2006/1

Jim Mc Donnell

At the end of December 2000, the Council of Europe agreed its Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Article 1 affirmed that ‘Cultural diversity is expressed in the co-existence and exchange of culturally different practices and in the provision and consumption of culturally different services and products; Cultural diversity cannot be expressed without the conditions for free creative expression, and freedom of information existing in all forms of cultural exchange, notably with respect to audiovisual services. Article 2 made it clear that: ‘Cultural and audiovisual policies, which promote and respect cultural diversity, are a necessary complement to trade policies.’ The Declaration finished by encouraging Member States to ‘examine ways to’ sustain and promote cultural and linguistic diversity at all levels.1 The Council of Europe’s Declaration in turn paved the way for the November 2001, UNESCO Declaration on Cultural Diversity.

Alfonso Gumucio-Dagron

Seen from Latin America, the struggle for cultural diversity is as old as the invasion of the Spaniards, or even older. Before Cortés disembarked in Mexico and before Pizarro killed Atahuallpa in Peru, civilizations within the region were fighting to impose their culture on other indigenous nations. In Mesoamerica the Maya kingdoms became enemies and attacked each other and when a Maya ruler subdued another one, he would build the temples of his reign on top of the temples of the previous ruler. In the Andean sub region, the Incas expanded over the territories of earlier civilizations, such as the Aymara who lived in the high plateau pertaining now to Bolivia. They were wiser, however, since their policy was to let the Aymara live with their culture and social organisation...

WU Mei and GUO Zhenzhi

China faces the predicament of maintaining an official version of its ‘national culture’ while being confronted with globalization and diverse searches for cultural and local identities. Chinese endeavours to protect and preserve Chinese culture reveal two orientations: one is the state strategy which emphasizes creating and reinforcing an official version of ‘national Chinese culture;’ the other features the different and innovative efforts of many individuals and grassroots communities, who have taken into their own hands the mission of conserving traditional and local customs, cultures and diversity.

Ary Régis

Les porte-paroles du système mondial ne cessent de clamer que l’ère actuelle - celle des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC), puissant levier du processus de mondialisation actuel - c’est l’ère de la grande opportunité. Opportunité pour toutes les opinions d’atteindre toutes les audiences, pour tous les produits de pénétrer tous les marchés, pour toutes les cultures de s’exprimer et de s’épanouir. Car, promet-on, c’est l’ère de la libre circulation des flux de biens, de valeurs et des idées. Pourtant, si on tient compte des résultats inégaux de la libéralisation des marchés et de ceux résultant de l’instauration d’une démocratie mondiale, on est en droit de se préoccuper pour la libre expression et l’épanouissement des cultures.

Dafne Sabanes Plou

Miro con fastidio la programación de los multicines que funcionan por la zona donde vivo, en el poblado sur metropolitano que rodea a la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. No dan la película francesa que quiero ver. Debería conformarme con alguno de los filmes hollywoodenses, donde para ser héroe hay que ser policía o agente secreto y en los que sobran los efectos especiales, las explosiones, la violencia, el individualismo y la agresión al buscar soluciones a los problemas y, como no podía faltar, la bandera de las bandas y las estrellas que casualmente aparece en varias escenas...

Gregor Wolbring

Die Ausgabe 1/2006 der WACC-Zeitschrift „Media Development“ hat den Schwerpunkt „Celebrating Cultural Diversity“. Zum Hintergrund: Am 25. Oktober 2005 hat die UNESCO das „Übereinkommen zum Schutz und zur Förderung der Vielfalt kultureller Ausdrucksformen" verabschiedet. Bereits 2001 hatte die 11. Generalkonferenz der UNESCO die „Allgemeine Erklärung zur kulturellen Vielfalt“ verabschiedet. In der neuen Ausgabe von „Media Development“ werden unterschiedliche Aspekte und Fragestellungen in Zusammenhang mit der Durchsetzung des Rechts auf kulturelle Vielfalt veröffentlicht. Wir haben einen Beitrag ins Deutsche übersetzt, der sich mit den kulturellen Rechten der Menschen mit Behinderungen befasst.

Kim Yong-Bock

Languages, their interactions and interrelationships are the key to cultural diversity in North East Asia. The following article argues that this is not a matter of simply teaching language skills as tools. Language must be understood as a way of life embodying the wisdom of life. It is also a matter of how all living beings – not just human beings – live side by side.

Aliaa I. Dakroury

Was Jean d’Arcy, pioneer of the concept of the right to communicate, correct in his assumption that the wealth of humanity derives from its diversity rather than from any artificially imposed unity? Canada’s policy of multiculturalism offers a case study for the right to communicate in practice. Can the ideals of pluralism and good citizenship exist side by side?

William F. Birdsall

When Jean d’Arcy identified the need for a right to communicate (RTC) in the late 1960s, it immediately struck a chord among those attempting to link human rights with recent developments in communications technology, in particular, satellite communications (d’Arcy, 1969). However, by the early 1980s, efforts within UNESCO to formulate a RTC collapsed. Since then individuals and organizations have attempted to keep the concept alive but its acceptance has been constrained by the historical baggage of the 1970s and 80s and the underlying problem of defining such a right.

Zala Volcic and Karmen Erjavec

Unlike many other countries media education is officially part of Slovenia’s educational curriculum. What has been the impact of ten years’ work? What needs to be done in the future?