AFRICAN cultural institutions and agencies have been asked to work with practitioners to produce Holy Books of African traditional religions.This was part of the recommendations at the international conference on Multiculturalism and the Prospects for Africa and African Diaspora Development held in Salvador-Bahia, Brazil from November 8 to 10.These recommendations were contained in a Communique issued at the end of the Conference which was organised by the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), in conjunction with the Pan African Strategic and Policy Research Group (PANAFSTRAG) Nigeria, Special Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality (SEPPIR), the Presidency Brazil, the State University of Bahia (UNEB), Bahia State Cultural Secretariat (SECULT), the Palmares Cultural Foundation, Pedro Calmon Foundation.It had in attendance dozens of scholars, culture administrators, and others, from different countries in Europe and America. Organisers stated that Africans and peoples of African descent in the Diaspora remain victims of an increasingly globalised and multicultural world. 'Multiculturalism has no single definition, but it refers to the appreciation, tolerance and promotion of multiple cultures and identities within a society. While the effective management of diversity could accelerate growth and development, Africa has not been very successful in the management of her diversities. Though Africa has the largest concentration of nationalities in the world, the manipulation and failure of the management of pluralism in the continent is a major factor that aggravates underdevelopment in all its ramifications.'Additionally, Africans and Africans in the Diaspora have been at the receiving end of racial discrimination, identity crises, economic, social, political and cultural marginalisation particularly in the context of globalisation and corporate capitalism. These untoward experiences and lived realities of African and Diaspora Africans find resonance in the declaration by the United Nations of Year 2011 as the International Year of the People of African Descent, in order to call attention to and address these ills.'The conference set for itself the objectives to examine the extent to which multiculturalism has promoted or hindered development in Africa; to promote research and scholarship on multiculturalism in Africa and the Diaspora; to foster understanding of the relationship between multiculturalism and identity politics in Africa and the African Diaspora; and to enhance the understanding of Africa's multiculturalism and how it could be explored and utilized for development.And it was expected that at the end of the Conference the attention would have been drawn to the multidimensional aspects of multiculturalism in Africa and the Diaspora; platform would have been provided for harnessing the gains of cultural pluralism for sustainable development in Africa; lessons would have been learnt from the management of cultural diversities across the globe in order to attenuate the spate of ethnic and religious conflicts that have ravaged and still ravage Africa; and appropriate strategies would have been developed for safeguarding and promoting minority cultures in Africa and the Diaspora.At the end of highly engaging deliberations, participants observed that the African Union (AU) has yet to comprehensively and inclusively define the African Diaspora in its creation of Africa's sixth region. In this regard, it recommended that the African Union urgently constitutes a scientific committee to define and conceptualize the African Diaspora. The Conference also that 'the cultural heritage of Africa, tangible and intangible, if properly and consciously harnessed are capable of providing common trends in African humanistic experiences that could be harnessed to provide a platform or launch pad for Africa's quantum leap forward to development. Essentially African values could be translated to universal values to provide a space for Africa's offering at the global intellectual market. For example 'keeping the brotherhood' in all aspects of human engagements. It therefore recommended that the African Union establish an organization to coordinate all cultural activities and serve the purpose similar to what UNESCO is undertaking for the United Nations.Other observations made at the end of the conference and which was also contained in the Communique are: 'That African countries receive large remittances from individuals and organisations in the Diaspora annually but that interests do not go beyond these remittances to far more comprehensive programmes of rehabilitation and reconciliation; that there is a need to collapse the monolingual borders inherited from colonialism by consciously promoting and encouraging the use of various African languages and where possible, find ways to articulate some of the foreign notions and concepts which do not speak to the realities of Africans; that multicultural education has not been consciously promoted in African countries and among students of African descent in the Diaspora; and that the practitioners of African traditional religions have not produced Holy Books that could provide spiritual support for the intrinsic values of African cultural heritage and counter religious fundamentalism.'In this regard, it recommended: 'That African countries offer dual citizenship with all its rights and privileges to both new immigrants to the Diaspora and to all peoples of African descent in the Diaspora. They should be encouraged to acquire the citizenship of African countries of their respective choices to promote mutually beneficial relationship between Africa and the African Diaspora. It also recommended that governments in African countries pass legislations for compulsory acquisition of competence in indigenous languages; that a comprehensive curriculum of multicultural education be designed by African and African Diaspora scholars; and that African cultural institutions and agencies work with practitioners to produce Holy Books of African traditional religions.'
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