Keeping yourself open to "what's foreign" is the perpetual challenge that faces every culture
Op-Ed by de Baak program maker Danielle van Halen
I see diversity as being about the capacity to renew, about competitive strength, about knowledge productivity and about global networking. So: not playing cultural mix'n'match because you want to reflect society. The key question is what are the talents you need to keep your organization focused and in the picture?
There are reserves of strength to be tapped in our multi-ethnic society. Our competitive edge against the rest of the world may well lie in deploying the many languages, cultures and talents the Netherlands offers as representative, interpreter, negotiator or consultant when dealing with the trading partners of today and tomorrow.
I see personal development as rising above whatever you were given as part of your upbringing. Being open to encounters with people and ideas different from those you were brought up with - and which enrich your life. No matter what your race and origin may be.
No easy challenge, it would appear... With our (mainly white) participants in our De Baak Talent Development Program I notice they tend to have the same work ethic: work hard and move fast in their career. For them life is a vast playing field of possibilities. They have a hard time with the notion that they have to let go of their roots in order to grow and so attain a more pluralistic view of the world. Well, isn't it like that?
Amongst the people I meet at Young Global People, a networking club for highly educated people at home in two cultures, there are other factors at work in terms of appropriating the 'what's foreign' for oneself. They have difficulty in accessing networks other than those they themselves are active in because they lack the
necessary basic skills. If your parents came down from the Moroccan hill country then you have other obstacles to conquer than those you face when born in a middle class white family. But - if only for that reason - some of those who are at home in two cultures distinguish themselves by their firmness and depth of persistence. By way of example, driven by my own curiosity, I've gone deeply into modern art and ballet, things that are far from being rooted in our family.
I always get nervous about creating little groups, like those social workers catering only to young people of their own ethnic background, be they people from the Caribbean, Turks or Moroccans. Sure, they do a good job, but critical questions are asked by the people who look at life differently. Here we get the real breakthroughs. What inspires me is asking people about the things they already know so that they can get behind what really motivates them.