, humanity has experienced great ethnic and/or religious diversities as destabilizing factors of power that have led, focusing only on the Russian and Balkan area, to processes of territorial disintegration: consider, for example, the years of the Bolshevik Revolution and the civil war (1905/1907), when the Romanov Empire ended (1917/1919), but also the dissolution of Yugoslavia starting in 1991, and in the same years the USSR, up to more recent times Chechnya (1994) and now Ukraine.
Yet, while political history seems to show the predominance of force for a supposed affirmation of national identity, on the other hand sociology (with Talcott Parsons, but not only) has affirmed that the development of the social system occurs through social differentiation, the only means to produce increases in complexity: the more complex and diverse a society is, the more resources and opportunities for growth and development it has within it.
The consequence is therefore not so much the acceptance or respect of the “different” but the valorization of dialogue, the exchange of ideas, and personal growth: through diversity one arrives at collective knowledge.
The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is an opportunity to celebrate cultural diversity and all intangible heritage—language, traditions, customs, practices, etc.—that strengthen the bonds between people and their history. Only in this way will what the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development indicates as a means of change and development be possible, namely culture and the creative potential of the diverse cultures present in humanity.
In this sense, the goal is not simply “cultural acceptance,” but rather the creation of a shared culture that arises from mutual dialogue, exchange, and encounter, from coexistence.
How to Study Practical Interventions to Support Cultural Diversity?
In the spirit of a culture of encounter and exchange, CNR-Irpps is conducting an evaluative research project that has strong practical value. This is an evaluation activity of the Roma, Sinti and Caminanti Strategy developed by the Italian Government for the years 2012-2020. This project aims to enable CNR, together with UNAR – National Office Against Racial Discrimination, to define a monitoring and evaluation model for the new Strategy planned for the years 2021-2030.
This is an important commitment, shared with the structure of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, UNAR, which is appointed by the Italian State to guarantee the right to equal treatment for all people, regardless of their ethnic or racial origin, their age, their religious beliefs, their sexual orientation, their gender identity, or the fact that they are persons with disabilities—in other words, their “diversity.” It should be noted that UNAR was established in 2003 (Legislative Decree No. 215/2003) following a Community directive (No. 2000/43/EC), which requires each Member State to activate an organization specifically dedicated to combating forms of discrimination; in particular, UNAR is responsible for monitoring causes and phenomena related to all types of discrimination, studying possible solutions, promoting a culture of respect for human rights and equal opportunities, and providing concrete assistance to victims.
CNR-Irpps supports the Government in creating a “virtuous circle” of information collection and processing, in which the integration of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti communities is a priority reference element for inclusion processes that concern not only minority populations, but that can identify an integrated and sustainable social approach in the medium to long term, with particular regard to four intervention areas (which are: education, employment, health, and housing).
Text by Marco Accorinti
For further reading:
A. R. Calabrò, Zingari, Storia di un’emergenza annunciata, Liguori edizione, Naples, 2008
T. De Mauro, Le parole e i fatti, Edizioni Riuniti, Rome, 1977
Z. Lapov, Vacaré romané? Diversità a confronto: percorsi delle identità Rom, Franco Angeli, Milan, 2004
L. Piasere, Un mondo di mondi. Antropologia delle culture Rom, L’Ancora, Naples, 1999
L. Piasere, I rom d’Europa. Una storia moderna, Laterza, Rome-Bari, 2004
E. Rodari, Rom, un popolo, diritto a esistere e deriva securitaria, Edizioni punto rosso, Milan, 2008
C. Vallini (ed.), Minoranze e lingue minoritarie, International Conference, Istituto universitario orientale, Naples, 1996
K. Wiernicki, Nomadi per forza: storia degli zingari, Rusconi, Milan, 1997.
