CKU/DCCD: A Cultural Dialogue in the Name of Humanity


	Ms. Grethe Rostbøll together with Japanese senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Yano. Abstract of speech given by former Danish Minister Ms. Grethe Rostbøll, Chair of the Danish Center for Culture and Development at The EU-Japan Symposium on People to People Exchanges, Tokyo, 11 November 2002.

The way people think, their preferences, their habits and their values in one country or one part of the world are increasingly influenced by the way people think, act and judge in other places of the earth. In other words, unofficial exchanges, including people-to-people exchanges, are today immensely more important for the lives of ordinary people than they were say 20 years ago.

Understanding between Japan and Europe

Given their increased importance, we should naturally ask ourselves, how we can best contribute to making these people to people exchanges as beneficial as possible for as many as possible. For me keywords in this regard are quality and inclusiveness. Quality as measured by the positive effects on the lives of people and inclusiveness as measured by how many people are actually able to take part in it.

I think that September 11 last year and later events have highlighted the importance of these concerns. In the NGO field we talk about the relations between globalisation and everyday life, and we point out that you have to »Think global, but act local«. In this discussion we emphasise that you have to increase the participation from all social groups and from people with a wide range of educational backgrounds. In the Scandinavian countries we often call it the »Bottom up« approach, meaning, that we have to accept a new challenge coming from the people in society themselves.

In the Danish Center for Culture and Development we aim to address these issues through exchanges in the cultural field with non-western countries. Not all countries in the world have been included in and felt the positive effects of Globalisation in the fields of economy, politics and trade. The World Bank has assessed that globalisation has integrated poor countries with around 3 billion people in the world economy, but at the same time there are still countries comprising 2 billion people that have not yet felt the benefits of globalisation.

A cultural dialogue in the name of humanity

This is a problem, which we try to address in the Danish Center for Culture and Development by supporting cultural activities and exchange from non-western countries. In a way we are building bridges of cultural communication and emphasise the importance of the human factor. In other words, we try to promote a strategy for global exchange and development. We also support the redefinition of cultural dialogue to the complex web of relationships and beliefs, values and motivations, which lie at the heart of culture. We fully respect the cultural diversities, but we also know that if we are going to strength the dialogue on a globally sustainable basis we must realise that we have - among other things – to imply the universal values inscribed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Those universal values we find visible and represented in many different areas, and if we talk – as we do to day – about the common values – we find them represented in art, culture, philosophy and history. Culture is the common language, and I am sure we can understand each other much better when we extend the experience and knowledge in the workshops. Nowadays many people know so much more about the global situation than before: Through travel, the internet, film, design, food and fashion we sometimes have the feeling of living in a global village.

It has become so easy and cheap to communicate your ideas and values to a – potentially – global audience. Basically, you just need a web-site. But we have to use this huge quantity in international exchanges to understand each other – not to lead to more prejudice and intolerance. It is wonderful to have a Japanese or a European identity; but it is not so great to think that you are a better human being because you come from one part of the world or another.

I think it is essential that we cultivate our ability to judge what is good and what is bad. Some would argue that this is not possible, as there are as many truths as there are persons in the world. My answer would be, that there are truths that we should all agree upon and promote, such as the importance of cultural diversity and the dignity of man as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.