Unity in diversity

Unity in diversity in various languages
Afrikaans	eenheid in diversiteit
Arabic	الوحدة في التنوع
Belarusian	Адзінства ў разнастайнасці
Bengali	বৈচিত্র্যের মধ্যে ঐক্য (Boichitrer moddhe Oikyo)
Bulgarian	Единство в многообразието
Catalan	Unitat en la diversitat
Chinese	多样性中的统一性
Croatian	Jedinstvo u različitosti
Czech	Jednota v rozmanitosti
Danish	Forenet i mangfoldighed
Dutch	Eenheid in verscheidenheid
English	Unity in diversity, EU United in diversity
Estonian	Ühinenud mitmekesisuses
Farsi	وحدت در کثرت
Tagalog	Pagkakaisa sa pagkakaiba-iba
Finnish	Moninaisuudessaan yhtenäinen
French	Unis dans la diversité
German	In Vielfalt geeint
Greek	Ενωμένοι στην πολυμορφία
Hebrew	אחדות במגוון (Achdut baMigvan)
Hindi	विविधता में एकता (Vividhtaa mein Ektaa)
Hungarian	Egység a sokféleségben
Irish	Aontaithe san éagsúlacht
Indonesian	Persatuan dalam perbedaan
Italian	Uniti nella diversità
Japanese	多様性の中の調和
Kannada	ವಿವಿಧತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಏಕತೆ Vividhateyalli Ekate
Korean	다양성 속의 통일성
Latvian	Vienoti daudzveidībā
Lithuanian	Suvienijusi įvairovę
Malayalam	നാനാത്വത്തില്‍ ഏകത്വം
Malay	Persatuan dalam kepelbagaian
Maltese	Magħquda fid-diversità
Marathi	विविधतेत एकता (Vividhtet Ekta)
Nepali	अनेकतामा एकता (Anekataama Ekataa)
Old Javanese	Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Indonesian motto
Polish	Zjednoczeni w różnorodności
Portuguese	Unidade na diversidade
Romanian	Unitate în diversitate
Russian	Единство в многообразии
Scots	Unitit in diversitie
Serbian	Jedinstvo u različitosti/Јединство у различитости
Slovak	Zjednotení v rozmanitosti
Slovene	Združeni v različnosti
Spanish	Unidad en la diversidad
Swedish	Förenade i mångfalden
Tamil	வேற்றுமையில் ஒற்றுமை
Turkish	Çeşitlilik içinde birlik
Tamil	வேற்றுமையில் ஒற்றுமை
Ukrainian	Єдність у різноманітті,Єдність у відмінності
Urdu	اختلاف میں اتحاد Iḵẖtilāf meṉ ittiḥād
Vietnamese	Thống nhất trong đa dạng
Venetian	L’unità in te la diversità
Võro	Ütisüs kirivüse seen
Wallonian	L'unitè ol divêrsitè

Unity in diversity is a concept of "unity without uniformity and diversity without fragmentation" that shifts focus from unity based on a mere tolerance of physical, cultural, linguistic, social, religious, political, ideological and/or psychological differences towards a more complex unity based on an understanding that difference enriches human interactions.

"Unity in diversity" is a popular motto within and among nation states, and also in political and social movements.

The idea and related phrase is very old and dates back to ancient times in both Western and Eastern Old World cultures. The concept of unity in diversity was used "in non-Western cultures such as indigenous peoples in North America and Taoist societies in 400-500 B.C.E. In pre-modern Western culture it has been implicit in the organic conceptions of the universe that have been manifest since the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations through medieval Europe and into the Romantic era."

Examples of usage

Bahá'í Faith (1938)

In 1938, in his book The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, Shoghi Effendi, then head of the Baha'i Faith, said that "unity in diversity" was the "watchword" for the religion.

Canada (1943)

Adélard Godbout, while Premier of Quebec, published an article entitled "Canada: Unity in Diversity" (1943) in the Council on Foreign Relations journal. He asked,

How does the dual relationship of the French Canadians make them an element of strength and order, and therefore of unity, in our joint civilization, which necessarily includes not only Canada and the British Commonwealth of Nations, but also the United States, the Latin republics of America and liberated France?

The motto of the province of Saskatchewan, adopted in 1986, is a variation, Multis e gentibus vires (from many peoples, strength).

Unity in Diversity: Interdisciplinary Research Seminar (1977)

The term was used by a group of academics who formed the Interdisciplinary Research Seminar at Wilfrid Laurier University with a sense of community in mind (p. xvi) working to develop practical wisdom through interdisciplinary activity as opposed to the trend towards fragmentation and ever narrowing specializations in academia. Ervin Laszlo presented his paper entitled "Framework for a General Systems Theory of World Order" (1974) as one of the first seminar Papers that led to the establishment of the IRS in 1975.

South Africa (1981,1996)

When the Apartheid of Republic of South Africa celebrated 20 years of independence on 31 May 1981, the theme of the celebrations was "unity in diversity" as a cynical attempt to explain away the inequalities in South African life. Anti-apartheid campaigners opposed these celebrations and called on runners of the Comrades Marathon to protest at the co-option of the event by wearing a black armband. The winner of the race, Bruce Fordyce, was one of those wearing a black armband.

The term has since been incorporated into the preamble of the 1996 Constitution of South Africa as a central tenet of the new South Africa.

Michael Novak (1983)

Michael Novak wrote,

Unity in diversity is the highest possible attainment of a civilization, a testimony to the most noble possibilities of the human race. This attainment is made possible through passionate concern for choice, in an atmosphere of social trust.

European Union (2000)

Main article: Motto of the European Union

In 2000, the European Union adopted 'United in Diversity' (Latin: In varietate concordia) as official Motto, a reference to the many and diverse member states of the Union in terms of culture. Apart from its English form, the European Union's motto is also official in 22 other languages. "Unity in diversity" was selected in through a competition process involving students from member nations. According to the European Commission: European Union official website

The motto means that, via the EU, Europeans are united in working together for peace and prosperity, and that the many different cultures, traditions and languages in Europe are a positive asset for the continent.

Indonesia (2003)

In 2003 The term United In Diversity ( UID ) is used by not-for-profit organization established with Indonesian leaders from business, government, and civil society. UID aims at nothing less than inspiring tri sector leaders to collaborate, create and implement an action plan to forge a new, positive national identity for Indonesia, based on the multiple strengths of its diverse people. its growth thereafter has been an enduring, positive learning process. UID has galvanized leaders from all sectors to come together, start a new dialogue of responsibility, and agree on concrete actions to address root causes of Indonesia's problems.

Other nation-states

It is also the motto of the nations of Indonesia (see Bhinneka Tunggal Ika), Papua New Guinea and South Africa.

Indigenous peoples

The Gwich’in Tribal Council representing the Gwich’in, a First Nations of Canada and an Alaskan Native Athabaskan people, who live in the northwestern part of North America, mostly above the Arctic Circle, adopted the motto Unity through Diversity.

Commercial

House of Blues performance venues have an emblem at the top of the stage with several religious symbols, and the phrase "Unity in Diversity".

See also

• Bhinneka Tunggal Ika
• E pluribus unum
• Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno
• Maitreya
• House of Blues