Race Equality Week 2024: Day 2 - Different Cultures

How can we know about or understand things when we’ve never seen, heard, or read about them?

Today's Eye-Opener - 30 Seconds

How often do you read books, listen to music or podcasts or watch movies which expose you to different views and cultures?

• Never

• Rarely

• Occasionally

• Often

• Always

In the UK, only 1% of candidates for GCSE English Literature in 2019 answered a question on a novel by an author of colour (Penguin Random House, 2020). This statistic alone shows that even in our early education we are not exposed to different cultures, therefore it is no surprise that we carry this on in our adult life. However, when we expose ourselves to books, music, and movies etc, that have different views and cultures, it helps us become familiar with people’s differences and experiences and that can replace judgement with understanding.

Here are some examples of the benefits of exposing yourself to different views:

• You begin to celebrate those differences rather than judge them.
• It encourages discussions about people’s cultures and views that are different to your own.
• It helps you understand the barriers and challenges people naturally face because of their differences. It helps to debunk stereotypes.
• You learn to respect people’s differences and cultures.

We shouldn’t keep asking those with lived experience to educate us when there are enough resources including Google to do our own research.

 

• Video - 3 Minutes

   How do our differences also reveal our similarities?

   

  Watch this video to find out:

   

  Don't Put People in Boxes

   

  This video shows that, though many of us may at first appear different, we may actually have more in common than we expected. We realise this when we get to know a bit more about each other

• Action - 2.5 Minutes

  Exposing ourselves to different views introduces us to new things and experiences that make our lives richer.

   

   

  Try watching or reading about a place or character that’s different to you. This can be on Netflix, Apple, Disney, or your local bookstore/library. There is also a range on Audible and you’ll find many people from different communities posting on social media.

   

  Try it once, you never know what new joy you may come across.

   

  What could you do to expose yourself to different views and cultures? Ideas:

   

  • Read a book from the list of the most popular books from other cultures
  • Watch a movie from the list of the best movies about different cultures and nationalities
  • If you have children, encourage them to read books and watch films that are based around different views and cultures. We can never start too young.
  • Ask a colleague from an ethnically diverse background to recommend you a book or a movie to watch that is based around their heritage or language

 

 

Additional Resources

 

Race Equality Matters Resources