children will become adults who will accept and affirm differences, identify unfair situations, and strive to eliminate discrimination of any sort...!

Cultural Diversity: a precious asset, not a liability
Lionel Wijesiri

Delivering the Bakeer Marker Memorial oration a few days ago, on the theme "Challenges in strengthening Sri Lankan identity," Dr Dayan Jayatilleka, former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to United Nations in Geneva, said although some people consider diversity as a danger, that is not so; it is a rich resource which provides opportunity.

"It is just like having more colours for painting. Sri Lanka is a country which has both biological diversity and cultural diversity. Countries like USA and Singapore have used the advantages of diversity. Many of our ultra nationalists say we are Asians. But are we willing to follow the examples of Asia? 80% of the Indian population is Hindu but their president is a Muslim, Prime minister is a Sikh and the party leader is a woman with Italian origin," he commented.

Dr. Jayatilleka's comments make real sense. Truly, Sri Lanka is a land of great cultural diversity. Religion pervades many aspects of life and constitutes a basic element of this diversity. Buddhist and Hindu temples, as well as mosques and churches, with their own colourful rituals, are the most readily visible features of the cultural landscape. Varying degrees of colonial impact and modernizing influences add other shades to this cultural mosaic.


Future resources

However, as Dr. Jayatilleka says, many people (perhaps through ignorance) remain opposed to the idea of multiculturalism, or cultural diversity awareness. On the other hand, the others who support it do not have a clear idea how it should be passed over to the next generation.

Primary Education
Racial and cultural diversity is an excellent topic to teach primary-school age children. During their young ages, the primary-school children are forming opinions about themselves and the people around them. This is when their natural curiosity about differences in appearance and cultural backgrounds really come into play.

Louise Derman-Sparks, a long-time human development professional in USA says that children develop their identity and attitudes through experiences with their bodies, social environments, and their cognitive developmental stages. As these three factors interact, young children progress through certain stages of racial and cultural awareness.

According to her, the children of preschool-years (ages 3 and 4) are better at noticing differences among people. They have learned to classify, and they tend to sort based on colour and size.

They can't yet deal with multiple classifications, so they get confused about the names of racial groups and the actual colour of their skin. They wonder why two people with different skin tones are considered part of the same group. Many preschool children will comment - in words or through actions - on hair texture, eye shape, and other physical characteristics. They want to know how people got their colour, hair texture, and eye shape.

At this age, children's thinking is limited, distorted, and inconsistent. For these reasons, it is easy for them to believe stereotypes and form pre-prejudices. In her book "Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children" Louise Derman-Sparks states, "Our goals should be to facilitate children's awareness that their racial identity does not change, to help them understand that they are part of a large group with similar characteristics (not "different" from everyone else) and to foster their desire to be exactly who they are".

According to most child psychologists, after age 9, racial attitudes tend to stay the same unless the child has a life-changing experience. Before that, however, we have a good chance to help children develop positive feelings about their racial and cultural identity. We can also challenge the immature thinking that is typical of very young children.

That's important because this type of thinking can lead to prejudice.

Children who are primary-school age are developmentally able to put cultural and racial differences into perspective. They can either learn to appreciate - or devalue - traits that make others different from themselves. In other words, it's prime time for parents, teachers and other adults in their lives to shape their attitudes about race and cultural diversity.

Adult Attitude
Jean Piaget, Harvard scholar who was Swiss psychologist, well known for his theory of cognitive development has some valuable advice to offer to adults to keep in mind as they talk to children about the value of differences.

He gives two pieces of advice. "First, take a look at your own attitude. If you are uneasy or uncomfortable around people of different backgrounds, your child will pick up on it. Consider the way you talk about people.

Do you describe someone by their race rather than other characteristics first? What messages are you sending for your child to pick up?"

"Secondly, see the broader value of teaching acceptance. Learning to appreciate all kinds of differences - not just racial and cultural but differences in socio-economic levels, gender, and even disabilities - is an important skill in today's diverse society. A child who is taught to devalue others based upon differences will face a tough and lonely road ahead."

These two pieces are of valuable advice to our parents, too.

Collective programing
Today, our schools and neighbourhoods tend to be more diverse, giving kids a chance to interact with children from other cultures and backgrounds. There's no doubt that we still have a long way to go, but let us always remember that it's great to be a Sri Lankan. And as Sri Lankans, we should be proud of the fact that celebration of differences is what makes our country so special and great.

Let us also not forget that many different ethnic and cultural groups have contributed to the social, economic and cultural values of our society. This has been true throughout our history, even though many of our school books have not always taught that fact. The bottom line is that when we fully recognize that fact, we as a people will be even more united in our common goals, and even more proud to be Sri Lankan citizens.

For the adults, a good place to start is with understanding the true meaning of "cultural diversity". Everyone has a culture. Referred to as "collective programing", it is the combination of customs, traditions, symbols, values, phrases and other forms of communication by which we belong to a community. We are born into a specific culture.

Then we are programmed to think and behave within it. No matter where you later move to, the culture into which you are born and raised will have a life-long influence on your values.

Our cultural induction literally starts at birth. For example, when we compare Eastern and Western cultures, there is the question of how close the infant stays to its parents. In Europe, many babies sleep in separate rooms from their earliest days, whereas in Sri Lanka they remain in close proximity to their parents for many years.

Childcare and the question of working parents mark another distinction. It's not an issue in many Asian cultures, including Sri Lanka, where mothers are automatically the main care-providers and also work, so the baby is cared for by the extended family. But work and childcare are perceived as totally separate in Western cultures. There is a movement towards recognising the unpaid work of women in the home and a higher incidence of men electing to stay at home.

The above two examples illustrate how, from earliest days, our environment defines who we are and instils in us our core beliefs. If you move country, you will probably see changes in yourself as you adjust to your new environment - these will be even more evident when you return to your original homeland.

So, if we want to have a peaceful future, let us help our children develop a positive self-concept and feel proud of whom they are but not to feel better than other groups. If this positive sense of self is allowed to flourish, today's children will become adults who will accept and affirm differences, identify unfair situations, and strive to eliminate discrimination of any sort.


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