With the Internet shrinking the globe into a smaller sphere of life each day, cultures are permeating through boundaries too. On social media platforms or any mobile phone interfaces enabling instant messaging, it is very common to find people, especially youngsters, pour in some of the now-globally used words such as “Amigo”, “Merci”, etc. People no longer are unaware of the kind of life styles in far away lands. They are no longer as curious as old times to find out how it is live in a place with no water or a region that is clad in snow all through the year.
While half the world is still caught in the age-old debate in an attempt to conclude if technology is a boon or a bane, one should reconsider the very idea of cultures coming together, on the brighter side. Thousands of educational institutions prepare their students to undertake international educational programs in new countries. Schools send high school girls and boys on student exchange programs each year.
When people leave their homes and move to newer places, usual hindrances such as proactivity, shyness and lack of innovation are shed quickly. If you are the person that avoids asking a shopkeeper for directions on the road, you are certainly not doing the same in a place which is culturally and linguistically more new to you. In fact, having a good look at somebody’s CV, one should not be surprised to see the number of languages squeezed into a little section. Being a polyglot is itself a common trend these days – the need for cultural knowledge is necessary not merely for unity but for more specific reasons such as occupational mobility.
It is essential that we as human beings “know” beyond our borders for we were born into a neat world and drew our own lines, cutting territories. That may have looked like the best option, years ago. But history has illustrated some ugly examples of disunity – wars, fights, discrimination, colonialism and so on. At the moment, we should be seeing the future. With threats such as global warming, depletion of flora, fauna and other resources playing a key role in our daily lives, togetherness drops in a ray of hope.
Culture diffusion is happening or in better words, we are allowing culture diffusion to happen. Yes, we are all truly living up to “Unity in Diversity”. Moreover, the world needs peace and fulfillment of humankind’s potential. Sounds deep, isn’t it? Visit www.aiesec.in and see what you could do to be part of this change!
