BY ALAZAR SHIFERAW
Ethiopia is an ancient country with a strangely rich linguistic and cultural diversity. Rich in tangible and intangible heritages with both traditional and modern cultural expressions, languages and folklores, Ethiopia possesses its own diverse centuries-old distinctive cultural assets.
However, these treasures that go back thousand years, rich and diverse cultures manifest today, particularly, its cultural assets have been polluted by foreign cultures, of course, there are some important cultures that can be customized or adopted but most of them prove harmful.
Notably, it is a glaring fact that today the world is shrinking into a global village and is now moving towards a more modern stage. It is marching into globalization which is making the globe one, imposing influences on local languages and culture of a country. As many prefer new markets and expertise from abroad to their cultures, they diminish the local cultures’ hegemony.
Addis Ababa City Administration Culture and Truism Bureau case team leader Samuel Tiruneh said that Culture encompasses literature, language among others.
It is a manifestation of social ways of dressing, philosophy, political concept, democratic values among others. All these are referred to be elements of culture. It is also a showcase of societies’ ways of life, such as clothing, eating , philosophical point of view, etc,…
Thus, the bureau has been engaged in keeping and developing indigenous cultures and fighting the harmful foreign cultures. Significantly, the bureau is developing societies’ attitude or shaping their attitudes towards native cultures.
Because, the country is being built on its well -shaped and ethical citizens’ cultures. Citizens’ attitude and philosophy should benefit their country. Thus, the team’s main target is building the culture and preventing harmful foreign cultural invasions.
Yes, today globalization has various contributions for investment and development. However, in-terms of culture, it affects some of the nation’s important cultural values from the root. Foreign culture invasion erodes indigenous cultural assets, he said.
The bureau sensitizes the society to differentiate between important and harmful cultures. It has been involved in youth emancipation duties against cultural invasion but due to coronavirus pandemic and technological advancement, the youth is unintentionally impressed by foreign cultures .
But, considering the negative impacts on Ethiopian culture, at schools, the bureau has been working hard by inviting some motivation speakers in bringing altitudinal changes among the youth.
The bureau also prepares participatory theaters, to involve students in observing the status of their localities’ cultural values. Sometimes the bureau also use electronic media outlets too.
But currently the country’s socioeconomic and political conditions are challenging. The capitalism system also exasperates the cultural invasions. It makes people more individualistic. It has been creating obstacles on Ethiopians’ sentiment and unity too. The system is a competitive-market oriented one not a cooperative one.
The country has been filtering out imported foreign cultures through its strong cultural assets. But when the country entertains a competitive economic system, its significant cultural assets will be a highly eroded one. People have been exposed to foreign cultures, he said.
Besides,when people are subjected to migration , they can bring benefits to their country in two ways. One, they can facilitate economical and technological advancement. But they may result in negative impacts too. They can bring unnecessary cultural influence or crises.
As a result, for the last thirty years, various foreign-oriented cultural invasions have been widely spread in the country. Besides, the education policy of the country has its negative impact on contributing for our indigenous value invasions.
As education policy, the curriculum was not designed based on the Ethiopian culture. A local-based education system must be designed. Because when the society knows its culture well it will not be exposed to cultural influence.
More importantly religious institutions need to exert concreted efforts in keeping Ethiopian culture. The bureau will seriously engage in creating Ethio-centric culture and strongly oppose harmful cultural invasions .
The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human potential says that a foreign culture and technology can impinge on indigenous populations who may wallow underdevelopments and unable to compete against the invaders; they are therefore made dependent on the new system.
When cultural invasion occurs in developed countries it will also creat adverse dependency consequences which equally result in debt and a disruption of the existing society.
Cultural invasion is particularly adverse when the invading culture overwhelms and destroys the identity of the receiving culture. This is best seen in the case of indigenous groups whose homelands have been appropriated for economic development.
Deprived of their ancestral lands and with their way of life disrupted, they lose their autonomy and self-respect; unable to adjust to changed economic conditions, they fall into poverty and suffer malnutrition and disease. Cultural invasion tends to have negative consequences on cultural diversity.
The Ethiopian herald December 15/2020
