In diversity there is beautycs and there is strength.– Maya Angelou
We were all born into this world without knowing the nationality to which we would belong. We all are the same from birth. But growing up in different communities exposes us to various cultures, and each of us belongs to a specific culture by inheritance. Our ethnicity, beliefs, language, culture, and religion influence the way we think. Even though we belong to various cultures, by default, we are all humans with the same structure that live on the same planet. Diversity is the fact that makes this world a fascinating place to live because if we were all the same, this world would be as dull as a piece of blank paper. According to the definition, the word “diversity” is the practice or quality of including or involving people from different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.
In AIESEC, we are encouraged to be open-minded and accept the differences between each other because we are a global community, and we have to deal with people all around the world. So that needs a lot of patience and the quality of accepting and respecting the opinions of others. The innovative ideas and methods that flow from the global community are among the most significant advantages of cultural diversity. As good leaders, we must understand and extract the best from those we lead, because the impact will differ due to different thinking patterns. We can also learn a lot from multi-cultural settings in which we work in because working with people from various cultures widens our knowledge and mold our ideas based on the different experiences we are having, leading to more thoroughgoing outcomes. Living diversity makes this world a peaceful place to live. The more we engage with people from different countries, the more we will learn to live happily and peacefully.
As a newbie to the organization, I am glad to express my first-hand experiences with exchange participants whom I got to know. I got many chances to get to know many exchange participants who came to Sri Lanka as volunteers for our projects. I could make many friends from all around the world engaging with events like Global Youth Dialogue and International, Regional Organizing Committees. Working with them has been fun, valuable, and better exposure to the world so far. I realized how little I knew about this world and how I should respect and accept their opinions, tolerate their behavior, evaluate not only ourselves but also themselves, question the attitudes we hold, recognize our bias, stand out and take relevant actions to the discriminations and insensitivity.
So I deeply believe that for the betterment of this world, we need this diversity because alone it is less, but together we can do a lot.
Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.– Mahatma Gandhi
