May 13, 2020
We are celebrating International Day of Cultural Diversity, as well as International Day of Biological Diversity on 21 and 22 May, just as those of the Islamic faith end their festival of fasting - Ramadan - with the sharing of food of Eid al-Fitre. Be a part of these days and celebrate too with our activities.
On International day of Cultural Diversity, we remember that a rich cultural mix of people is a driving force of development, as a means of leading a more fulfilling intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual life.
By understanding and respecting different cultures around the world (try out our activity to learn to play the game 'Mancala', which is played in Ghana as well as other African countries) we all will live better and more peaceful lives, which leads us straight into Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions.
So, let's begin to understand one of the major festivals of Islam. On 23 May, some 1.6 billion Muslims around the world will start to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan (find out about Ramadan on BBC Bitesize here), a period of fasting, with the festival of Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Fitr means ‘festival of breaking the fast’ and usually lasts up to three days. Our activity here encourages you to bake your own Eid biscuits to share with your neighbours.
On 22 May we mark International Day of Biological Diversity to raise awareness of the importance and value of a rich and varied life on land. So, what does biodiversity mean? Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth – the plants, animals, soils, water and other living things. These provide us all with food, clean water, fuel and other vital services that our health and wealth depend on. Take part in this activity that both explores mini-beasts that live near your home and then shows you how to build a bug hotel.
To end with, here is Dialogue Works' Home Talk Week 8 is about giving examples when in a P4C discussion. Take a look at the P4C activities and choose the right one for the age of your children.