Cultural diversity: Embracing the difference

21st May is the World Day for Cultural Diversity. The United Nations established this day to enhance our understanding and acceptance of different cultures. Besides the cultural differences that exist between people, there are also variations in the way societies organise themselves, and in their shared conception of morality. Bridging the gap between cultures for peace and development will be vital for the long-term survival of humanity. Unesco in its Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity asserted - cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind, as biodiversity is for nature
Curated By: Madhu Kapparath
Published: May 21, 2018
Cultural diversity: Embracing the difference

Image by : Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters

8/8
  • Cultural diversity: Embracing the difference
  • Cultural diversity: Embracing the difference
  • Cultural diversity: Embracing the difference
  • Cultural diversity: Embracing the difference
  • Cultural diversity: Embracing the difference
  • Cultural diversity: Embracing the difference
  • Cultural diversity: Embracing the difference
  • Cultural diversity: Embracing the difference
For a real multicultural difference, head to the annual Voodoo festival at Ouidah, a small town and former slave port in the West African country of Benin. It commemorates the estimated 60 million people who lost their homelands and their freedom during the African slave trade. The central belief of voodoo is that everything is spirit, including humans. Devotees offer dances to the spirits and animal sacrifices at shrines, use fetishes and enter trance states with an energy and devotion that may unsettle some. The African countries around Benin rank high on any diversity index because of their multitude of tribal groups and languages.