Dear all,

today we are writing to you about something that surrounds us all and ultimately makes the world interesting, and that is our diversity and being different.

Diversity makes the world a more beautiful place. We differ than others on numerous characteristics, the visible and the invisible. The difference can be spotted in our height, body shape, nose, hair, way of walking, socioeconomic status, opinions, attitudes, interest, ways of regulating emotions and behaviour, etc. If there were no differences and we were all the same, the world would be boring. Only clones would walk the streets. There would be no different opinions and interesting conversations.

If differences are not accepted, the same can lead to stigmatization and discrimination in various forms. Although a person may be different from ours and have certain specifics, that person also has their feelings, thoughts and needs, as we do. Therefore, every person, despite its specifics and differences, should be accepted and respected. By accepting the differences of others, we respect the rights of other people, just as we would like our rights to be respected.

In order for a children to learn to accept, respect, and appreciate those different from himself, they also need to be understood and accepted. If a child receives a message from an early age that his or her differences do not make him or her equally valuable and others do not accept him or her, it can have major consequences for their self-perception and worldview – as a judgmental, cruel place that does not accept him or her, and thus that child will not accept differences in others. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the qualities of the child’s personality, as well as his individual characteristics and specifics, and to accept and respect them. Only in this way can a child grow into an individual who is willing to accept others around him.

By respecting and learning about the differences of others, we learn about things that are unknown to us and thus suppress our “fear of the unknown”. We encourage you to read our previous texts on the topic of prejudice and stereotypes, in which we have already written about how their main cause is lack of knowledge or ignorance.

By learning about some characteristics and specifics that we do not understand, we gain a new perspective on them, expand our horizons and thus learn to accept differences because they no longer seem so foreign. By learning how to be tolerant of others, accept, respect and appreciate their differences, we contribute to our personal growth and development.

It’s time to make the world a more tolerant place, and for that we must first start from ourselves! Respect and respect your specifics and differences, as well as those of others. Finally, we leave you with the saying: “It is not our goal to become like others; we need to be different from each other, to learn to see people different from ourselves and to respect them for what they are ”(Herman Hesse)

Center Luka Ritz