Hello, dear readers! Now, you might’ve seen the title of this chapter and thought: well, what in Merlin’s sake is that?

On the 21st of May, every year, this celebration is observed. It’s unusual, and yet incredibly important. It celebrates not only the richness of all the different cultures but also takes part in developing intercultural dialogue for a sustainable and outstanding achievement. And that’s why this observation’s whole name is “World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development." On this day, we celebrate every culture and try to bond with people from all cultures.

For example, an Indian girl and a French girl might talk about the differences and similarities in their cultures. They can teach each other common words in their languages. Or we can gather our friends and play a game of trivia where the topic is different cultures—see how much you know and what you can learn! 

So, how did it all begin? 

Here’s the answer: before 2022, the creative and cultural sector still hadn’t gained the place it deserved. Naturally, many people wanted to change that! So, in September 2022, people appealed for the freedom of any kind of art, the passing on of their ancestors' intelligence and knowledge, and the protection of the local communities and their rights.

And, on the historical day, the MONDIACULT 2022 adopted the Declaration for Culture, which answers all the requests above. It states that culture should be “a global public good” and confirms its integration as “a specific goal in its own right." Hey, which little artist won’t love that?

Cultural diversity is really important. At Hogwarts, students come from all over the world—Australia, China, the UAE, Brazil, the UK, and way more! Some other ways of celebrating cultural diversity all year-round are listening to music from other countries, watching movies from different countries with subtitles in your mother tongue, visiting a museum about other cultures, etc. Our world is shaped by so many different cultures and places that are wonderful in many ways.

Now, coming up, is the next question! Why does this day matter? Well, because the cultures of different places are quite different from each other, there will apparently be conflicts, misunderstandings, and gaps between the cultures, and building bridges across them is urgent and necessary for the peaceful development of them all. Not just that, it also brought us a more spiritual, moral, and emotional life. Thus, it made sure—quite sure—that we respected and briefly understood different cultures and civilizations. Because of that, the main cause of fighting is somehow suppressed a bit.

So, that is all we have to share with you about the World Day of Cultural Diversity. We hope you learned more about this wonderful day. Now, make sure you show respect to cultures from other nations. Happy World Day for Cultural Diversity!

Written by Sara Rowan and Lily

Edited by Sienna Lockwood

Proofread by Ellie Potter