Multicultural Life

I believe that the more the world becomes interconnected, the more multicultural we all will become. Some of us welcome the complexities of the emerging future world with open arms, some are more cautious. This site contains some of my entirely personal, subjective and completely idiosyncratic texts about current trends in globalisation. It also contains some references to my books reflecting on this subject.

I have written a series of children’s books called Dolls Without Frontiers. Global change is accelerating and the future belongs to our kids as multicultural adults. I wanted to offer them and their parents a bridge to our multicultural life. Our kids will need tools and mental strength to sustain.

Please join me in thinking about how the world is changing and what our responsibility is  ….

My Books Dolls Without Frontiers

The world is more international than ever. Families move to new countries in search of work, education, peace, experiences, new friends and love. Immigrant families and single individuals carry their cultures along with them to their new homelands: their language, memories, stories, morals, religions and values … In the new country this culture can sometimes be discernible in the clothing or in the look, but this is only a small portion of his or her culture. The culture is mostly invisible, something internal and private. The culture is usually most noticeable in contacts with other people, in daily life.

For its carrier, the culture is a source of energy, of understanding and knowledge, a source of strength, inspiration and creativity. Foreign cultures are resources whose potential we do not always recognise because they are mostly hidden. Sometimes they are even perceived as scary in the eyes of the residents of the new home country.

Children And Multiculturalism

You inherit your culture. It is a legacy from relatives, parents, homes, villages and playgrounds. It becomes a resource for life. Through their culture and their languages both children and adults learn to interpret the world around them, independently of having moved to a new country or not.

In the new home country, the child goes to school, gets new friends and assimilates the culture of the new homeland. In this way the child becomes multicultural. But, the former mother tongue, the landscapes, the experiences, people and emotions are still there, sometimes in dreams, sometimes in plays, sometimes when talking to friends and locals. The dolls often remain important and concrete links to the former home country and to its culture.

Few in the new home country have thorough knowledge of the backgrounds of immigrant children. In its new homeland a multicultural child may therefore experience loneliness and alienation, or even stand in opposition to its values. Our lacking understanding of the potential of multicultural individuals is an international problem − a form of inefficiency in the process of globalisation. It is a waste of the intellectual capital that immigrants offer us.

Welcome to our multicultural future!

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