By Michele Jolin
For generations, young people around the
world could grow up, work and live their entire lives without ever
meeting – or even seeing – someone who practiced another religion, had
a different skin color or whose standard of living was unimaginably
different from their own.
Today, this kind of isolation is increasingly rare. With high
rural-urban migration, and a media that exposes the global mosaic of
cultural practices, young people now live in communities that are richer
in diversity and differences.
While this diversity can enhance individual lives in a myriad of ways,
the differences can also pose potentially serious challenges in the
workplace and to the strength and unity of communities. To address these
challenges, educators are in urgent need of tools that will help young
people understand and thrive in this increasingly diverse world.
