World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development – 21 May
Please join our survey!
We use the term “culture” to mean different things. Sometimes we are referring to language, literature, food, religion, customs and other tangible aspects of human endeavour that we can perceive and recognise, but at other times, we may use it to refer to deeper and more profound aspects of our own personality and identity. Regardless of how difficult we may find it to define ourselves or our culture, we can usually quickly perceive and recognise something that is unknown or unfamiliar to us.
What happens when people perceive an unknown or an unfamiliar culture is crucial. Indeed, the UN notes that three-quarters of the world’s major conflicts have a cultural dimension and therefore recognises that “bridging the gap between cultures is urgent and necessary for peace, stability and development.” Since 2002, every year, on 21 May, it has celebrated the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, to accept, recognise and raise awareness about cultural diversity.
At IP & ME, celebrating cultural diversity and inclusivity in the IP professions is a key pillar of our mission statement. This year, we invite you to participate in a short, anonymous survey to understand what “culture” means to you. And since the World Day for Cultural Diversity also falls within Mental Health Awareness Week (this year’s theme is “Kindness”), we’ve also added a question about kindness and people in other cultures.
There are just four short questions in the survey, which should take no more than 3-5 minutes of your time. We hope that the results will help showcase and celebrate how diverse we all truly are.
To start the survey, click here. Please let us have your responses by Wednesday 20 May 2020.
Thank you for participating!
The IP & ME team