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27 / 07 / 2004
Geoffrey Cowan (Annenberg School): Cultural diversity can foster the common interests of humanity
The Dialogue "Globalization, Identity and Diversity" analyzed in the plenary session this morning the subject of globalization in the media and cultural diversity
The professor of Communication and dean of the Annenberg School of Communication, Geoffrey Cowan, defended cultural diversity as "an instrument to foster the common interests of humanity". Cowan also talked about linguistic diversity and the Dialogue that took place at the Forum between 20 and 23 May, which analyzed the importance of fighting for the survival of many languages in the world which are at present in danger.
Cowan explained that technology "makes it possible for societies to enter into new forms of communication which change the relationship between the nations and the towns of the world”. Thus, said Cowan, "we are managing to achieve a new dimension in diplomacy".
The former director of the communications group, Voice of America, has explained that there are three types of diplomacy. The first is based on monologue in which “nations present their ideas to others, and the second is based on dialogue when nations listen to one another and learn from each other, and the third is based on co-operation, which is becoming more and more feasible. For Cowan this last type is the ideal one because, "nations make an effort to arrive at the common enterprise that will help them to understand one another better and to share objectives".
In this sense, Cowan said that diplomacy "could fight to preserve languages". Cowan added that under the auspices of UNESCO "cultural diversity could be used to unite everybody in a commonwealth and in this way could help the fight for the preservation of languages".
Cowan suggested some examples of the fight for cultural diversity undertaken by the Voice of America group, who provide a multimedia service in 44 languages. Cowan referred to the cases of Bosnia and the Tíbet and to how "technology allows us to move towards the third level of diplomacy".
For her part, the professor from the Kennedy School at Harvard University, Ingrid Volkmer, explained that, "information technology has transformed the concepts and formats of the media, now that there is a more globalized world of information, a more complex reality ". Volkmer added that the basic characteristics of the globalized media are: distance, immediacy and the constant flow of information.
Volkmer referred to CNN and Al-Jazeera as examples of the new globalized media and said that they create “microspheres”, so this means "the Arab microsphere is the most advanced in the world". Volkmer also said that debate in these media has adopted a more radical stance at moments of crisis.
Professor Volkmer explained that "these two media are powerful political platforms and are also self-referencing as they become more like public institutions in the globalized world at the levels of politics and the media audience”.
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