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6. GLOBAL CROSS-SYNTHESIS: 30 PROPOSALS FOR AN ALTERNATIVE WORLD MODEL

VI. Developing and Defending Culture as a Basis for Change

18. Strengthening the cultural diversity of different countries and regions, and stimulating cultural exchange. Each culture has its history, its wealth and its singularity. It is in its diversity that solutions for the great challenges of humanity are found. However, defending diversity as a factor of cultural enrichment, should not hinder cultural exchange, or the blind defence of tra-ditions. Some cultures experience rich narratives and myths, while at the same time disrespect human rights. This is unacceptable. For these cultures, experiencing cultural exchange can bring forth parameters regarding un-known rights in their history. (16.08.)

19. Strengthening cultural identity in face of globalization. The globalization process has spread throughout the world, and has stripped the character from rich cultures by commercializing relations that before were based on community life, on gratitude and on affectionate and symbolic exchanges. The economy-world has also stimulated the appearance of a culture-world. However, social and cultural movements and strong local identities have in-stigated a cultural rebirth. “Essence’ can be found at the local level, and ‘ap-pearance’ at the global level. (16.10.)

20. The search for cultural unity and complementation through inter-cultural dialogue should commence as a result of this protection of cultural and artis-tic heritage. This avoids ethnocentrism and stimulates each culture to open itself up to other cultural matrices. Giving value to roots, ethnic groups and races, religions, shared history, cultural manifestations and artistic expres-sions should be the foundation from which all the processes of identity for-mation are structured. (16.12.)

21. Building a culture of peace. Our societies practically don't know what lasting Peace is. The culture of Peace should be one of the most important banners, and not only so that the Empire can reign over the consensus and silence of the dominated, but as a condition for constructing a happier soci-ety in all fields of human activities and life. Art, as builder of communities of emotion, as a celebration of collectivity, could play a fundamental role – as an aggregating essence and Peace builder. In this sense, campaigns for peace, movements for art and peace in schools, art and peace meetings among young people, symbolic actions for peace and movements against disarmament could be carried out. (16.14.)

22. The university must develop the notion of individual responsibility. This entails reformulating and appropriating a concept of ethical and deontologi-cal responsibility that does not only assess itself vis-à-vis the obvious and direct harm of technological applications, but also vis-à-vis the responsibility of academics in their relationship with the world. (34.02.)

23. Stimulate the ethical consumption culture. Mobilize and sensibilize to-wards ethical consumption through education (to stimulate critical thinking and the defense of an ethics that respects and takes up responsibility in re-lation to all) and through information (to allow the option, the choice, the consumer’s power to discover the exploitation relations inherent to goods trading) to discuss the articulation between the relations that we establish in our work and life, and the exploitation relations that underlie the goods we purchase. Include in educational syllabi, in teacher development courses, and professional training courses, critical thinking about economy, advertis-ing and consumption. (10.10.)

VII. Education for a Sustainable Economy of Solidarity

24. Education for sustainable development must be set in its context, by putting the emphasis on new forms of needs perception and resource use. This should be concerned with:
a) Training in terms of values that strengthen the understanding of the re-sponsibility necessary for a sustainable development that is all-embracing.
b) Training in the knowledge necessary for solving the problems associated with sustainability. (08.14.)

25. Define exchanging projects between universities to ensure public and governmental agenda with issues on economy in solidarity, innovations in monetary theories. Give international support to governments that experi-ment with economy in solidarity for local development. (06.13.)