International Day of Tolerance

On December 12th, 1996, the General Assembly of the UN invited all its member states to celebrated the International Day of Tolerance, on November 16th of each year, with activities directed both to the educational centers and to the public in general.

The world has reached a population of almost 7 billion people, with numerous different cultures, costumes, colors and religions. The planet Earth has a surface of 510.000.000 square kilometers, a vast territory were the human beings could co-exist pacifically respecting their differences.

However, we see constant manifestations of intolerance, in many ways: religious, ethnical and cultural.

In the Mexican soap opera “O Manancial”, by Ayn Rand, Dominique Francon states: “we must be tolerant with the opinion of others, coz tolerance is the highest of virtues”.

The human being is social and dynamic, and has many ways of acting, thus tolerance comes as a virtue that we should all embrace in order to live in a peaceful society, once it’s a fundamental means of achieving peace among individuals, nations and religions.

What is tolerance?
According to UNESCO, tolerance is :

• The capacity of living better and enabling others to live better, the capacity of having one’s own convictions and accepting that others do so as well. Enjoy one’s rights and freedom, without harming the rights of others;
• A positive and active attitude, inspired in the recognition of universal human rights and fundamental liberties of others.

Although tolerance is not something which can be obtained overnight, there are ways, especially through education, which allow for a change in mentality and actions of individuals. Intolerance is a product of ignorance and only access to good education can change the minds of children and youngster, concerning the fear of the unknown, the fear of different cultures, religions and nations.

UNICEF has proposed to see tolerance in a more positive sense: “active tolerance encompasses an effort to understand the “other”. Avoiding resentment demands a change in the way we think and feel, but it’s the only way to achieve true harmony, which can heal old wounds and mitigate suspicion among people”.

The world faces problems concerning wars, terror, xenophobia (aversion or despise for foreign people or things), crimes against humanity, discrimination of minority groups among other abuses, caused by intolerance.

In order to change this reality, tolerance mustn’t be limited to poetical concepts or good intentions, it’s necessary to take action with the basic premise that the teaching of human rights be supported by respect, justice and open dialogue, in terms of equity and solidarity.

Text: Gabriela Lara
English Version: Patrícia Mamede

Link to Declarition of principles on Tolerance

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