What is the one thing you would do for diversity?

May 9, 2012 | Diversity in Leadership

By Maytree Communications staff

Update! This video is our contribution, made up of Maytree staff answering the question: Why do diversity and inclusion matter to you? We hope you like it.

do one thing for diversity Have you heard? May 21 is a special day for diversity – it’s World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

We’ve joined the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), its partner UNESCO and many other corporations and nonprofit organizations in a global campaign to “Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion.” Through this campaign we want to engage as many people as possible around the world to Do One Thing to support cultural diversity and inclusion.

Join us in the campaign

We want you to join this global campaign and think about why diversity matters to you.

But don’t stop there. Tell us, tell the United Nations. Add your voice to a global collection of voices celebrating diversity and inclusion.

In fact, they’d love it if you added a short video about why diversity is important to you on their Facebook page.

You’ve probably got a smart phone. Create a quick video, upload it to YouTube, share it on their site. We’ll be making a video soon. Join us!

Need to be inspired? What better place to start than with this video of David Barrow, the Mayor of the Town of Richmond Hill. Not only does he talk about the importance of diversity (the Town of Richmond Hill is one of the most diverse municipalities in Canada), he gives some interesting examples of what they’ve done to ensure that the community’s voice continues to be heard loud and clear.

Ten more ideas to celebrate diversity

If you’re not sure what else you can do, here are ten simple ideas to celebrate the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development on May 21, 2012.

Visit an art exhibit or a museum dedicated to other cultures.
Invite a family or people in the neighborhood from another culture or religion to share a meal with you and exchange views on life.
Rent a movie or read a book from another country or religion than your own.
Invite people from a different culture to share your customs
Read about the great thinkers of other cultures than yours (e.g. Confucius, Socrates, Avicenna, Ibn Khaldun, Aristotle, Ganesh, Rumi)
Go next week-end to visit a place of worship different than yours and participate in the celebration.
Play the “stereotypes game.” Stick a post-it on your forehead with the name of a country. Ask people to tell you stereotypes associated with people from that country. You win if you find out where you are from.
Learn about traditional celebrations from other cultures; learn more about Hanukkah or Ramadan or about amazing celebrations of New Year’s Eve in Spain or Qingming festival in China.
Spread your own culture around the world through our Facebook page and learn about other cultures
Explore music of a different culture

There are thousands of things that you can do. So, will you join us and take part in celebrating diversity and inclusion?