Why cultural diversity matters | Michael Gavin | TEDxCSU

00:17:53
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48RoRi0ddRU

Summary

TLDRThe speaker emphasizes the critical importance of cultural diversity and the alarming loss of indigenous languages, illustrated through the story of David from Vanuatu. He raises three essential questions regarding the significance of cultural diversity, the reasons behind its decline, and potential solutions. The discussion highlights the imbalance of power in society that contributes to cultural loss and advocates for educational reforms that incorporate indigenous knowledge. By valuing and preserving cultural diversity, humanity can better prepare for future challenges and ensure a richer, more diverse world for future generations.

Takeaways

  • 🌍 Cultural diversity is vital for humanity's survival.
  • 📉 Many indigenous languages are at risk of extinction.
  • 🤝 Respecting indigenous rights is crucial.
  • 📚 Education should include indigenous knowledge.
  • ⚖️ Power imbalances threaten cultural diversity.
  • 🌱 Communities can take action to preserve their culture.
  • 💡 Diverse worldviews enhance problem-solving.
  • 👶 Future generations deserve a rich cultural heritage.
  • 🌊 David's story exemplifies cultural loss.
  • 🔍 We must act now to protect cultural diversity.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The speaker reflects on the theme 'No Better, Do Better' in the context of the complex challenges facing humanity today, emphasizing the need for diverse knowledge to address these 'wicked problems.' They share a poignant story about David, an elderly man from Vanuatu, who represents the loss of cultural diversity as he is one of the last speakers of an indigenous language. The speaker highlights the alarming rate at which languages are disappearing and poses three critical questions about the implications of this loss, its causes, and potential solutions.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The speaker discusses the importance of cultural diversity beyond just languages, illustrating how unique worldviews shape knowledge and understanding. They argue that the loss of cultural diversity is not just a matter of rights for indigenous peoples but also a loss for humanity as a whole. Using the example of malaria treatment derived from indigenous knowledge, they emphasize the value of diverse cultural perspectives in addressing global challenges. The speaker then explores the reasons behind the decline of cultural diversity, pointing to the imbalance of power in society that favors a few dominant cultural groups.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:17:53

    To combat the loss of cultural diversity, the speaker advocates for recognizing the unequal distribution of power in society and taking actionable steps to level the playing field. They provide an example from Vanuatu, where communities have implemented educational initiatives that incorporate indigenous knowledge and language, fostering pride in cultural identity. The speaker concludes by reiterating the importance of respecting indigenous rights and embracing cultural diversity to prepare future generations for the challenges ahead, warning that failure to do so will result in a less diverse world.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • Why should we be worried about the loss of cultural diversity?

    Cultural diversity is essential for the rights of indigenous people and provides valuable knowledge and perspectives for all humanity.

  • What is causing the loss of cultural diversity?

    An imbalance of power in society, where a few cultural groups dominate, leads to the loss of diverse cultures.

  • What can we do to preserve cultural diversity?

    We can create systems that celebrate and incorporate multiple cultural perspectives, especially in education.

  • How does language relate to cultural diversity?

    Languages carry unique concepts and worldviews, and their loss means losing those perspectives.

  • What is the significance of David's story?

    David's story illustrates the personal impact of losing a language and culture, highlighting the broader issue of cultural extinction.

  • How can education help in preserving cultural diversity?

    Education can incorporate indigenous knowledge and languages, helping children appreciate their cultural heritage.

  • What role do indigenous people play in cultural diversity?

    Indigenous people hold unique knowledge and rights to their cultures, which are vital for global diversity.

  • What is the relationship between culture and power?

    Cultural power dynamics influence which cultures thrive and which are marginalized, affecting diversity.

  • What examples exist of communities preserving their culture?

    Communities in Vanuatu have implemented educational systems that incorporate indigenous knowledge and languages.

  • What is the future outlook for cultural diversity?

    Without action, future generations may live in a less diverse world, unaware of the richness of cultural differences.

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Subtitles
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  • 00:00:09
    thanks it's been an incredible event
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    hasn't
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    it we've got a great
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    theme no better do
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    better I think in a in a lot of ways
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    this theme is an apt motto for the
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    complex and dynamic world that we live
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    in you know
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    increasingly the problems we're facing
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    are being described as wicked problems
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    due to their complexity and how
  • 00:00:34
    widespread they
  • 00:00:36
    are but think about the
  • 00:00:39
    future 25 years from
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    now I think if we're honest with
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    ourselves we really have no idea what
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    kind of challenges we're going to
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    face and so we really need a diverse set
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    of knowledge to be able to cope with the
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    wicked problems of today and the
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    uncertainty of
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    Tomorrow the iron though is that in many
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    ways we already do know better we're
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    just letting so much of that knowledge
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    slip
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    away this is the island of malakula in
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    the South Pacific nation of
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    vanatu vanatu has the highest levels of
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    cultural diversity per capita of
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    anywhere on the
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    planet for
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    now recently a boat left this
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    Bay it was carrying an old old sick
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    man I'll call him
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    David the Seas were rough it was
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    dark and the health clinic was far up
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    the
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    island and unfortunately the boat had
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    left a little too late and the old man
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    was a little too
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    sick and so a few hours later the sound
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    of the motor could be heard coming back
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    across the
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    bay and soon the crying and the Wailing
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    spread across the sand and into the
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    village David had
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    died now those who loved and knew David
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    grieved but of course you didn't know
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    David and 150,000 people die on this
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    planet every
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    day so why should we mourn the loss of
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    this one man of
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    David well David was one of three
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    remaining speakers of an indigenous
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    language and now the two remaining
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    speakers are also old frail
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    men and when they pass away so too will
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    the
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    language for the children and the
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    grandchildren of these men don't speak
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    this
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    language and what's amazing about this
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    story to me is that it's not
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    unique collectively today humans speak
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    approximately 7,000
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    languages but in the lifetime of my
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    children who today are 6 and N years old
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    as many as half of those languages will
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    disappear just like David's is about
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    to and I think this situation leaves us
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    with three questions that we really need
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    answers
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    to why should we be worried about this
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    loss of cultural
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    diversity why is it
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    happening and what should we do about
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    it before we answer the first of those
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    questions though let's keep in mind that
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    cultural diversity is more than just
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    languages and looking at these languages
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    in
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    detail gives us a little glimpse into
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    that now any of you who speak more than
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    one language already have a feel for
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    this because you know that there are
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    certain Concepts certain ideas certain
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    words that are next to impossible to
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    accurately translate from one language
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    to
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    another why is
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    that
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    let's take an
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    example I had the privilege for many
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    years to work and live in
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    ALA more widely known as New Zealand and
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    the Maui people of aloa speak
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    Tero and in Tero there's a word
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    fena fena means
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    placenta it's the nourishment we get in
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    the womb it's our virtual
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    lifeblood but this same word
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    fena also means
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    land
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    now it's next to impossible to do so but
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    I ask you for one moment to imagine that
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    you grew up
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    mouy what would be your relationship to
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    the
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    land would it be different than your
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    relationship is
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    now and when we think about this we have
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    to remember that this is one concept one
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    word and if we take the totality of all
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    the words the whole language of the
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    whole culture well then we begin to
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    realize that when we're talking about
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    cultural diversity we're talking about
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    thousands of different ways of seeing
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    the world and our place in
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    it and these thousands of World Views
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    they're the foundation of thousands of
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    unique sets of
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    knowledge so let's get back to our first
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    question why should we be worried about
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    the loss of this cultural diversity
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    well I think first we need to
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    realize that
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    culture involves the rights of
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    people it's the rights of indigenous
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    people to determine the future of their
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    cultures rights that have too often been
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    ignored and
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    undermined but let's be cynical for a
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    moment because far too often the
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    policies of governments around the world
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    have been cynical about the rights of
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    indigenous
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    people and so let's ask a different
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    question what value does this cultural
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    diversity have for the rest of
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    humanity and to do so let's look at a
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    disease that has plagued our species for
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    thousands of
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    years in a certain light it's beautiful
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    but malaria affects 200 million people a
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    year now the first WID spread treatment
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    of malaria was
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    quinine quinine was developed from the
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    bark of the chinchona tree by the
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    indigenous people of
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    Peru and then ignoring intellectual
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    property rights the British East India
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    Company took Hine and spread it around
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    the
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    world to do so though they had to
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    realize that people didn't really like
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    Quine it was
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    bitter and so they mixed Quine with
  • 00:07:06
    something sweet and voila the gin and
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    tonic the tonic contains quinine go to
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    the supermarket it still
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    does and the Gin well people like
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    drinking
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    that and so Quine Sav thousands of
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    lives malaria did not enjoy this
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    party malaria developed resistance and
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    so today the most effective and
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    increasingly widespread treatment for
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    malaria is
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    artemisinin artemisinin comes from a
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    Chinese herbal
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    medicine today it's saving thousands of
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    lives now I ask you for a moment to
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    imagine where we would be without the
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    indigenous people of Peru their World
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    Views and Quine or without the Chinese
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    herbalists and their worldviews and
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    arisin
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    imagine if we just had the
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    British we'd have a whole lot of gin and
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    no
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    tonic so if we accept now that we're
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    going to respect the rights of
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    indigenous people and that there's a
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    value to cultural diversity for all of
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    humanity then our next question
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    is why are we losing this
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    diversity I think here first we need to
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    recognize that culture is not static
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    it's not something we can take and just
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    put in a
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    museum culture belongs to people culture
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    is dynamic and
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    changing the other thing we need to
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    recognize is that contact amongst
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    different cultural groups communication
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    Twitter doesn't automatically lead to
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    the loss of cultural
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    diversity about 15 years ago I was in
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    Peru I was on a tributary of the Amazon
  • 00:08:57
    River the sun was setting
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    in front of me there was a soccer field
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    there was a game going
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    on and there's a woman standing next to
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    me she had her pet parrot on her
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    shoulder and across the soccer field and
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    above the tropical forest the moon was
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    Rising it's a beautiful scene and the
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    woman turned to me and she asked does
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    the moon shine in your
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    land
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    whoa yes I said the moon does shine in
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    the United States and then she didn't
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    pause she immediately turned and
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    said do you know Monica
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    Lewinsky now what's amazing about this
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    story I think is that that woman spoke
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    an indigenous language she used
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    indigenous science to manage her natural
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    resources by so many different measures
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    her culture wasn't necessarily
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    threatened even though she knew about
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    Miss
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    Lewinsky so if it's not contact between
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    cultures that is driving the loss of
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    cultural diversity well then what
  • 00:10:04
    is here I think we need to recognize
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    that increasingly fewer and fewer
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    cultural groups a small number of
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    cultural groups is determining the shape
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    and fabric of society these groups are
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    determining the systems of law of
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    Education of economies of natural
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    resource
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    management and it is this imbalance of
  • 00:10:25
    power that exists within society that is
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    driving the loss of cultural
  • 00:10:30
    diversity I ask you think back to
  • 00:10:34
    David back on
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    malula not right before he died but when
  • 00:10:39
    he's raising his
  • 00:10:41
    children he's got a decision to make and
  • 00:10:44
    ultimately the future of culture is
  • 00:10:46
    about decisions about
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    choice and he looks out at the systems
  • 00:10:51
    around him and he looks at the schools
  • 00:10:53
    where he's going to send his kids he
  • 00:10:55
    looks at the markets where his family's
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    going to find the goods that they desire
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    at the laws of the land and he sees that
  • 00:11:02
    all of these systems are shaped by other
  • 00:11:04
    cultural groups speaking other
  • 00:11:07
    languages and now David's going to base
  • 00:11:10
    this decision on one main thing the
  • 00:11:13
    thing that all parents base their
  • 00:11:15
    decisions on he wants to ensure that his
  • 00:11:18
    children have the best chance to Survive
  • 00:11:21
    and
  • 00:11:23
    Thrive and so for this decision David
  • 00:11:26
    really doesn't have a freedom of choice
  • 00:11:28
    when it comes to his culture
  • 00:11:31
    so what does he do he leaves the culture
  • 00:11:34
    behind he leaves the language
  • 00:11:36
    behind and he sends his kids off into
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    the society that's dominated by this
  • 00:11:42
    other
  • 00:11:43
    culture and it's in this way in this
  • 00:11:45
    imbalance of power in the systems of our
  • 00:11:48
    society that we lose cultural
  • 00:11:51
    diversity
  • 00:11:53
    so our last question what do we do about
  • 00:11:56
    it I think first and foremost we need to
  • 00:11:58
    realize how how unlevel the playing
  • 00:12:00
    field actually is how imbalanced the
  • 00:12:02
    power actually is in
  • 00:12:04
    society to do so let's look at one
  • 00:12:07
    system within Society let's look at the
  • 00:12:08
    school and let's look at the schools
  • 00:12:10
    where David was going to send his
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    children school there is taught in
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    English the
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    textbooks the examples in those
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    textbooks are from some far off land
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    where David's children have never been
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    and in all likelihood never will
  • 00:12:28
    go
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    this same inbalance in power inbalance
  • 00:12:32
    in culture exists in our own
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    schools I'm lucky and that I get to
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    volunteer in my kids
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    school and not that long ago I was in a
  • 00:12:41
    Kindergarten
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    class what you realize when you're in a
  • 00:12:44
    Kindergarten class is how amazing
  • 00:12:46
    kindergarten teachers are you know
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    they're incredibly creative super
  • 00:12:53
    dedicated and these have to be some of
  • 00:12:55
    the most patient human beings on the
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    planet right and importantly we don't
  • 00:13:00
    pay them nearly enough
  • 00:13:08
    money the other thing you realize is
  • 00:13:11
    that the systems con strain these
  • 00:13:13
    kindergarten teachers even the very
  • 00:13:15
    materials that they're provided so I was
  • 00:13:18
    sitting around a table and there was a
  • 00:13:20
    kid from Vietnam and two kids from Libya
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    and a whole bunch of kids from
  • 00:13:24
    Colorado and we're learning about
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    prepositions you might remember the
  • 00:13:29
    these words on under over prepositions
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    okay now they're in kindergarten so they
  • 00:13:37
    have two pictures and they have to match
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    the preposition to this pair of pictures
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    so there's a table and there's a cat the
  • 00:13:44
    cat is under the table and we go
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    learning our
  • 00:13:49
    prepositions and we get to this
  • 00:13:53
    pair and the girl from Colorado she
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    jumps up
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    over the cow jumps over the moon she's
  • 00:14:01
    excited she's got it right and those two
  • 00:14:05
    kids from Libya over here with huge eyes
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    what right I mean imagine they go home
  • 00:14:13
    that night right and they're around the
  • 00:14:14
    dinner table and they're saying you know
  • 00:14:15
    Mom and Dad we thought it was a little
  • 00:14:16
    weird the people strap the boards on
  • 00:14:18
    their feet and they go swooshing down
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    the snowy slopes but that's nothing here
  • 00:14:22
    in the United States cows jump over the
  • 00:14:28
    moon because they were learning more
  • 00:14:30
    than prepositions weren't
  • 00:14:32
    they the lesson was embedded in
  • 00:14:36
    culture and that in and of itself is a
  • 00:14:39
    good
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    thing the challenge we face is that the
  • 00:14:42
    lessons in our schools here and all
  • 00:14:44
    around the world are increasingly
  • 00:14:46
    embedded in one
  • 00:14:48
    culture everywhere cows are jumping over
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    the moon an English nursery
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    rhyme so what are we going to
  • 00:14:58
    do we can't be naive we can't assume
  • 00:15:01
    that we're going to evenly spread power
  • 00:15:03
    and control of the systems of society
  • 00:15:05
    equally across 7,000 different cultural
  • 00:15:08
    groups it's not going to
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    happen but we can take small steps we
  • 00:15:12
    can begin to level the playing field and
  • 00:15:14
    inspiration comes from where we
  • 00:15:17
    started back on malakula in
  • 00:15:20
    vanatu the communities on this island
  • 00:15:23
    decided to begin to level that playing
  • 00:15:25
    field and they let's take an example the
  • 00:15:28
    schools
  • 00:15:30
    they talked to the heads of the schools
  • 00:15:32
    and they said look we're going to give
  • 00:15:34
    you 4 days a week but we're taking one
  • 00:15:37
    day
  • 00:15:38
    back and they use indigenous
  • 00:15:40
    architecture and they built a
  • 00:15:42
    building and one day a week the kids go
  • 00:15:45
    to that
  • 00:15:46
    building and they learn from the Elders
  • 00:15:48
    of that community in their indigenous
  • 00:15:50
    language about the skills they need to
  • 00:15:52
    live in that
  • 00:15:53
    community and just as importantly they
  • 00:15:56
    learn to be proud of who they are to be
  • 00:15:59
    proud of their culture to be proud of
  • 00:16:00
    their
  • 00:16:02
    language and these communities argue and
  • 00:16:04
    I wholeheartedly agree that those kids
  • 00:16:07
    are going to be better
  • 00:16:09
    prepared because now they're able to
  • 00:16:11
    draw from the world viw and the
  • 00:16:14
    knowledge base that has been developed
  • 00:16:16
    across Generations in that place and
  • 00:16:19
    they're also able to draw from the world
  • 00:16:22
    view and the knowledge systems that come
  • 00:16:24
    down from the conventional school
  • 00:16:26
    system and so those kids become better
  • 00:16:29
    prepared to deal with the wicked
  • 00:16:31
    problems of today and the uncertainty of
  • 00:16:36
    tomorrow so I think we have answers to
  • 00:16:39
    our three key
  • 00:16:40
    questions we absolutely need to be
  • 00:16:43
    worried about the loss of cultural
  • 00:16:45
    diversity we need to respect and uphold
  • 00:16:48
    the rights of indigenous people and we
  • 00:16:50
    need to recognize the value that
  • 00:16:51
    cultural diversity has for all of
  • 00:16:54
    humanity but to face this challenge we
  • 00:16:56
    must also realize how uneven ly power is
  • 00:16:59
    spread across our
  • 00:17:02
    societies and we must take these
  • 00:17:04
    examples from vanatu and elsewhere and
  • 00:17:06
    we must begin to create systems which
  • 00:17:10
    celebrate cultural
  • 00:17:12
    diversity which explore our
  • 00:17:14
    differences and which Embrace multiple
  • 00:17:17
    ways of
  • 00:17:18
    thinking and if we can do that we'll be
  • 00:17:21
    better prepared for
  • 00:17:23
    tomorrow but if we don't do that
  • 00:17:27
    now if we don't do that then our
  • 00:17:30
    grandchildren are going to grow up in a
  • 00:17:32
    world that is far less
  • 00:17:35
    diverse and they won't even know
  • 00:17:38
    it know better do better thank
  • 00:17:41
    [Applause]
  • 00:17:51
    you
Tags
  • Cultural Diversity
  • Indigenous Languages
  • Vanuatu
  • David's Story
  • Education
  • Power Dynamics
  • Cultural Rights
  • Knowledge Systems
  • Future Generations
  • Wicked Problems