#BeTolerant2020 - UNESCO Launches an Online Campaign to Promote Intercultural Dialogue During COVID-19

25 November 2020

From 16 November to 10 December 2020, UNESCO Almaty is launching the #BeTolerant2020 online campaign to celebrate the International Day for Tolerance and to contribute to the Organization's response to the COVID-19 crisis.

International Day of Tolerance is celebrated annually on 16 November, reminding the world community of the importance of observing the principles of peaceful coexistence and calling for mutual respect, regardless of cultural, religious, individual and other differences. On this day, in many countries, actions and events are held, calling to understand and accept the diversity of cultures and forms of self-expression, as well as to protect human individuality.

This day also became the starting point for an information campaign for Kazakhstan and other countries of Central Asia, which for centuries have been home to representatives of more than 120 nationalities and peoples, where the principles of tolerance are fundamental, helping to preserve identity and ensure peace among various groups and communities.

As part of the #BeTolerant2020 campaign, many activities are planned to raise public awareness of the importance of building mutual understanding between people, promoting intercultural dialogue and an agenda free from all forms of violence, discrimination and extremism. Issues of cultural rapprochement especially need to be raised among the younger generation, and especially to them the online discussion “Youth Tolerance Talks” was dedicated with the participation of young speakers from Asia, Africa, North and South America, Europe, Oceania, who were invited to discuss with young people of Central Asia such an important topic as foreign experience, intercultural communication, and share their thoughts and ideas about cultures.

Also, social video experiments with famous artists, media influencers and bloggers such as Yerden Telemisov, singer Danelia Tuleshova, bloggers Aziza Aibadullina, Juliana Caruso and Yerzhan Rashev, producers Adele Smith and Damir Tastembekov, will be posted on social networks and online platforms. The participants in the experiments were asked to guess the names, ethnicity and native language of complete strangers, based only on their own assumptions and intuition. Such experiments are widespread in America and Europe, and have now found their response in Central Asia.

In addition to cultural experiments, UNESCO Almaty will also present to the attention of social media users a series of short videos aimed at eradicating sexist expressions towards women and girls, which can negatively affect their mental and emotional state. This project is also contributes to the UN global campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence”, which takes place annually from 25 November to 10 December.

Permanent link: http://en.unesco.kz/betolerant2020-unesco-s-online-campaign-to-promote-intercultural-dialogue-during-covid-19