Unity in diversity

Unity in diversity in various languages
Afrikaans eenheid in diversiteit[1]
Arabic الوحدة في التنوع[1]
Belarusian Адзінства ў разнастайнасці
Bengali বৈচিত্র্যের মধ্যে ঐক্য (Boichitrer moddhe Oikyo)
Bulgarian Единство в многообразието[2]
Catalan Unitat en la diversitat
Chinese 多样性中的统一性[1]
Croatian Jedinstvo u različitosti[2]
Czech Jednota v rozmanitosti[2]
Danish Forenet i mangfoldighed[2]
Dutch Eenheid in verscheidenheid
English Unity in diversity, EU United in diversity

[2]

Estonian Ühinenud mitmekesisuses[2]
Farsi وحدت در کثرت[1]
Tagalog Pagkakaisa sa pagkakaiba-iba
Finnish Moninaisuudessaan yhtenäinen[2]
French Unis dans la diversité[2]
German In Vielfalt geeint[2]
Greek Ενωμένοι στην πολυμορφία[2]
Hebrew אחדות במגוון (Achdut baMigvan)
Hindi विविधता में एकता (Vividhtaa mein Ektaa)
Hungarian Egység a sokféleségben[2]
Irish Aontaithe san éagsúlacht[3]
Indonesian Persatuan dalam perbedaan
Italian Uniti nella diversità[3]
Japanese 多様性の中の調和[1]
Kannada ವಿವಿಧತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಏಕತೆ Vividhateyalli Ekate
Korean 다양성 속의 통일성[1]
Latvian Vienoti daudzveidībā[3]
Lithuanian Suvienijusi įvairovę[3]
Malayalam നാനാത്വത്തില്‍ ഏകത്വം[1]
Malay Persatuan dalam kepelbagaian
Maltese Magħquda fid-diversità[3]
Marathi विविधतेत एकता (Vividhtet Ekta)
Nepali अनेकतामा एकता (Anekataama Ekataa)
Norwegian Samhold i mangfold
Old Javanese Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Indonesian motto
Polish Zjednoczeni w różnorodności[3]
Portuguese Unidade na diversidade[3]
Romanian Unitate în diversitate[3]
Russian Единство в многообразии[1]
Scots Unitit in diversitie
Serbian Jedinstvo u različitosti/Јединство у различитости
Slovak Zjednotení v rozmanitosti[3]
Slovene Združeni v različnosti[3]
Spanish Unidad en la diversidad
Swedish Förenade i mångfalden[3]
Telugu భిన్నత్వంలో ఏకత్వం[1]
Turkish Çeşitlilik içinde birlik
Tamil வேற்றுமையில் ஒற்றுமை[1]
Ukrainian Єдність у різноманітті,[1]Єдність у відмінності[4]
Urdu اختلاف میں اتحاد Iḵẖtilāf meṉ ittiḥād[1]
Vietnamese Thống nhất trong đa dạng[1]
Venetian L’unità in te la diversità[4]
Võro Ütisüs kirivüse seen[4]
Wallonian L'unitè ol divêrsitè[4]
Italian Nobel peace prize winner Ernesto Teodoro Moneta first adopted the motto In Varietate Concordia/In Varietate Unitas.

Unity in diversity is a concept of "unity without uniformity and diversity without fragmentation"[5] that shifts focus from unity based on a mere tolerance of physical, cultural, linguistic, social, religious, political, ideological and/or psychological differences towards a more complex unity based on an understanding that difference enriches human interactions.

"Unity in diversity" is a popular motto within and among nation states, and also in political and social movements.

The idea and related phrase is very old and dates back to ancient times in both Western and Eastern Old World cultures. The concept of unity in diversity was used "in non-Western cultures such as indigenous peoples in North America and Taoist societies in 400-500 B.C.E. In pre-modern Western culture it has been implicit in the organic conceptions of the universe that have been manifest since the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations through medieval Europe and into the Romantic era."[5]

Examples of usage

Bahá'í Faith (1938)

In 1938, in his book The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh,[6] Shoghi Effendi, then head of the Baha'i Faith, said that "unity in diversity" was the "watchword" for the religion.[7]

Canada (1943)

Adélard Godbout, while Premier of Quebec, published an article entitled "Canada: Unity in Diversity" (1943) in the Council on Foreign Relations journal. He asked,[8]

How does the dual relationship of the French Canadians make them an element of strength and order, and therefore of unity, in our joint civilization, which necessarily includes not only Canada and the British Commonwealth of Nations, but also the United States, the Latin republics of America and liberated France?

The motto of the province of Saskatchewan, adopted in 1986, is a variation, Multis e gentibus vires (from many peoples, strength).

Unity in Diversity: Interdisciplinary Research Seminar (1977)

The term was used by a group of academics who formed the Interdisciplinary Research Seminar at Wilfrid Laurier University with a sense of community in mind (p. xvi) working to develop practical wisdom through interdisciplinary activity as opposed to the trend towards fragmentation and ever narrowing specializations in academia. Ervin Laszlo presented his paper entitled "Framework for a General Systems Theory of World Order" (1974) as one of the first seminar Papers that led to the establishment of the IRS in 1975.[9]

South Africa (1981,1996)

When the Apartheid of Republic of South Africa celebrated 20 years of independence on 31 May 1981, the theme of the celebrations was "unity in diversity" as a cynical attempt to explain away the inequalities in South African life. Anti-apartheid campaigners opposed these celebrations and called on runners of the Comrades Marathon to protest at the co-option of the event by wearing a black armband. The winner of the race, Bruce Fordyce, was one of those wearing a black armband.

The term has since been incorporated into the preamble of the 1996 Constitution of South Africa as a central tenet of the new South Africa.

Michael Novak (1983)

Michael Novak wrote,[10]

Unity in diversity is the highest possible attainment of a civilization, a testimony to the most noble possibilities of the human race. This attainment is made possible through passionate concern for choice, in an atmosphere of social trust.

European Union (2000)

In 2000, the European Union adopted 'United in Diversity' (Latin: In varietate concordia) as official Motto, a reference to the many and diverse member states of the Union in terms of culture. Apart from its English form, the European Union's motto is also official in 22 other languages. "Unity in diversity" was selected in through a competition process involving students from member nations. According to the European Commission: European Union official website[2]

The motto means that, via the EU, Europeans are united in working together for peace and prosperity, and that the many different cultures, traditions and languages in Europe are a positive asset for the continent.

Indonesia (2003)

In 2003 The term United In Diversity ( UID ) is used by not-for-profit organization established with Indonesian leaders from business, government, and civil society. UID aims at nothing less than inspiring tri sector leaders to collaborate, create and implement an action plan to forge a new, positive national identity for Indonesia, based on the multiple strengths of its diverse people. its growth thereafter has been an enduring, positive learning process. UID has galvanized leaders from all sectors to come together, start a new dialogue of responsibility, and agree on concrete actions to address root causes of Indonesia's problems.

Other nation-states

It is also the motto of the nations of Indonesia (see Bhinneka Tunggal Ika), Papua New Guinea and South Africa.

Indigenous peoples

The Gwich’in Tribal Council representing the Gwich’in, a First Nations of Canada and an Alaskan Native Athabaskan people, who live in the northwestern part of North America, mostly above the Arctic Circle, adopted the motto Unity through Diversity.[11]

Commercial

House of Blues performance venues have an emblem at the top of the stage with several religious symbols, and the phrase "Unity in Diversity".

See also

Citations

References

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