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Maria Ponikiewska About The "MANIFESTO": Some notes about Multicultural Integration and Communication I would like to express my great pleasure in your invitation to participate in the Round Table meeting of Experts of the International Scientist Committee of the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation to be held in Florence between 19-26. I would also like to thank you for forwarding information regarding meetings, the manifesto draft of the of Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation and the program and history of the Foundation. It is a great privilege for me to be able to participate in activities organised by the Foundation, whose mission "through people - to people" aims to contribute to world peace by organising international meetings for people of different cultures to meet get to know each other and build up friendships". The Krakow University of Technology, and especially the Department of Architecture, has been working together with the Foundation for 5 years now in areas concerning student education, the intellectual future of young scientists and on improving contacts between student groups from Krakow, Poland and other Central and Eastern countries with the cultural centers of Europe. The Foundation raises the very specific subject of multinational and multicultural "communication", putting into practice the theories of many philosophers. We could mention here, amongst others, works by Edward H. Hall ("The Silent Language", Copyright 1059 by Edward H. Hall) and John Stewad's "Bridges not Walls. A Book about Interpersonal Communication" Copyright 1990 by Mc Graw-Hill). Scientists believe culture can be defined as "confusing history to create values" According to Hall however, "culture is communication" and "communication is culture", "The silent language" as he describes culture, is a very specific link, which allows for peaceful dialogue between nations. "When people from different cultures meet there follows a confrontation of language, principles and norms which are different to ours. This confrontation may provide a useful source of information on the rules and norms governing our own culture. Often when faced with cultural differences we have a tendency to treat someone from a different group as an outsider". "The concept of "outsider" remains one of the most important tools of sociology applied to analyze social processes occurring In the consciousness and in groups facing new social orders." As we have no information regarding the individual "outsider" our image of them is abstract and stereotype. We see an "outsider" as different from us, unknown and met for the first time. According to Miller and Steinberg, when the behavior of others is expected, we consider information on three levels:
The recognition of "outsiders" enables us to avoid misunderstanding between individuals, through social groups, to nations. Certainly the possibility for people of various countries to meet supports the idea of peace in the world. When studying the " Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation Manifesto" we realize just how important for world peace is the creation of an international network which would unite people in friendship and understanding. However, the Manifesto, also warns of the danger of losing social values once acquired by hard work. Dangers society is exposed to include selfishness, a consumer life style, individualism, loneliness, a move away from culture and tradition. Although acknowledging the role of tourism in experiencing different cultures the Manifesto differentiates: traditional tourism, which is normally individual, is described as "egotistic tourism" providing limited possibilities to meet people and develop a friendship. The "Manifesto" also includes business tourism to this group. The organisation of international meetings and workshops has been shown in contrast to tourism of this kind. International integration workshops based on cultural heritage are very valuable in supporting world peace and are the best way of meeting people and furthering the development of the organisation. Access to culture, particularly the atmosphere of Florence, a city full of fine Renaissance masters, creates a unique background for the integration of people. I believe that the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation is engaged in such an important mission giving this experience to a wider group of people, especially the young, talented people in art who are sensitive to beauty, to people who never imagined they would visit such place. It is a wonderful gift and beautiful idea. But is it only purpose of the Foundation? The Foundation, above all, wishes to create international relationship for world peace and to actively involve more and more people in its work. This is on going. To be creative, contacts and discussions should have specific setting Therefore, the organization of student workshops, conferences which are not simply "passive" events but require personal involvement is a wonderful solution. The arts (music, pointing, sculpture, and architecture) are especially associated with Florence, however other subject matters are by no means less important. When considering further plans of the " Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation" the following questions must be addressed: 1. Are the objectives to date a success? 2. What are time and financial resources of the Foundation? 3. Should any changes or new ideas be introduced? 4 Does the Foundation have any defined boundaries? The answer to the first question is obvious. Achievements are evident and confirmed by the numerous letters of gratitude to the Foundation. The second question - financial resources. The answer is provided in the Foundation’s financial statement. The Foundation's contribution is the most significant however the interest expressed by sponsors assures the Foundation’s secure development. To recall again Edward Hall - factor of time in human life must be stressed. Hall considers the problem of time in our preparation for an event. He calls it "leading time" (the first goal - mutual acquaintance of young people from different cultures, the Foundation's final objective - lasting world peace). Therefore, the Foundation should be supported for as long as possible in fulfilling their role in this case "the leading time" is "infinite.'' The answer to the third question should state that all initiatives of the Foundation are rightly and valuable. Another interesting form of development for the Foundation would be meetings in other countries, which have participated so far. Krakow in Poland (where I live) is a city of cultural heritage, which would provide excellent backdrop for meetings and an exchange of opinions I do not mention other place as each country is quite unique and to visit would be very valuable experience. This obviously creates a financial and organizational problem. Sponsors for such events are needed, action plans required and the meetings subjects should be drawn. I would suggest the following topics for discussion by representatives of the different countries:
Finally, I would like to stress that the Institute of History of Architecture at Krakow's Technical University, especially prof. Andrzej Kaluczka, PhD. have been actively involved in the work of the Foundation for many years. Prof. Kaluczka, as one of the first, undertook Paolo Del Bianco's idea by organising for 5 years, student conferences and workshops in Cracow and Florence within the framework of the Foundation. This provided a splendid opportunity to develop contacts and for many students of the Krakow Technical University, Architecture Faculty a chance to participate in workshops. Finally I would like, once more, to express my gratitude to Mr. Paolo Del Bianco, President of the Foundation for the possibility to be involved in this wonderful undertaking. Marta Ponikiewska |
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