To highlight the language crisis and its effect on childhood Dr. Tariq Rehman and Dr. Shahid Siddiqui unveiled the ever increasing crisis of erosion of local languages and its impact on childhood and culture. They claimed that due to the staggering fact that 90% of the world's languages are not represented on the Internet, one language disappears on an average every two weeks. Explaining the causes of erosion of languages they elaborated that language endangerment may be the result of external forces such as military, economic, religious, cultural or educational subjugation, or it may be caused by internal forces, such as a community’s negative attitude towards its own language. Dr. Shahid also stressed that we should learn to speak ‘English’ but not at the expense of other languages and it must be a voluntary process rather than a forced one.
Some key questions were raised during this session:
Is globalization a cross-cultural interaction of diverse societies or is it the imposition of Western culture on our children?
What implications does homogeneity of cultures have on children?
What steps should be taken to bring diversity, respect for environment and local values and traditions back into our lifestyles for children to learn?
Mr. Ayyaz Kiani discussed the ramifications of consumerism on childhood. He highlighted that consumerism has supported the spread of a materialistic lifestyle and attitude in children that sees consumption as the path to prosperity.
The speakers and panelists stressed that we must expose kids to other forms of media - documentaries, conceptual art exhibits (carefully selected), gatherings of interesting adult friends with folk lore, imaginative and creative stories to tell. This will not only preserve our oral culture but will also contribute towards the cognitive, social and emotional development of children. Parents must teach their children the connections within the natural world to preserve the natural environment. Finally it was stressed that we must teach kids empathy for others instead of buying toys; we must suggest that they should spend money for socially responsible actions such as buying some groceries for someone who needs them.
Development and its Challenges to Childhood:
The ‘development industry', created during the past four decades to respond to a global commitment for alleviating poverty and seeking global equality, is in a state of disarray. More than any other segment of the world population, children are paying the heaviest price of this colossal failure & betrayal of development. As an eye-opener it was revealed that for the children in the developing world only a meager 4% of the wealth of the world's 225 richest people or a paltry 12% would need to give up to wipe out world poverty, provide health care and immunization for all, eliminate severe malnutrition and halve moderate malnutrition, and provide safe drinking water for all.
