HT Declaration on Cultural Diversity

BUENOS AIRES - One of the most far-reaching decisions the Humanity's Team Global Council made during its annual meeting was to adopt a Declaration of Cultural Diversity.

The declaration, signed by each Global Council member in attendance May 21, stated:

"I commit to increasing my consciousness of cultural diversity, within my own country as well as around the world, so that my Humanity's Team work and that of my teammates reflect this consciousness. This consciousness includes respect for cultural differences such as language, dress and traditions, the ways societies organize themselves, their values and religions, and the ways they interact with the environment."

Council members committed to changing the way they thought and acted to increase their awareness of and sensitivity to cultural differences, and to build cultural diversity and inclusiveness into everything they do.

The first action the council took after agreeing on the declaration was to form a cultural-diversity task force, initially focusing on translation issues, to promote the inclusion of other languages in the creation of worldwide initiatives.

Led by Translation Team Coordinator Ruth Luna of Peru, the task force agreed to make recommendations, for worldwide communications, on the most effective ways of imparting information with fidelity and transparency in multiple languages. It also agreed to recommend ways in which translations can become part of the Humanity's Team ethos so that their importance is built into worldwide campaigns and initiatives from the initial stages of design.

A key immediate task force focus is to collaborate on HT's World Unity Day initiative, led by Oneness Campaign Coordinator Anna-Mari Pieterse of South Africa and IT and Web Coordinator Chip Cooper of the United States.

The task force will report on its progress in the coming months.