Reflection

Cultural Diversity Cultural Diversity Why do people pay so much attention to cultural diversity? Globalization and world development create the environment where cultural knowledge becomes vital. This knowledge comes to people from different sources; however, life experience always lacks organization. This Cultural Diversity course helps people to become aware about the importance of culture in their personal lives and the world in general.
The UAE now becomes a good example of cultural diversity. Open opportunities and material wealth of the country attract people from all over the world. Tourism brings even more visitors with their customs, traditions and languages. The UAE establishes new economic and political partnerships with other world countries creating a new appealing image of the country. This new role brings challenges to people in the UAE; they face the need to learn more about other people to understand them and make their communication effective.
People cannot exist separately from their culture. The definition of culture is complex because it is derived from the context. Generally, culture is often related to separate dimensions of human life like legal sphere or personal communication. When 2 or more cultures exist in one community, they experience conflict caused by fundamental differences in their world views. If people do not have any knowledge about other culture, they can easily aggravate this conflict. On the other hand, cultural awareness let different people find a common ground. One more challenge is represented by language differences; people who do not know local language are automatically treated worse than locals.
Despite these negative effects, cultural diversity changes the UAE to the better. People have more opportunities to communicate with foreigners and get some practical tips about cross-cultural communication. People who travel to the UAE and come to work there are obliged to learn more about local culture and people. People become more understanding and attentive to each other. I have seen many web resources which are related to explaining the UAE culture and eti1uette to foreigners. Moreover, people become less superstitious about the UAE and Islam when they learn about them in detail.
When my grandfather was young, the country was totally different. It is even difficult to compare my world with his recollections. Old traditions still exist in the UAE society but they become more liberal under the influence of other cultures. Now he cannot be flexible enough to understand all the changes which happen every day. His point of view represents some other model of thinking about the world. For instance, when he was young, there was no need to study foreign languages.
In summary, learning about other cultures is crucial for all people regardless of their origin, age or language. This course is very informative and engaging. Working together on class projects and observing the world around broaden horizons of all students who do their best to study. Every theme covered in the class offers a new point of view and motivates to learn more about other people.