‘World’s cultural wealth resides in its diversity’

Koïchiro Matsuura, UNESCO General Director

‘Every creation is rooted in cultural traditions, but flourishes in contact with others’
UNESCO, Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity.

Justification

After September 11, 2001, all nations were suddenly obliged to demonstrate a
strong conviction in generating intercultural dialogue, as a warranty for world peace
and the development of our civilization. In this context, ‘cultural diversity’ emerges as
mankind common legacy, which according to Koïchiro Matsuura, ‘is as necessary for
humanity, as biodiversity is for human beings’. However, the concept of diversity has
not been easy to assimilate, and many times its interpretation has contrasted with a
vision of necessary process for human survival. Thus, we see segregationist and
fundamentalist practices emerging, which preclude plurality and diversity to be
recognized as necessary elements nowadays for social articulation and coexistence.

An important attempt to lead countries to promote and implement safeguard

policies for cultural diversity has been the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity,
proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), which states that every citizen has to recognize otherness in all its forms,
as well as the plural character of his/her own identity. Solely this way diversity can be
conceived as source for growth, expression, creation and innovation.

At present Europe is going through a critical situation, which inevitably has

permeated not only the economic area but all the rest of our society´s areas as well.
Therefore, even more tension has been placed on issues like cultural plurality and
respect for diversity. And many have diverted the discussion to radical positions
suggesting that one of the causes of global economic situation is migration, thus
generating intercultural conflicts among citizens. The spirit of UNESCO declaration is
oriented to fight exclusion and xenophobia caused by intolerance against diversity. It
is an instrument to promote peace and coexistence in a world increasingly flooded
with quick circulation of cultural elements from very different contexts.

It is crucial for the State and the Civil Society to join efforts to guarantee
positive interaction and coexistence among people and groups with plural and
dynamic cultural identities; in order to encourage social cohesion and induce peace
processes. In this sense, as stated in article 2 of the UNESCO declaration, ‘cultural

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pluralism is conducive to cultural exchange and development of creative capabilities
that sustain public life’.

Objective

The aim is to create an installation with recycled materials, in which

participants can use cultural elements from their particular imaginary to represent,
playfully and poetically, what they think about cultural diversity and its relations with
their material and immaterial heritage, in spaces where the installation will take
place.

Goals

1. Participants will be sensibilized about cultural diversity, transversal theme of

the whole installation.

2. It will be possible to observe participant’s interaction in connection with their

tangible heritage (material culture, structures, constructions, houses,
emblematic places, etc.).

3. It will be possible the observation of participant’s interaction in connection

with their intangible heritage (immaterial culture, stories, events,
experiences).

4. Participants will express/interpret poetically their experience at each station

of the installation.

5. Promote use of recycled material, if possible deriving from local industries, in

cultural and recreational activities.

6. Stimulate non-conventional approaches to public spaces in order to promote

the specific characteristic (cultural, historical, patrimonial) that becomes the
space identity marker.

Concepts

Interactivity is a central concept for an optimal operation of the installation.

Its strength depends on the interaction with the recycled materials and among
participants. In this sense, the aim is to have an experimental experience for
observation of sociological issues such as interaction, collaboration and
communication potentialities among participants.

We plan to create a route through different places of the village with the
greatest expressions of cultural diversity in public spaces. There will be five stations

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and one start/final point where the nuances of cultural diversity are expressed. We
defined those nuances in five categories. Jury advices about categories it will be
valued. However, we suggest an identification of the selected categories at the five
stations. Categories are indicated below:

Linguistic Diversity: This category refers to public spaces of the village where it will
be possible to easily perceive plurality and languages circulations. These spaces
would coincide with residential areas with high density of migrant population.

Sexual Diversity: Set areas where it will be possible the interaction with different
gender expressions (heterosexual, homosexual, transgender, intersexual, queer) and
family diversity (traditional families, single-parents families, homoparental families).

Ethnic Diversity: The idea is to perceive interaction experiences at set areas of the
village leaning to one type of population with different cultural origins from local.

Religious Diversity: This category refers to those spaces of the village where it is
possible to appreciate the greatest diversity of cultural elements from different
religions. In this sense, these areas can be spaces where coexist different religious
temples or inhabitants with diverse religious expressions.

Economic Diversity: Refers to spaces of multicultural commercial relations. These

spaces can be expression of intense trade or circulation from diverse cultural origins.
A port or a village market are ideal spaces for observation of this type of cultural
interaction.

Through these categories we will be able to observe how participants interpret and
make judgments regarding the transversal theme of the installation, since they will
be acting as social critics both, of topics related with the public space and of the
visibility of sensitive social issues that could affect a peaceful coexistence.

Programmatic Needs

The format of the installation is an interactive and ludic route, with one
Start/Final point and five stations. Each station will be identified with a different
color.

At the Start/Final point participants may peruse parameters to follow in the

route. There will be a series of explanatory and supporting texts that allow a first
approach to the diversity topic. At this time, the aim is that each person can obtain
general information on the subject, furthermore, get visual, literary and poetic
related material.

The five stations of the route will be constructed with recycled material
(textiles, paper, ink, clothing patterns and others), which will be obtained from
donation and remains of production of local industries. Participants can manipulate
the materials in all of the stations. At every station they can get information and

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material to complete the route. It will only be possible to pass from a station to
another when the goal at each station has been completed. Circulation between
stations will have not a lineal order; participants will be able to decide how to visit
the five stations to complete the route. When participants return to the Start/Final
point, they must do a final activity.

There will be a motivational text at every station (literary extract, poem, tale,
etc.) that will help participants to get words that according to their understanding
are related with the main topic (Cultural Diversity), the site and the situation set at
every station. Connections among motivational text, the site and the situation must
be in accordance with the defined ‘goals’ of the installation. After passing all stations,
participants must have five words written in a paper pattern. That paper pattern will
be handed over to each participant before starting the route, at the Start/Final point.
To register each one of the five words, participants must use the stamps that will be
at every station. The stamps represent words contained in the motivational text. At
the end of the route, each participant must return to the Start/Final point to do the
final activity.

The final activity consists in constructing a poetic phrase with the five words
compiled at the stations. To articulate words, participants may use stamps of articles
(morphological categories), which will be available at the Start/Final point. The
phrases constructed by all the participants will be posted on a wall. Participants will
also receive a Pdf format file with all the phrases constructed. Furthermore, a
publication will be placed at a web site for future consultations.

To develop the installation it will be necessary to carry out a small

ethnographic field research in order to obtain essential data (photos, local stories,
interviews, emblematic persons and sites, material). This data will allow our team to
design the route (Start/Finish point and five stations), according to the concepts
explained before. The field research will give scientific relevance to the installation.

Installation opening day will begin with an artistic performance that will allow
us to dispose the stations in the selected sites of the village . An artistic group from a
local university, willing to collaborate with the project, will perform, the opening act.

Construction Methodology and Stages

Proposal integrates five station groups, each one formed by three modules.
Every station will be constructed with materials from the village, mainly from
factories and industries, although with collaboration of the community too.

Stations have a base of three pallets supported on a metallic frame that, at the
same time, rests on six articulated wheels. Central body of the modules will be an
armed volume formed by fabric layers doing a parallelepiped, internally supported
by a metallic structure, and externally supported by nylon belts. This volume will be
inserted, depending on the case, with a series of structural elements for aesthetics
and functional purposes. These elements will be interspersed with wooden boards

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from construction waste, pieces of furniture from urban waste, pipeline, etc. Central
body will have transversal 'windows' that allow watching across the modules.

In order to give structural stability to the 'windows', we will use wooden lintels
from recycled woods. A metallic frame united to internal structure will be located on
top of the modules, unifying the set for more stability and resistance. Furthermore,
modules will have functional elements such trays, drawers and bins for paper,
patterns of clothes, chairs, bases of ink and stamps, and a series of graphic material
with all information needed for activity develop.

The dimension of the installation depends on materials found in the region.

As an orientation guide, we estimate a base plant of 0,8x3,6 meters (three
consecutive pallets) and a total height of 2,40 meters. Each station will have
functional elements and windows disposed at different levels, this allow interaction
with both, adults and children. The three modules of every station must be ordered
in a series, united by a fixed hinge aside. This allows, not only uniting modules, but
also creating different dispositions.