ABSTRACT

This is an
Argumentative
essay that
concerns
multiculturalism in
the United Arab
Emirates and its
advantages on
multiple sectors
such as education,
workplace and
MULTICULTURALISM IN THE society.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

 Multiculturalism in the United Arab Emirates

Introduction

Multiculturalism presents challenges to the UAE's national identity; however  no

one can deny that cultural diversity has long been a dominant contributor of the UAE's

prosperity. In order to understand the argument presented in the following essay, one

first needs to conceptualize what Multiculturalism is. Multiculturalism is a perspective

that considers that all cultures are different but deserve equal treatment and

recognizes not only the existence of cultures in a single place or political culture but

also the existence of cultural acceptance and inclusivity of those cultures (Akl, 2015).

The United Arab Emirates may be used as a great example that portrays

multiculturalism, especially being home to global cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi

where over 100 nationalities reside. For example, the population of Dubai constitutes

only up to 15 to 20 percent of the original locals with a striking 80 to 85 percent of the

population belonging to different ethnicities and cultures (Kanna, 2010). While this

boosts diversity, opportunity and spread of knowledge, some may argue that it could

also create challenges on the cultural aspect for Emiratis as they try to blend in with a

majority of various different cultures while their own identity fades. This paper will

examine the importance of multiculturalism in UAE ‘s culture, workplace, and

education. It will further counter-argue the various obstacles that the general public

perceives as a threat to national security and identity.

Multiculturalism in society
Multiculturalism in society means living a lifestyle in which the people in your life are not

only from diverse backgrounds but are also culturally accepting, living in a globalized

community. This brings a multitude of benefits to the to the nation with the first and

foremost being safety and security with living in this society. Safety and protection of

the various ethnicities within a country makes it an eligible location for international

events, sports matches, exhibitions, concerts and many other profitable events that not

only contribute to the economy but increase employment opportunities and recreation

for the citizens of the country. In addition, international events continue to be a driving

force in the growth of the Emirati hospitality industry. Expo 2021 Dubai, an international

mega exhibition, anticipates 25 million visitors over the six-month exposition, which will

ultimately increase tourist inflow to the UAE (U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, 2019).

Multiculturalism in the UAE has resulted in the perception that it is a welcoming country

that is safe for all minorities and ethnicities across the globe, making it an attractive

country to professionals, investors and tourists. This claim can be supported by the

fact that Dubai alone has thousands of expatriates such as doctors and professors

from different countries and cultural backgrounds, bringing a high-quality workforce to

the country, especially in areas where the locals of the country lack experience or

qualifications (Zaidan, 2016). This means that expatriates can also be welcomed to

the country to boost industries that have a lot of potential in the country but not the

workforce needed.

Multiculturism and the spread of knowledge

 Apart from the aforementioned positive implications of multiculturalism, the

population is composed of global citizens who are aware and informed individuals.

Every member of society learns some of the other’s language, a new word every day,

real world problems from home towns, traditions and many other new things are

available to be learnt in a multicultural society with much of this information being

spread on a first-person basis. Knowledge of languages, religious sentiments and

traditions means one can also get high-paying job offers from overseas companies or

local, culturally diverse companies.

Counterargument

On the contrary, multiculturalism can seem challenging to societal values such

as differentia, ethnic, racial or cultural identity and loss of tradition or language.

Differentia refers to the belief that cultures or ethnicities are separate from each other

and sometime cannot coexist (Morgan, 2020). This can be dismissed on the grounds

that it is just a belief since this world has seen many multicultural societies prosper with

Dubai in the UAE being a perfect example. Multiculturalism seems to spreading fast to

other cities in the UAE and after a few initial hurdles, the other cities can also

accommodate a smooth, globalized society. Apart from that, those who want to

maintain their cultural identity do so out of special effort as can be seen by Sikhs in the

United Kingdom who largely live together in close-knit communities and ensure

religious practises regularly. Therefore, people who want to maintain their identity can

do so anywhere in the world. Similarly, language and tradition are not lost if it is upheld

regularly.
Multiculturalism in the workforce

In the workplace, diversity and inclusivity has always been promoted to ensure a

proper mechanism for the smooth flow of brainstorming, perspective, planning, conflict

and execution. Multiculturalism brings to the workplace a powerful and diverse

workforce that is also inclusive. This means that all members of the team or workforce

feel that they belong and there is no discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity,

religion or cultural background (Akl, 2015). Therefore, they feel safe and comfortable

giving their opinion or perspective in team collaborations and in brainstorming

sessions with the team.

With a more culturally diverse workforce, there are more perspectives on the

table which means more conflict. Conflict is always good when making a decision or

brainstorming as this way all problems are sorted out with no room for loopholes or

unintended mistakes since any discrepancies are pointed by at least one member of

the team. Most importantly, conflict always proves fruitful in a project and most high

performing teams usually undergo conflict at some point or another. Other than the

benefit of perspective, multiculturalism also ensures high-quality customer service. This

is because in a multicultural country, the workforce will be from across the globe with

knowledge on languages, cultures, sentiments which can be used in customer service,

marketing and even international market due to the diverse talent available for it to

meet all international demands of the global target market (Akl, 2015). .

Multiculturalism in Education
 The idea of multicultural education is that it creates an equal opportunity for

students all across the world. The idea is that students from different racial, ethnic and

social status come together to acquire knowledge within a classroom. The environment

of the school is altered and certain goals are set for students in general to progress in

academics. Multiculturalism in schools have five characteristics that must be kept in

mind. They include integrating certain aspects of racial and ethnic concerns into the

curriculum. A Transformation approach is also adopted to understand how knowledge

is acquired and built, as well as keeping in mind a particular nations democratic value

and the importance of being united under a framework (Nickerson, 2015).

The cultural diversity of Dubai is at its peak. It allows for schools across UAE to

follow curriculums that are adopted from different countries (Nickerson, 2015). The

UAE has always been a country that is focused on multiculturism. It is home to people

from various nations and the leaders of the country are always focused on promoting

cultural understanding and awareness and they share a vision of nationwide peace.

UAE is adopting a dynamic methodology for transforming the education system

dependent on instructive communication and social equity (Baker, 2017). The parts

required in teaching multicultural education are content incorporations, bias decrease,

engaging school culture and social culture. These all relate and all require

consideration as they identify with the endeavours of compromise in this day and age.

What children realize in their study hall situations with regards to connections with the

individuals who are unique in relation to them converts into how well they will oversee

life in the worldwide commercial centre.

 Multicultural education is based on the ground to provide educational equity for

all understudies and it endeavours to expel obstructions to educational opportunities

and achievements for the understudies across different social foundations (Nickerson,

2015). Multicultural classrooms help the understudies from different societies to bring

their gigantic scope of encounters, bits of knowledge, learning, and points of view to

the study hall. Multicultural education intercedes these circumstances by showing

content about the way of life and commitments of numerous ethnic gatherings and by

utilizing an assortment of instructing strategies that are socially receptive to various

ethnic learning styles. This globalized form of education prepares students for the fast-

paced, globalized community that we are living in. The main aim of empowering

students is to provide the coping and intellectual skills to succeed and make this a

more just world. Not only does the foundation of education start from diversity,

inclusivity and cultural acceptance but there is an exchange of culture happening

since school days allows most students to grow up prepared to be the perfect

candidate for high quality jobs across the globe.

Conclusion

In short, for all three sectors, society, workplace and education see an overall

positive impact as a result of multiculturalism not only for the expatriates or immigrants

but the locals, the economy and the wellbeing of the country. In terms of safety,

security, tourism, employment, diversity, inclusivity, high performing businesses and a

globalized education system, multiculturalism brings UAE more positivity and good

than harm. The cultural diversity of UAE is the basis in driving its economy. People
living in peace and harmony will promote a sense of sustainable development in

society and this would improve living conditions on a bigger scale.

Bibliography

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Performance

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Nickerson, C. (2015). Unity in diversity: The view from the (UAE)

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