The global report outlines a new vision of cultural diversity centered in the dynamic nature and the need to combat the spread of cultural illiteracy, driven by the acceleration of social change.
The industries of media and information and culture more than 7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provide income totaling approximately $ 1.3 billion, ie twice the revenue generated by international tourism, which amounted to approximately 680,000 million dollars.
Now, in countries such as Africa’s participation in the global market culture is still very marginal, less than 1% of exports. The report stresses that to improve this situation is urgent to invest in cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue.
“Culture is the most overlooked of the Millennium Development Goals,” lamented the director general of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, adding “in a world like today, subject to all sorts of cultural changes, it is urgent to accompany changes and ensure they do not generate more vulnerability for those who are badly prepared to tackle them. ”
Exports of cultural and media products in developing countries increased sharply in the period 1996-2005, from 51,000 to 274,000 million dollars. The craft sector and tourism in Morocco, for example, represent over 25% of GDP.
Recommendations of the report obtained
The report makes ten recommendations on how to invest in cultural diversity. The text states that “cultural diversity is not only related to the protection of endangered heritage or the search for an antidote to ‘isolationism’, but also a means to reduce the imbalances in global trade creation “.
The text proposes, among other things, the creation of “a Global Observatory for the impact of globalization on cultural diversity, the establishment of” a national mechanism for monitoring public policy issues related cultural diversity “and application of “national language policies to safeguard linguistic diversity and promotion of multilingualism at a time.”
It is estimated that the world today speak between 6,000 and 8,000 languages, half of the surveyed languages are spoken language communities with fewer than 10,000 people.
It also proposes the adoption of new strategies to promote intercultural dialogue, improve the relevance of educational content, counter the spread of stereotypes in the media and information and facilitate the exchange of artistic production and circulation of artists .
The report is aimed at academia and the general public and aims to become a benchmark in the field of cultural diversity.
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