Thursday, 22 October 2009
Acknowledging cultural diversity is essential for Australia’s future
Race Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes, today urged the Australian Government to note the recommendations about cultural diversity contained in UNESCO’s World Report entitled Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue, launched this week in Paris.
“As Australians age and the global patterns of population growth shift, our demographic future will inevitably be more racially, culturally and religiously diverse,” said Commissioner Innes. “So I encourage the Government to consider the recommendations of the World Report - in particular, recommendation 8, which states that universally recognised human rights should be protected by policies which promote cultural diversity.”
Commissioner Innes said that this recommendation adds significance to the work the Australian Multicultural Advisory Council has done in defining a multicultural policy for Australia.
“Recognising the importance of culture and the right to cultural liberty is now, more than ever, critically important in Australian society,” said Commissioner Innes.
Commissioner Innes said that the statistics which show that the majority of our population growth comes from net overseas migration are compelling.
“Because Australia is increasingly culturally diverse and we are increasingly technologically, economically and culturally integrated with the rest of the world, we need policies that seek to preserve and promote cultural diversity – because, as this report says, such policies contribute to social cohesion and guarantee of human rights to us all,” Commissioner Innes said.
UNESCO’s latest World Report is a comprehensive analysis of challenges that all nations face in managing cultural diversity and reflects the most up to date understanding of the connections between culture, sustainability and human rights.
A copy of the Executive Summary of the report and the full report is available on the UNESCO website: www.unesco.org/tools/fileretrieve/115598f4.pdf
For the complete text, visit: www.unesco.org/tools/fileretrieve/1238a682.pdf
Media contact: Brinsley Marlay 02 9284 9656 or 0430 366 529
