Paris Terrorist Attacks: Who Is to Blame?

     

  

   We all know what happened last night in Paris, and we are all under shock. Less than a year later, what happened at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters proved itself to be just an introduction to a violent episode of a much larger scale, with a much bigger number of victims. I couldn't help but remember episodes such as September 11th 2001 in New York, the train bombings of Madrid in 2004, or the underground bombings in London in 2005. And it makes me wonder... why are some countries more exposed, or more targetted than others? 

     Amongst several comments, I read somewhere something along the lines of: "So, you wanted integration of immigrants? There you go, now have it!" Which, taken as a concept in itself, I deem totally unfair. We live in a globalized world, whether we like it or not. People move to different countries from their country of birth on a daily basis and in all directions. Multicultural environments are becoming more and more the norm, rather than exceptions. Heck, I've been an immigrant myself, and I met many other very peaceful immigrants. 

     Are certain religions causing more evil than others? Well, given the fact that many mass murders took place on non-religious bases, I wouldn't bet all my money on it.  However, it is religious fanatism that is harmful. Yes, muslims stand out more than other religions, especially because of the past episodes of terrorism which I mentioned before, be they claimed by Al-Qaeda or ISIS. However, I also have many muslim friends and aquaintances whose moral quality cannot be denied. 

      What should be done, in your opinion? A more strict control of immigrant inflows, possibly over an extended time frame? Undercover control of immigrant communities? How should we separate the good from the evil, in order to protect our own countries, but also to make sure nobody gets unfairly labelled or discriminated? 

       One of those posts which has more questions than answers. But I do need your opinions. May the victims of this attack rest in peace, as well as the victims of other similar episodes of violence around the world, and let's just take some time to reflect on what could be done in order for these things not to happen again. 

     

Traditional Culture vs. Modern Culture: Which One Do You Mostly Identify with?

        

      

        I love the fact that my city is having an increasing openness to other cultures, and especially now, as summer has arrived, a broad range of events from various countries are available to the wide public. Every year I attend the Night of the Cultural Institutes, when several European countries put their cultural heritage and their creativity into play, by organizing representative cultural events throughout the entire evening. 

           

      Last year we spoke about the challenges of making such an event attractive, and this year there was something else which caught my attention. Each of these institutes is doing their best in order to offer variety. However, for each segment of the public, some of these diverse events will be undoubtedly more interesting than others. Something that I notice is the fact that in many cases traditional culture (handmade artefacts, flokloric music and dance performances, traditional cuisine) is presented alternatively with modern culture (graphic design, animation, alternative music, modern cinema). The former represent a very "colourful" part of a nation's culture, the point of curiosity for most foreigners, but may not be seen as representative of everyday life, just like people don't normally dress in traditional costumes. On the other hand, the latter would only be addressed to a niche audience, and perhaps not everyone would enjoy it. 

           

         Tradition represents the basic part of any culture, and if we're interested in learning about other countries, that is where we should start from. Besides, that could even be combined with something useful in everyday life, such as trying some beginner language workshops, or learning to cook some national dishes. And afterwards, one could move to bigger "missions", traditional or modern, depending on personal taste and interests. Last night, my attention was mainly caught by Turkish and Hungarian art, Austrian and British sweets, but also contemporary theatre performances at the French and Hungarian institutes. Other than that, there have been many more manifestations to choose from.

         

        The final point is that all cultures offer a mix of old and new, and most surely everyone would find something interesting for themselves. But none of these parts should be neglected. If you were to organize such an event dedicated to the culture of your own country, region, or city, what would you do? Which part of your culture do you feel is most representative, and worth identifying with?

World Day for Cultural Diversity: what Does It Mean for Us?

       

   Today we celebrate the World Day for Cultural Diversity. "Cultural diversity" is a term which has become a part of our daily lives only during the past decade or two, although some countries started facing it a longer time ago. Although it is celebrated one day a year, I cannot help but wonder: isn't this social phenomenon actually becoming the norm, rather than a peculiarity?

        Having lived in and visited various European countries, I dare say that "monocultural" societies have disappeared almost completely. If in the past the most common aspect of cultural diversity countries had to show for was the existence of ethnic minorities and regional differences, now everything is increasing with every single year. There are countries with a longer tradition, such as the United Kingdom, where cultural diversity has started to become an issue since the first part of the 20th century, thanks to the populations of the former colonies, such as India, Hong Kong, or the Carribbean, who have emigrated to the UK, gradually creating what is now known as one of the most multicultural societies in Europe, and where each of these cultures have made room for their own identities and traditions, mixing with the local ones into a colourful mosaic. 

          On the other hand, there are countries like Romania, or the other former communist countries, which have started to experience cultural diversity on their own territory only in the recent years. Until recently, Romania was a rather monocultural country, with the exceptions of ethnic minorities in various regions of the country: Hungarian, German, Serbian, Turkish, and others. Lately, though, our country has started to stir the interest of foreigners from several parts of the world - merchants, investors, cultural operators, high-skilled workers. Furthermore, I noticed an increasing curiosity of the Romanian population towards "otherness" and the cultural practices of different countries. Several countries have their own cultural institutes organizing events and language courses, the center of Bucharest is full of restaurants and bars with international specific, there is a Chinese community with their own shopping center in a populated area of the city, Indian and South-American artefacts shops, and so much more. Not to mention the cities which took part in European programmes meant to promote cultural diversity, such as Sibiu (European Capital of Culture 2007) and Cluj-Napoca (European Youth Capital 2015). We may not be a very culturally-diverse society, compared to other countries, but we are definitely on the right track. 

      What should cultural diversity mean to each one of us? Acceptance, tollerance, curiosity, knowledge, exchange. No nation will live its future in a crystal ball, and cultural interaction will become more and more evident in the future, either because we get to travel more often than in the past, either because this cultural diversity will start happening around us, maybe even in our own neighbourhoods. The key to making it an enjoyable experience is to be open to learn about the other, but also to share about ourselves. Let's embrace cultural diversity - today and every day! 

             

"The World Is My Country": the Modern-Day Life Slogan?

     

  "Globalization" is a term that we've been hearing over and over again for the past couple of decades. People are now able to have and experience things that our grandparents, or even our parents in some countries didn't even dream about in their youth. Free circulation of people and goods, consumption of international media and popular cultures, or the ability to travel accross the world are only some of the consequences of globalization. 

      Today I'm going to focus on the last one: the freedom and ability to travel, not only as a tourist, but also for study or work purposes. Some people choose to do that for the sake of an interesting life experience, whereas others do so when forced by circumstances, such as a lack of professional opportunities in their countries of birth. Moreover, it is not even a case of East vs. West anymore, as the economy and quality of life in various countries of the world look increasingly like rollercoasters moving up and down, and the dynamics changing constantly. Plus, means of transportation are becoming increasingly varied and accessible, so that moving around is not even that big deal anymore, in terms of time and money (apart from some exceptions).

     Me and my family have also been moving around a lot, and saw my friends and aquaintances from all over the world do the same, and still doing it.  There are two sides of the coin: we can say that the world is full of opportunities, but we can also say that stability does not exist anymore. Will we ever find it? Will we ever "settle down" somewhere? Perhaps we will, but who knows where and when? Do we have a clear idea of where we want to be in a few years, geographically speaking? I don't, and I'm sure that many of you also don't. Maybe there are huge differences between what we would like and what is feasible or practical. Maybe we worry that we may or may not fit in with our adoptive society. Maybe we believe that if we leave and return after a certain period of time, we will not find things as we left them, and therefore we will have problems re-adjusting to our original environment. 

     But do we need to worry or simply go with the flow and embrace this new contemporary reality? What if the old spontaneous meeting for a coffee in town with friends will eventually turn into arrangements made in advance with that far-away friend who will only be in your city for a few days or weeks? What if our small group of friends will become a huge network of people spread all over the world, who circularly move around and separate and reunite accordingly? What if we start thinking from a micro-universe to a macro-universe? What if the world will become such a big mix of cultures, that we'd be able to fit in virtually anywhere? What if the world really becomes our country? 

(photo: www.bigstock.com)

What Makes a City (Culturally) Global?

                                                                 

  Recently, I had the occasion to read about the topic of global cities. However, the characteristics used to define such cities are numerous and complex. Generally speaking, most definitions revolve around global economy, international financial services and stock exchange, global media broadcasters,  public services and infrastructure. 

     

   But what about the cultural point of view? What makes a city culturally global, and what gives it a cosmopolitan, multicultural atmosphere? Some cities have been culturally global for decades, some others are just emerging as such, whereas others are completely closed to any kind of globalization and multiculturalism. According to the Touristmaker website (www.touristmaker.com), the top 10 multicultural cities of the world are:

1. New York

2. London

3. Toronto

4. Sydney

5. San Francisco

6. Los Angeles

7. Miami

8. Amsterdam

9. Paris

10. Dubai

   

   Speaking from personal experience whilst visiting some of these cities, and also from my own fulfilled and unfulfilled expectations whilst travelling in general, there are several factors defining the global culture in a city:

- the presence of a high number of foreign residents, of various nationalities and social statuses;

- an infrastructure and public services that are internationally-friendly, making it easy for a foreigner to find his/her way around the city and have access especially to medical and legal services;

- well-defined immigration policies and legislation;

- if the national language of the specific country is not of international circulation, the general ability of the native population to speak English would be ideal (I was pleasantly surprised in Amsterdam, where even the bus driver was fluent in English).

- internationally-recognized universities, and a high number of  foreign students and courses taught (at least) in English;

- the presence of a high number of international cultural institutions;

- availability of a wide range of products originating from other countries (brands, cuisine, fashion, etc.)

- friendly and helpful attitude of the native population towards the foreigners;

-ability and willingness to host international cultural manifestations;

- if you want a proper taste of that country's traditional culture, that particular city may not be the place that reflects it, because there is a bit of the entire world in it.

 I would say these are the most important needs that a city should fulfill in order to be considered global, or multicultural. Is your city fulfilling these criteria, or at least evolving in this direction? Do you think this global approach would be detrimental to the local or national culture?