The Importance of Learning About New Cultures | Joshua Moody | TEDxYouth@AISR

I'm Josh Moody, and today I'll be talking about the importance of learning new cultures. One day I was playing on my iPad, and ding! I popped one of those darn notifications. It was about the war in Afghanistan, and I thought to myself, why can't each side take a look at their and the other side's culture and see why and what they're fighting for and come to compromise? I mean, it's not that hard, is it? So that got me thinking about whether I've tried seeing things through another's perspective or understand, perhaps, why they act the way they do. And the answer was yes. Have you ever wanted to see things through another's eyes or try something new, like eating new food or learn how to use chopsticks? Now I just have some thought you decided, nah, it's too risky or it's against your norms. Well, I say by taking those risks to understand another's culture, understand why they act, behave, and live the way they do, you can get to understand their view of the world. Now personally, I find learning about new cultures the best thing I can do to broaden my understanding of the people around me. And for me, it's sometimes easier. So I'm from two different countries, New Zealand and England, and I've grown up with two different cultures. Although similar in many respects, they're also different. Plus, I'm exposed to different cultures as I'm always traveling. When I learn about a new culture, I find it's like opening the door to another universe, jam-packed with things to discover. And by taking a peek into another's culture and understanding their behaviors, you can build a closer relationship with those people. Why not start by learning how to use chopsticks, which are part of East Asian cultures, and learning how to use them is not only useful for going to a restaurant, this is Asian cuisine, but more. If you look at chopsticks, which have been around for over 8,000 years, you'll understand they're meant for eating the main staple food of South Asia, rice, versus in the Middle East, they usually eat with their hands, and in the West, they eat with knives and forks. Now like I said, learning about these chopsticks is not only useful for a restaurant. Let's say you're going over to your friend's house, and you're from the East Asian culture, and you're going over for dinner. It would be nice to be able to show respect and show understanding for their culture by learning how to use chopsticks. Now, before traveling to a new country, I often end up scouring the library trying to find books on that country's culture. Even though I'm not always successful, I do think it's important. Due to all the advances in technology, we're traveling more than ever, which means we need to be able to show respect and show understanding for countries' customs. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Understanding cultures can also help you make new friends, like how many of you have friends from a different country who believe in a different religion? See? Quite a lot. And by understanding your friend's culture and understanding why they act and behave the way they do, which may or may not be different to how you would react in the same situation, you can get to know them better or become friends. Jimmy Carter once said, We've become not a melting pot, but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams. Now it's true for all of us, because we're all unique in our own special way. Now this November, me and my family went to Morocco. While we were there, my mom bought so many leather bags, it was outrageous. Now, everyone in my family was reasonably interested in how they were made, so we went to tanneries. While we were there, it was actually quite interesting, as well as stinky, of course. It was so interesting to see all the leather bathed in these ponds for over two months, then put into baths of chemical solutions, and then put into a bath of lime and bird poo? We went to this small little house, and it had all the dyes and pigments for the leather. It took so much work to create one leather bag, I'm pretty sure you can't even call it a simple item anymore. And by experiencing life in this culture, it changed my perspective. And this is exactly what I want you to do. Show respect, show understanding, and show empathy for other cultures, which may or may not be different to your own. And by doing that, you can bring about a positive change in your community, country, and the world. And one day, I hope to be playing on my iPad and see a notification. Breaking news, the world comes to peace. Thank you.