On May 21st, 2021, the webinar “Peace and Development: Why Diversity matters” was organized by Connecters for Peace on the occasion of World Day for cultural diversity for Dialogue and Development, which brought expert representatives of UNESCO, Government, University, NGO, and private sector together to contribute to the discussion on culture and diversity, and to shareunderstanding. Professor Zhang Yanqiu, the Vice Dean of the Institute for a Community with Shared Future of Communication University of China was invited and gave keynote speech.
Invited Guest Speakers in the webinar
The webinar was held at 4:00 PM Beijing Time through Zoom, which includes three main sessions: Key Note Speech, interactive discussion, and Q&A.
The session was moderated by Mr. Jean Christophe Bas, CEO and founder of Connectors for Peace, who stated that Diversity had become a central issue in most societies worldwidely. This webinar provided an excellent opportunity for experts and scholars from various fields to share their ideas of the importance of Diversity and how they contribute.
Moderator: Mr. Jean Christophe Bas
The webinar was commenced with the opening remarks by Mr. Toussaint Tiendrebeogo, UNESCO representative, Chief of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions Entity, and Secretary of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. He explained that cultural diversity was important as it created bridges among people to connect.
Mr. Toussaint Tiendrebeogo also mentioned that cultural diversity was particularly relevant during the pandemic. It would become one of the most powerful tools to promote society’s peace and development.
Mr. Toussaint Tiendrebeogo
Mr. Anar Karimov, Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan, Chairman task force of Baku Process, discussed Diversity was the prerequisite for sustainable development of the future. He provided the example of religions to show cultural diversity, and mutual respect of different cultures and religions would create stability. He added that legislation was fundamental to foster respect for diversity.
Mr. Anar Karimov
ProfessorZhang Yanqiu, the Vice Dean of the Institute for a Community with Shared Future, also the Director of Africa Communication Research Center of Communication University of China, emphasized that media played a central role in cultural diversity and communication. She mentioned that constructive journalism might be a new paradigm in the field of global and domestic communication approaches for peace journalism and development communication. The media report in a way that empowers the people, and information can be used constructively while remaining accurate and critical where necessary.
Professor Zhang Yanqiu
Mr. Peter Mousaferiadis, Founder of Cultural Infusion and Diversity Atlas, stated that cultural diversity was the key to build social cohesion. He brought the idea that diversity of ideas would encourage innovation and creation. And the cultural dimension was based on robust understanding.
Mr. Peter Mousaferiadis
Mr. Michael Shumann, CEO of the Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade, suggested that diversity was what united people as a whole. He reflected that today’s event provided an essential framework for explaining Why Diversity Matters from different perspectives.
Mr. Michael Shumann
During the Q&A session, Zhang Yanqiu Professor discussed the meaning of constructive journalism and the importance of understanding different cultures and media diversity. She provided an example of how Chinese media was misunderstood and called on people to be more open-minded to learn from other cultures.
The successfully held of this webinar gathered more than 150 participants from more than 30 countries around the world. This global conversation provided insightful views for people to understand Diversity.The moderator, Mr. Jean Christophe Bas, concluded that building inclusive societies where everyone counts and feels recognized with no discrimination was indispensable for peace and development.
Report: Liang Kairui & Li Zhe