Cultural Literacy

Cultural literacy means how much we know about other cultures.

The principal benefit of cultural literacy is that
by knowing how people behave in other
cultures, how they interact with nature, their
society, culture and spiritual beliefs, we can
better understand them and improve relations
by showing respect for their culture. This can
definitely reduce cultural differences in the
world and improve the way different cultures
interact.
It is important to know the cultures of countries and many people dream of knowing
them, but they do not have knowledge of our own cultural diversity, the diversity of
places and sites to visit, because they do not insist on knowing about their land
and the roots of the different traditions and cultures they have in their own country.
We live in a consumerist society that is
devastating our planet. By critically
reflecting about the way we interact
with nature and comparing it with other
cultures, we can develop new ideas
and achieve great changes in our
societies.

Cultural literacy about your country

Cultural literacy is not only about foreign cultures. When you think about improving
your cultural literacy, start by learning about your own culture and the cultures that
belong to your country. This can bring many benefits to you and your community.

Cultural literacy in education

Cultural literacy in education means
interacting with students from other
cultures by any means (face to face, by
internet, videos, etc.) and exchanging
experiences and cultural knowledge. As
simple as it may sound, the impact of
cultural literacy in education is huge, as it
enables students to see the world through
different eyes.
You come to school or university to learn about the world while sharing with people
from different locations and often different cultural backgrounds. There you have
the perfect setting for cultural literacy to be achieved. Some particular ways to take
advantage of these setting to foster cultural literacy are: Get to know your partners
well: People tend to hang out with the ones they find things in common with. They
define their friends by the music they like, the place they come from, the language
they speak, etc. This is the first obstacle we create when developing cultural
literacy. So next time try to get interested in different people from your class.
Interact with the classmates you usually don’t talk to. Probably they have
interesting things to share with you about their cultural background.