Show the diversity of cultures in Britain

SHOW THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURES IN BRITAIN

INTRO

The notion I’m going to deal with is Places and exchanges. In order to illustrate it, I have chosen to talk about Britain and show its diversity of cultures. Firstly, I will concentrate on diversity in Britain, then I will talk about the links that exist between Britain and other countries.

I. Diversity in Britain

First of all, let me explain the origins of the British diversity. In his poem “The British (Serves 60 Million)”, Benjamin Zephaniah describes the history of Britain. He affirms that it is a huge melting pot, and that the country has always been a nation of immigrants, welcoming people from all around the world and from various ethnics origins. He, by the way, stands for justice and equality for all of them. To sum up, Zephaniah points out the mix of cultures in the country over the centuries.

More recently, since World War 2, several waves of immigrants arrived to Britain. The document “Black Britons”, a 2011 press article from the Guardian, focuses on the Caribbean ones, from the late 40s to the early 60s. The journalist explains that the first generation of migrants felt more black than British, and still considered themselves as foreigners. But she also draws our attention to the fact that, for a younger generation, there is no contradiction between their ethnicity and their nationality, and that more and more people define themselves as “Black Britons”. Being British is an easy identity to assume for different ethnicities. On the one hand, these “Black Britons” feel well-integrated, part of a community, they feel proud to be British, and on the other hand, they also feel proud of their roots and attached to their origins.

Nowadays, another good example of this diversity is the whole range of music festivals that bring the world to Britain. In the document “The world… at home”, we can read about the London Mela, that focuses on South Asian culture, and the Carnaval de Pueblo, that brings the latino spirit to London. These two events illustrate the variety of communities that live together in Britain. The different cultures are preserved within an unified society : this is multiculturalism.

II. Links between Great-Britain and other countries

Secondly, I would like to mention that the diversity of cultures in Britain is strengthened by the links between the island and other countries.

In fact, since 1784, it belongs to the United Kingdom, that nowadays gathers Great Britain -that is to say Wales, Scotland and England- and North Ireland (the whole Ireland was part of the Union until 1922). The United Kingdom is itself a member of the Commonwealth. This is an intergovernmental organization of 52 states (the Gambia and Maldives recently withdrew) that was set up in 1926. All but two of these countries were formerly part of the British Empire. The London Declaration established in 1949 that the member states are free and equal in status ; they have no legal obligation to one another. They are united by language, history, culture and share common values. Every 4 years take place

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