Simultaneously with the implementation of the Convention, as well as the promotion and funding of relevant Programmes, UNESCO publishes studies and world reports, organizes conferences and meetings of experts and encourages the involvement of Non-Governmental Organizations in the promotion of respect for difference and cultural diversity.

UNESCO: Cultural Diversity

But maybe the difference in American and Swedish obesity is purely cultural in nature: maybe those austere, disciplined Nordics know not to gorge themselves at the government trough despite the fact that their welfare state is ludicrously more lavish than anything on offer in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

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Given this vast cultural difference, it may be a stretch for the Chinese to shift from manufacturing to innovation.

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Embarrassed drug warriors blame this on alleged cultural differences, but even in fairly similar countries tough rules make little difference to the number of addicts: harsh Sweden and more liberal Norway have precisely the same addiction rates.

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What was actually looked at was the difference in the way that genes will and can spread from one ethno-linguistic or cultural group to another and the way that genes or DNA can spread across such boundaries.

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The cultural arguments for avoiding diversification militate against getting into totally alien markets like retailing or real estate, but how much difference is there really between building planes and ships for the government and building them for a big company like Maersk?

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