Quotes on Culture and Culturally Sensitive
Approaches
Culture is the whole complex of distinctive
spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that
characterizes a society or a group. It includes creative expressions,
community practices and material or built forms. —from Our Creative Diversity: The UN World Commisssion
on
Culture and Development Report
The relationship between culture
and development should be clarified and deepened in constructive
and practical ways. —from Our Creative Diversity: The UN World
Commisssion
on Culture and Development Report
The Programme of Action will require the establishment of
common ground, with full respect for the various religious and
ethical values and cultural backgrounds. —International
Conference on Population and Development
(ICPD) Programme of
Action, para 1.15
Tolerance, inter-cultural dialogue and respect
for diversity are more essential than ever in a world where peoples
are becoming more and more closely interconnected. —Kofi
Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations
People of different religions and cultures live side by side
in almost every part of the world, and most of us have overlapping
identities which unite us with very different groups. We can
love what we are, without hating what – and who – we are not.
We can thrive in our own tradition, even as we learn from others,
and come to respect their teachings. —Kofi
Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations
In this time of globalization, with all
its advantages, the poor are the most vulnerable to having
their traditions, relationships and knowledge and skills ignored
and denigrated, and experiencing development with a great sense
of trauma, loss and social disconnectedness. —James
D. Wolfensohn, World Bank President
What culture worth the name would deny women the right to
safe motherhood? What value system would send young people ignorant
into the world, when a little knowledge might save their lives? —Dr. Nafis Sadik, former
UNFPA Executive Director
There are no sensitive
issues in reproductive health, but there are insensitive approaches
to reproductive health issues. —Mona Khalifa, Assistant
Representative-UNFPA Egypt Office
I believe that strong and vibrant cultures themselves nurture
tolerance and justice. All cultures worth the name protect support
and encourage diversity; and justice is the practical mechanism
which enables them to do so.
Tolerance and justice are not merely morally desirable ends,
but tools which underpin society and enable it to function. In
other words, tolerance and justice are not abstract concepts
but expressions of culture in practice.
It follows that each society will express the
values of tolerance and justice in a different way: for example,
systems of administering justice differ very widely. But that does
not mean the values themselves are incompatible from one society
to another . —Dr. Nafis Sadik, former
UNFPA Executive Director
[W]e are reviewing our experience to enable us to respond
to the cultural challenge: to help countries, communities and
individuals interpret universal principles, translate them into
culturally sensitive terms and design programmes based on them,
programmes that people can really feel are their own.
We can succeed in this if we keep close to our
hearts the conviction that brought success at ICPD, that each human
life is uniquely valuable, and that the right to development is
the right for men and women to express the full measure of their
humanity.
—Thoraya A. Obaid, UNFPA
Executive Director
The challenge for UNFPA is to help countries
as we always have with no agenda of our own; with sensitivity towards
unique cultural values; with an infinite willingness to work with
whatever is positive; and with a determination to help countries
and people turn universal principles into concrete action.
—Thoraya A. Obaid, UNFPA
Executive Director
We also know that the various faith-based institutions provide
about 50 per cent of the health and education services in the poor
communities; we also know that they have a large constituency including
women and youth; they have outreach and networks and they are credible
to their people. If we want to achieve the Millennium Development
Foals by scaling up the responses of all the communities, do we
ignore this large investment in people? Or do we engage in dialogue
and in action?”
—Thoraya A. Obaid, UNFPA Executive
Director
My experience has shown that when you deal with culturally
sensitive issues, you have no choice but to be as careful and
as patient as possible. Every concern should be addressed properly.
Otherwise, greater problems emerge at later times, when nothing
can be done. —Mrs. Farzaneh Davari,
UNFPA National Project Director, Iran
We did not foresee the Mufti of Uganda coming and opening
a reproductive health workshop. We were overwhelmed by this gesture.
It does not happen everyday to have religious leaders discuss
sexuality and its outcome openly. Even his mere attendance would
have meant a great deal. —UNFPA Programme Officer,
Uganda
Culture is a matrix of infinite possibilities
and choices. From within the same culture matrix we can extract
arguments and strategies for the degradation and ennoblement of
our species, for its enslavement or liberation, for the suppression
of its productive potential or its enhancement. —Wole Sovinka,
Nigerian Nobel Laureate
"Mr. Director General, why is it that you people
from UN agencies when you come here, instead of asking us for our
experience and our skills, our thoughts and our dreams, you give
us lessons and advice? Why do you not come here to listen first,
then give us advice based on what you heard?" —A teacher in a village
in Burkina Faso to Frederico Mayor,
Director General
of UNESCO,
during a visit he made to the country |
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