STATEMENT: INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR TOLERANCE
Tolerance; “an act of humanity, which we must nurture and enact each in own lives every day, to rejoice in the diversity that makes us strong and the values that bring us together.”
The notion of tolerance is one that mustn’t go understated or undervalued, it is an instrumental catalyst to both achieving and implementing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In an era where the fundamental disregard for human rights is one that fuels the flames of prejudice, conflict and extremism, we must further our collective efforts to extinguish this fire ravaging communities in every corner of the earth.
Friday 16th November marks the United Nations International Day of Tolerance, a commitment to the strengthening of understanding, respect and acceptance within and across borders. The United Nations has launched a new campaign; TOGETHER. TOGETHER is a global campaign that advocates to both reduce the negative perceptions, attitude and behaviour towards migrants and refugees.
Jordan lies in a unique position globally, where its demographics and geographical location has made it a principal actor to mitigate the refugee crisis. The Jordan Compact lies at the heart of the response to this crisis; one that is embedded in existing political capital and economic incentives showing that restrictive policies can be opened up and funds mobilised in a short space of time.
Although both the Jordanian government and international governments and entities have made considerable progress, there are still many hurdles to overcome to truly foster an environment in which both the sustenance of human rights and social cohesion is not tainted by intolerance. To truly cultivate a tolerant society, we must work collaboratively on a grassroots level and promote positive dialogue as a means to strengthen the social contract between host communities and refugees/migrants.
Tolerance can only be championed when respect for all human life is not compromised by ill-founded perceptions of the embodiment of ‘the other’. The necessity to uphold dignity for all is one that cannot be disregarded, within all sectors of life and factions of society. The agency of this imperative must be communicated through all possible channels and across all social groups – namely the youth.
The youth constitute around 57% of the Jordanian population and are not only in a position to reform the perception of ‘the other’, but rebuild social structures on the values of humanity, respect and tolerance. The power of such mustn’t be overlooked, rather, the youth should be both nurtured and educated on how to foster tolerance through their respective strengths.
The United Nations, in partnership with YouTube, recognises the invaluable contribution of the youth to society, and this year will host a webcast and screening of videos from YouTube’s Creators For Change Impact Project spotlighting the inspirational creators who use YouTube’s global reach to make the case for greater tolerance and empathy towards others.
This will take place on Friday 16th November at 12pm-2pm. To watch the webcast please visit http://webtv.un.org/ and send an email to education-outreach@un.org (with “CFC webcast” in the subject line) if you are planning to participate by webcast. Let them know the name of your school and approximately how many students will be following the webcast.
ACHRS urges students across Jordan to become active Creators For Change, drawing upon their experience, strengths and creativity to transform the negative to positive, foster tolerance and truly positively impact society.
#CreatorsForChange #ToleranceDay #UNHCR
