| The transforming power of cultural rights |
"Cultural
rights constitute one of the most exciting new frontiers of human
rights research and practice. Cultural rights are also the ultimate law
and humanities topic. These are good enough reasons for making cultural
rights the main focus of a book. But there are other reasons, too.
Cultural rights are both transformative and empowering rights. They
enable people to aspire to a better future for themselves, their
families, and the society in which they live, and they play a key role
in realizing all other human rights. Furthermore, they provide a
much-needed discourse or common forum in which we can explore,
negotiate, and come to new cross-cultural understandings. All of this is
supremely important today, at a time when respect for cultural
diversity is a key concern worldwide, and when migration and advances in
technology are increasing the level of cultural exchange but also
fostering cultural clashes and incompatibilities previously masked by
distance"--
