Biodiversity includes a number of different plants and animals that live around the globe and cultural diversity is the variety of ways people live out their lives. Both are connected to the different aspects of life that populate the earth. Unfortunately biodiversity and cultural diversity are declining. With the declination of biodiversity comes the weakening of cultural diversity. The decrease in natural products and their variety play a big role in the world’s ecosystem functioning and stability. Without a stable ecosystem, many areas of the world will have to move from their “home land” and settle in an area where the ecosystem does not affect their ability to live. But with these moves to a more stable ecosystem, people discard their own unique way of life and over time convert to the lifestyle they were forced into, because of their unstable ecosystem. And ultimately losing a piece of the world’s diverse culture. Countries around the world should be getting their government involved in the protection of their country’s cultural diversity. Through legislation and funding, governments should work with their people to preserve the diversity in their country and keep it from declining. It is important that the government take pride in their different cultures and keep them from slowing progressing out of existence.
There are a number of ways a countries government could get involved with preserving the cultural diversity in their country. For example, Australia produced a program on January 28th, 2009 called The Diverse Australia Program. This program provides funding, educational resources and information to help organizations and communities promote diversity in their country. This program encourages the importance of all Australians respecting one another regardless of cultural, racial or religious differences, the fair treatment of all Australians (encouraging people to recognize that our interactions should be accepting of, and responsive to, each other’s backgrounds, circumstances, needs and preferences), opportunities for people to participate equitably in Australian society and to understand the rights and responsibilities that we share as part of that society, a sense of belonging for everyone by helping communities work towards a spirit of inclusiveness, also a shared identity as Australians, and the benefits of living in a multicultural society. (Australia’s Culture and Linguistic Diversity, Australian Bureau of Statistics) If all governments around the world were able to create a program similar to that of Australia’s, the world’s cultural diversity would not have such a large decline. It should not be a goal to have all peoples thinking, behaving, and believing in the same ideas and issues. Rather it should be a goal to have no culture lost, to make the world a place that is accepting of all cultures and all people groups. With the loss of cultural diversity, our intelligence and uniqueness can be lost too. The government should not be involved in the preservation of cultural diversity. The decline in cultural diversity is an issue that must be resolved by the peoples. The government has no say in the way we treat one another and how that relates to cultural diversity. The government functions to maintain the stability and the well-being of a country’s economy. It does not need to involve itself in the protection of cultural diversity. Yet, the result of the government associating itself in the issue of cultural diversity has great effect on a country and its ability to maintain the diversity in the peoples. The government has great influence on the people it is governing and when the government addresses a problem that their country is facing, most people listen and react. This is why governments need to be concerned and implicate a program that supports the diversity in different cultures. Much like Australia, the government must emphasize the importance of respecting one another regardless of a peoples group religion, backgrounds, and racial differences for a more open and accepting world.
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In Iceland, economic globalization has been seen as a hindrance to the country. There was an incident in 2002 with the Icelandic banking system that ruined the citizen’s view on globalization. What happened was that Iceland began to free its banks from state ownership. The three banks that made up Iceland and its banking system grew quickly on easy credit. Icelandic banks began borrowing and lending money on their own and wooing savers across Europe with a good interest savings account. Deposits poured in from Britain when the word got out. But when the global credit markets closed up the Icelandic banks were unable to finance their depts., many of which were denominated in foreign countries. When depositors rushed to get their money out, the Icelandic banking system had too little reserves to cover withdrawals, so all three banks melted down and were nationalized. In this way globalization is good because it was this democratization of finance that helped to power the global growth that lifted so many in India, China and Brazil out of poverty in recent decades. But globalization is bad because it was the same democratization of finance that enabled some mortgage broker in Los Angeles gives subprime “liar loans” to people who have no credit ratings so they can buy homes in Southern California. Those flimsy mortgages get globalized through the global banking system and, when they go sour, they eventually prompt banks to stop lending, fearful that every other bank’s assets are toxic, too. The credit crunch hits Iceland, which went on its own binge. (The Great Iceland Meltdown, Thomas L. Friedman)
I just added a report on the status of education in Iceland on my Political and Economics page. Please read it and post your thoughts in a comment! (:
When looking throughout history one can see big changes in the role of men and women in the world. In the past 65 years there have been a lot of controversy on the subject and transformation. In doing research about Iceland and its history on the topic, Iceland has become a very gender equalities country. The Norse society in early settlement of Iceland was male dominated. And as we take a deeper look into Iceland and how the role of men and women has changed, we can see huge differences. In the Norse civilization it was very unlikely that a man would weave cloth and that a woman would participate in a Viking raid. Although they clearly participated in journeys of exploration and settlement, to places such as Iceland and Vínland; women did not participate in trading or raiding parties. Women's responsibilities were clearly defined to be domestic. Members of either sex who crossed the gender line were, at very least, ostracized by society. Even though women had very domesticated duties in Iceland’s Norse societies, women were respected and had great freedom. Especially when compared to other European societies of that era. The woman managed the finances of the family and ran the farm in their husband's absence. In widowhood, they could be rich and important landowners. (The Role of Women in Viking Society, Hurstwic) This respect of women and the freedom that they had increased over time. Now Iceland is considered one of the most gender quality counties of the world. Iceland approved equal inheritance rights for men and women in 1850. And also in 1850 women gained the same inheritance rights as men; until then daughters only had the right to one third of the inheritance. (Why is Iceland the World’s Global Leader in Gender Equality, Women in Parliaments) In 1922, the first woman was elected to the Icelandic Parliament. The equality continues when the world wide “Red Stocking” movement, which raised awareness on various gender equality issues, was instituted in 1970; that same year the first female Cabinet Minister was elected. For the fifth year in a row, Iceland had held the narrowest gender gap in the world. Men and women have close to the same roles in their society. The have made improvements in economic participation and opportunity, and also in political empowerment. Iceland’s goal is that all individuals should have equal opportunities to benefit from their own originality and to advance their abilities, regardless of gender. Citations Short, W. (1999). Hurstwic: The Role of Women in Viking Society. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/society/text/women.htm WHY IS ICELAND THE WORLD'S GLOBAL LEADER IN GENDER EQUALITY? (2014, March 27). Retrieved February 25, 2015, from http://www.womens-forum.com/stories/why-is-iceland-the-world-s-global-leader-in-gender-equality/131 Zahidi, S. (2013, October 24). Top 10 most gender equal countries in the world. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from https://agenda.weforum.org/2013/10/top-10-most-gender-equal-countries-in-the-world/ Gender Equality. (2009). Retrieved February 25, 2015, from http://eng.velferdarraduneyti.is/departments/gender-equality/ |
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April 2015
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