During the twenty-eight session of
General Conference of UNESCO, held from October 25th to November 16th,
1995, the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance was discussed an
approved by member states. According to UNESCO’s Declaration, tolerance is
defined as “the respect, acceptance, and appreciation of the rich diversity
of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human”.
However, tolerance is not only a matter of recognizing and respecting the
beliefs and practices of others but recognizing and respecting themselves, as
an individual and as a member of the social or ethnic group or class to which they
belong.
Tolerance is fostered by knowledge,
openness, communication and freedom of thought, conscience, and belief.
Tolerance is harmony in difference. Tolerance, the virtue that makes peace
possible, contributes to the replacement of the culture of war by a culture of
peace.
This definition clearly shows that
mutual understanding and co-operation between groups with different
ethnicities, religions, political ideologies, and economic status is essential
not only to communal and world peace, but also to the very survival of
societies.
- Tolerance
is defined as the respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich
diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expressions and ways of
being human.
- The
essence of tolerance is the right of people to behave according to their
beliefs, even when there are others who disagree with that belief.
- Tolerance
is not compromise, forgiveness or encouragement of negative behaviour. In
its essence, tolerance is an active attitude on the basis of recognition
of the established human rights and freedoms.
- Being
tolerant means not to exert any pressure on anyone to change his/ her
beliefs, to respect opposite opinions, habits, and to be free from
prejudices.
- Tolerance
is the willingness of individuals to accept the right of everyone to be
different. It means to respect the opinions of others without being
judgmental.
- To
practice tolerance, which is equivalent to respecting the human rights,
does not mean to tolerate social injustice, to reject one’s own opinions
or to yield to the opinions of others.
- Tolerance
means that human beings are naturally different in their appearance,
posture, speech, behaviour and values, and that they have the right to
live in peace and to preserve their individuality. It also means that the
views of one person must not be forced upon other people.
Adapted from Emmanuel Agius and Jolanta Ambrosewicz. Toward a
Culture of Tolerance and Peace. International Bureau for Children’s
Rights. Montereal (
COMPREHENSION
1. Complete the following
sentences with the necessary information from the text.
a. According to UNESCO’s Declaration, tolerance
is......……………………………….……..…………………………………………………….….…….
b. Tolerance is
fostered………………..……………………………………………….………..…………………………………………………….……….
c. Being tolerant
means……………………………………………….………..………………………………………………………………..…….……….
2. Answer the following
questions in your own words as far as possible.
A. What is the essence of tolerance?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....
B. What does tolerance contribute to?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....
Complete the following
words. Their meanings are given for guidance.
a) Op …………………………….: a tendency to accept new ideas, methods, or
changes.
b) Con……………………………: the
ideas and feelings you have that tell you whether something you are doing is
right or wrong.
c) Pr…………………………….. : the way in which
something gradually changes and develops.
d) Nor…………………………….:
standards of behaviour that are accepted in a particular society.
5. Match the following
word with their definitions/ meanings.
Word |
|
Definiton |
1) Diversity |
|
|
2) Harmony |
|
|
3) Virtue |
|
|
4) Co-operation |
|
|
5) Compromise |
|
|
6) Judgmental |
|
|
7) Exert |
|
7. Complete the diagram
below with positive values that tolerance foster