The International Day for Cultural Diversity, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2002 following UNESCO’s adoption of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity in 2001, serves as a reminder to the world that diversity is a driving force for sustainable development, innovation, and peaceful coexistence.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity in Syria is the true remaining wealth of our country. It represents the fundamental value upon which Syrian identity has been built throughout history and is the greatest guarantee of social cohesion in our current phase.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that the transitional phase the country is undergoing presents a historic opportunity for reassessment and reconstruction. While we do not adopt an extreme position of absolute support or rigid opposition to the form this phase takes, the Syrian Future Movement focuses all its efforts on supporting the path to building a state that embraces everyone, based on pluralism and equal citizenship without discrimination.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that Syria’s integration into the international community inevitably requires respect for international conventions protecting cultural diversity and freedom of expression. Recent UNESCO reports (such as “Culture: The Missing Goal of Sustainable Development”) indicate that investment in the cultural diversity and creative industries contributes up to 3% of global GDP and creates millions of jobs—something Syria desperately needs to revive its ailing economy.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that bringing Syria into line with the global community and developed nations necessitates a shift from a “conflict management” mentality to one of “investing in diversity.” Contemporary international human development indicators demonstrate that countries integrating cultural diversity into their educational and economic policies achieve growth and innovation rates 2.7 times higher than those with closed, monolithic systems.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that drafting a new social and constitutional contract during this transitional phase must be based on explicit constitutional recognition of the rights of all Syrian communities and guarantee equal opportunities in balanced local development to ensure the safe and sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced persons and their reintegration into the national fabric.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that the country’s future vision should be translated through reforming the educational and media systems, to become platforms for promoting dialogue, acceptance of others, and breaking stereotypes, in line with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
