ED: Diversity is part of our culture

Today is United Nations Day -- a day that provides us with an opportunity to celebrate what the organization represents: Unity.

In an increasingly globalized and yet polarized world, and in a year when we as one world have been pushed to work together to bring a global pandemic under control, it has become especially important for us to understand the value of our place as global, and as citizens of a nation that is filled with people of different languages, cultures, and ideologies.

One of the ways in which we can become stronger as a nation is to take note of the incredible diversity of people who make up Bangladesh and invest in them and their culture, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also reiterated.

Oftentimes, we tend to forget that Bangladesh is a nation that is filled with diverse cultures and peoples whose identities are infused with our history, and continuing to do so would be tragic on multiple levels.

For one, diversity has time and again proven to be a strength, allowing nations to incorporate multiple ways of thinking into their combined culture, creating a more capable populace and, in turn, a more effective and sustainable economy.

It also creates solidarity amongst the people -- the music and art of a people needs no translating and increases the inclusivity of a society and, thereby, paves the pathway for peaceful coexistence.

As Bangladesh aims for middle-income status, it will have a plethora of challenges it must overcome. This is the time to invest in our cultural heritage and the people who keep that culture alive so that we may face these challenges together, as one nation.