Since the boom of the technology era in the late 20th century, globalization has changed our world dramatically. Nowadays, we no longer live in a segregated world of distinct and close-up economies, but rather see the continuous integration of different societies and custom. In regions where multiple cultural traditions and heterogeneous ethnic groups co-exist, multiculturalism comes up as an idea that people of all cultures, either foreign or domestic, are all equal human beings; therefore, they must receive equal treatment, respect, and dignity.

Multiculturalists affirm that no ethnicities are subject to any other ethnicities; as a result, no cultures should be subjected to racial boundaries, social hierarchies, or condemnations from other cultures.

Consequently, many people believe that multiculturalism manifests a commitment to racial equality, the conservation of cultural diversity, and the protection of freedom of expression as a human right. In many regions, minority groups have utilized the idea of multiculturalism to demand affirmative action, exclusive rights, and special privileges so that they can have the same dignity as the majority body and sustain their traditions. These groups can be a religious community, indigenous people, formerly colonized people, or ethnic minorities.

Under some circumstances, the rights they demand can even be to exempt themselves from certain laws of the host country, such as the case in which Muslims in France demanded the rights to practice polygamy.

What Is Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism, the view that cultures, races, and ethnicities, particularly those of minority groups, deserve special acknowledgment of their differences within a dominant political culture.
That acknowledgment can take the forms of recognition of contributions to the cultural life of the political community as a whole, a demand for special protection under the law for certain cultural groups, or autonomous rights of governance for certain cultures. Multiculturalism is both a response to the fact of cultural pluralism in modern democracies and a way of compensating cultural groups for past exclusion, discrimination, and oppression.

In sociology, multiculturalism describes the manner in which a given society deals with cultural diversity. Based on the underlying assumption that members of often very different cultures can coexist peacefully, multiculturalism expresses the view that society is enriched by preserving, respecting, and even encouraging cultural diversity. In the area of political philosophy, multiculturalism refers to the ways in which societies choose to formulate and implement official policies dealing with the equitable treatment of different cultures.

Most modern democracies comprise members with diverse cultural viewpoints, practices, and contributions. Many minority cultural groups have experienced exclusion or the denigration of their contributions and identities in the past. Multiculturalism seeks the inclusion of the views and contributions of diverse members of society while maintaining respect for their differences and withholding the demand for their assimilation into the dominant culture.

Multiculturalism Theories
The two primary theories or models of multiculturalism as the manner in which different cultures are integrated into a single society are best defined by the metaphors commonly used to describe them—the melting pot and the salad bowl theories. These theories are:
The Melting Pot Theory
The melting pot theory of multiculturalism assumes that various immigrant groups will tend to melt together, abandoning their individual cultures and eventually becoming fully assimilated into the predominant society. Typically used to describe the assimilation of immigrants into the United States, the melting pot theory is often illustrated by the metaphor of a foundry's smelting pots in which the elements iron and carbon are melted together to create a single, stronger metal—steel. In 1782, French-American immigrant J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur wrote that in America, individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world.

The Salad Bowl Theory
A more liberal theory of multiculturalism than the melting pot, the salad bowl theory describes a heterogeneous society in which people coexist but retain at least some of the unique characteristics of their traditional culture.

Like a salad's ingredients, different cultures are brought together, but rather than coalescing into a single homogeneous culture, retain their own distinct flavors. In the United States, New York City, with its many unique ethnic communities like Little India, Little Odessa, and Chinatown is considered an example of a salad bowl society.

Characteristics of a Multicultural Society
Multicultural societies are characterized by people of different races, ethnicities, and nationalities living together in the same community. In multicultural communities, people retain, pass down, celebrate, and share their unique cultural ways of life, languages, art, traditions, and behaviors.

The characteristics of multiculturalism often spread into the community's public schools, where curricula are crafted to introduce young people to the qualities and benefits of cultural diversity. Though sometimes criticized as a form of political correctness, educational systems in multicultural societies stress the histories and traditions of minorities in classrooms and textbooks.

Why Diversity Is Important
Multiculturalism is the key to achieving a high degree of cultural diversity. Diversity occurs when people of different races, nationalities, religions, ethnicities, and philosophies come together to form a community. A truly diverse society is one that recognizes and values the cultural differences in its people.

Proponents of cultural diversity argue that it makes humanity stronger and may, in fact, be vital to its long-term survival. In 2001, the General Conference of UNESCO took this position when it asserted in its Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity that ...cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature.

Today, entire countries, workplaces, and schools are increasingly made up of various cultural, racial, and ethnic groups. By recognizing and learning about these various group, communities build trust, respect, and understanding across all cultures.

Communities and organizations in all settings benefit from the different backgrounds, skills, experiences and new ways of thinking that come with cultural diversity.

Challenges to Multiculturalism
There are two primary objections to multiculturalism. One is that multiculturalism privileges the good of the certain groups over the common good, thereby potentially eroding the common good in favour of a minority interest. The second is that multiculturalism undermines the notion of equal individual rights, thereby weakening the political value of equal treatment.

Multiculturalism raises other questions. There is the question of which cultures will be recognized. Some theorists have worried that multiculturalism can lead to a competition between cultural groups all vying for recognition and that this will further reinforce the dominance of the dominant culture. Further, the focus on cultural group identity may reduce the capacity for coalitional political movements that might develop across differences. Some Marxist and feminist theorists have expressed worry about the dilution of other important differences shared by members of a society that do not necessarily entail a shared culture, such as class and sex

How Culture Connected

The term global village was coined by Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian philosopher and a public intellectual, in the beginning of the 1960s. He had a vision of technology reducing the size of the globe to that of a village, with information floating freely and simultaneously from one end to the other. McLuhan believed that interconnectivity on such a scale had the ability to heighten human awareness and bring together all political and social functions.

These days, the notion of the Global Village can be applied to a variety of settings: within every workplace, community, or family, we see this extension of consciousness through connectivity and communications. The world becomes a prominent global hub that houses a wide range of people from various backgrounds and paths of life. Any major city in the United States can be perceived as microcosm of the entire country — it is constantly evolving and expanding; it is always ready to embrace new cultures, new experiences, new life. However, only by remaining mindful of our changing environment and community can we bring all of these cultures together and enable them to coexist peacefully and to contribute to each other's development. Mindfulness is the key to any communication, to using technology to connect and to reaching out to our Global Village.

To me, this poignant piece is all about the value of communications within our Global Village. It showcases our desire to reach out to the world, connecting via technology. Wherever we are, we overcome potential obstacles and rejoice in our union of like-minded souls. The emerging globalization movement touches and affects every workplace that has long become a melting pot of various cultures and ethnicities.

Such multicultural environments are not only vital to driving innovation in business, they are also a key part of employee satisfaction and development.
Many workplaces now reflect the global multiculturalism that we see in institutions like the United Nations. They present a colorful blend of different cultures, customs and values, and only by remaining mindful of such diversity, can we meet the needs of an increasingly global customer base. Every leader, every manager of an organization within either the public or private sector can benefit from the diversity of their workplace and create an environment that takes into account different perspectives, ideas and solutions.

In our Global Village, we need to embrace new experiences — realize that it takes dozens of communities and hundreds of years for each culture to evolve and develop its own values, morals, business practices and ethics. As our multicultural environments expand, often our nonverbal differences such as social, educational, and economic discrepancies, power dynamics and spiritual beliefs, become the leverage for our communication.

Multiculturalism Vs Globalism

Globally, over the last few decades political debate and policies have dealt with equal rights in relation to both individual and group differences, especially those in terms of race, class, gender and sexual orientation. With globalization there has been a significant increase in inequality despite growth in global wealth in recent years. Globalization has resulted in international migration and movement of people and business across countries so that large-scale immigration (mostly in Western countries), refugee resettlement and travel have made societies very diverse. People are exposed to different cultures, languages, religions, cuisines and modes of dress.

The movement of people across borders also means intermixing of cultures that challenge static notions of single national cultures in favour of fluid, changing and even shifting and hybrid (mixed) or multiple identities. The new politics of cultural difference focuses on cultural and political identity as central to the meaning of democratic representation, and on transforming the monolithic and the homogenous into new forms of diversity, multiplicity and heterogeneity that tolerate the contingent, the provincial and the shifting (West 1993). Cultures are blending and the concept of multiculturalism is no longer one of homogenous cultures coming together. Rather, people have multiple identities and can have local, national and global allegiances simultaneously. This implies that the concept of multiculturalism (diversity) does not theoretically prevent the development of a national identity (inclusion of differences).

While globalization has led to homogenization of cultures on the one hand through technology, communication and travel, there is on the other hand a rise in identity politics in which minority ethno-cultural groups articulate their felt oppression by asserting their cultural characteristics (essentialism notwithstanding) in an attempt to counter the homogenizing effects of Western culture at the global level or the hegemony of mainstream culture within countries as in Quebec. This has led to arise in minority nationalism in many regions such as in Scotland, Catalonia and other areas.

Multicultural policies, although they may have other names, has been one way of accommodating competing identities. These policies give the appearance of equal opportunities and social justice. From the economic point of view, neo-liberal discourse on public policy recognizes diversity and justifies the commodification of diversity within the competition for global markets. On the other hand, while neo-liberal doctrine promotes freedom—open borders, free competition—it is an ideology of individualism focusing on personal money and power at the expense of group welfare.

Why is Multiculturalism so Important?
Which country first made multiculturalism a policy?[1] Canada! The 1971 Multiculturalism Policy of Canada confirmed the importance of multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is the recognition of the existence of many cultures within one country. The value of equality, diversity, and inclusion that Canadian multiculturalism brings to society and into offices nationwide, I personally consider to be indisputable.

Equality in the Workplace
A fundamental concept that goes along with multiculturalism is equality; the respect and acceptance of one another that gives people the same rights and opportunities. Equality is important to ensure that everyone feels they can reach their fullest potential. Equality is necessary so no one is held back from moving the world forward. Equality is valuable because without it, how does one create mutual respect? The freedom that comes with equality is liberating and allows people to feel like they can give their all to the tasks at-hand by being their whole self. The confidence that comes with everyone being on an equal level means that everyone is able to better contribute their ideas.

It gives everyone the opportunity to better educate themselves about the world they live in and resources to thrive in the environment they work in. The dialogue that opens up when people are equal and feel respected is enormously beneficial for gaining deeper insights. In the workplace, this same idea prevails. Equality brings a higher engagement from within people, yielding the best possible results a team can produce.

Diversity in the Workplace
Canada is known as a mosaic representing a broad range of diversity. It is accepted and encouraged in Canada to celebrate culture, to continue traditions, and to be who you want to be. Within this idea of many diverse individuals existing within Canada, comes Canadian culture. To me, Canadian culture is made up of all the cultures from around the world. I am proud to be Canadian and to witness the many cultures around me. I am happy to be able to learn and explore new cultures right at my fingertips. To me, multiculturalism and the diversity that comes with it, is part of what makes Canada so rich and vibrant.

The diversity that exists within Canada is spectacular and with this comes diversity of thought. This valuable diversity of thought that is brought into initiatives and brainstorming within the office is a product of celebrating multiculturalism within our communities. Imagine the solutions and the conversations that are had because of the many different views that contrast and cause further ideas to be brought to the surface.

The backgrounds and different understandings that exist from people being encouraged to continue their ethnic traditions and explore their interests are assets. The many different perspectives, viewpoints, and backgrounds that everyone in a room has, means that these people have different insights. These insights are a product of these people's past experiences that have shaped their knowledge. This wisdom can be brought together, and discussions can reach a greater depth than otherwise would be possible and more informed decision-making can occur. Diversity brings about individuality and innovation. Diversity can reach its full potential when multiculturalism is celebrated.

Inclusion in the Workplace
Inclusion is the third valuable piece that arises from multiculturalism. Human capital is a huge resource for many firms. By respecting and encouraging the continuance of individual cultural practices, everyone feels more welcome and comfortable being themselves. This capital is worth more when everyone is able to thrive. I believe when everyone is truly included then there is the power to bring values above self-interest.

When people feel this way, there is less resentment and there is increased respect for each other because people understand that people can and should do things a little differently from one another. The inclusion that comes with multiculturalism means that people do not feel like they need to give up a part of themselves and they live how they want to live without needing to conform. People are more empathetic and more receptive to each other, opposed to being exclusive of thoughts other than their own. With multiculturalism comes a smaller divide between what people assume of others and what they learn about others.

There is less ignorance when multiculturalism persists because people are more inclined to accept one another's differences. The existence of many cultures and including everyone from these cultures, means that cultural barriers disappear because people accept one another and move past the surface to get to a deeper level. This translates into an office setting, when people listen and truly hear what others say or when people pay less attention to the surface and grasp at depth. When people recognize the value of including everyone then teams are more cohesive and workplace culture is more enjoyable. Multiculturalism provides a basis for inclusion, in turn creating an harmonious environment.

I truly believe multiculturalism brings unity within a community and a compassionate attitude amongst Canadian citizens; we feel the pain of others because we understand that beneath the surface differences, we are made of the same humanity. Individuals are more likely to act with their peers in mind when they recognize the connections that exist between one another and when they understand the support that everyone is able to offer each other. In my life, I have experienced the importance of equality, diversity, and inclusion and multiculturalism is important because it brings these notions to the forefront of society.

Multiculturalism and impact of globalization.
In order to understand the content of this blog, we need to first understand what globalization is and the degree to which it affects our lives. The definition of the term itself is the increasing interaction of people through the growth of the international flow of money, ideas and culture. It is mainly an economic process of integration within the world and the social and cultural aspects that come with it are bi-products of this integration.

The first large-scale globalization was recorded in the 1820s but the most recent and more relevant to us began in the 20th century. The term ‘globalization' itself was coined recently, only establishing its current meaning in the 1970s.

Another distinction within globalization is cultural globalization, which refers to the transmission of ideas, meanings, and values around the world in a way that extends and intensifies social relations. The transmission occurs through the internet, popular culture media and international travel

The birth of the internet means that it is now possible to be anywhere, anytime without actually being there. As a result, the processes of quality exchange and colonization have come into place, which also has a long history of carrying cultural meaning around the globe.

A growth in the international economy also means that travel is hardly a dream anymore and is easily within grasp. With so many options and opportunities to move around from one country to another, transference of culture is inevitable. It is also much easier to move around as English is the most common language in the world and the average traveler no longer has to worry about translation services.
Looking at multiculturalism in Australia itself, although most immigrants have always been from Anglo-Saxon cultures like Britain, Ireland and New Zealand, the influx of other cultures included has made ours a truly multicultural society. Specifically, multiculturalism is most evident in the food industry.

Supermarkets, grocery stores, markets, delicatessens, cafes, restaurants, and take-away stores offer a wide variety of foods from around the world. The concept of ‘fusion food' has also come into play as a product of multiculturalism.

Multicultural food has devised itself into the mainstream Australian staple diet and has become an integral part of Australia's booming social life. Australians of all cultural backgrounds indulge in the use of chopsticks and the al-fresco dining introduced by Italian immigrants. Multi-national corporations like McDonald's, KFC, and Starbucks have brought about a fast-food culture which means it would hardly make a difference which outlet in the world you go to.

Multiculturalism and Identity Politics: Cultural Concerns
Multiculturalism is a social perspective that is committed to publicly recognizing and respecting many cultures and cultural identities. Identity politics is one means by which members of a society strive for public recognition of their cultures and cultural identities. One conception of multiculturalism that animates identity politics is that people primarily identify as members of groups defined by ethnicity, race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, and therefore can be expected to pressure their government for greater positive political recognition of, and public benefits for, their own group.

Another conception of multiculturalism is critical of identity politics because it rejects the idea of a one-to-one correspondence between a person and a particular cultural identity, and views individual identities as themselves multicultural. Although societies have long been multicultural, the use of multiculturalism as a term in social and political discourse is relatively recent. Three kinds of multiculturalism can be identified as coexisting in the same society: ethnic, linguistic, and national multiculturalism. Different perspectives on various dimensions of multiculturalism—personal identity, public recognition, and standards of assessment—help elucidate the controversies that multiculturalism generates and the policies that it supports.

Multiculturalism: Causes, Advantages and Disadvantages
Nowadays, due to the economy globalisation, many people come from different countries with various cultural backgrounds living in same city permanently or for a period of time, they live with local people together. Eventually, the mixture of different cultures will lead to multiculturalism. The multiculturalism refers to a system of beliefs and behaviour that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges and values their social-cultural differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context which empowers all within the organization or society.. This paper is focusing on three main reasons likely cause multiculturalism, concerned the advantages and disadvantages of multiculturalism. And a conclusion is made that the multiculturalism has more benefits than its drawbacks.

International Labour Flow
The international labour flow is one of the important aspects causes multiculturalism. As a part of the intensive globalization, the total number of international labour migration increases continuously. They bring their working skill into a foreign country along with convention and religion beliefs, and the long-term co-existence make multiculturalism inevitable. Taking Auckland as an example, as stable development of economy, local labour shortage becomes a serious problem.

It is reported:
A forecasted 32,000 new people will be required to work in the construction and infrastructure industry over the next few years (NZ herald page1). Hence government has to allow employers recruit skilled oversea worker from various countries on talent visas. In 2014/2015, 8,668 Essential Skill workers were approved with an offer of employment in Auckland, and the top five source country are as follows: India 21%, China 10%, Fiji 10%, UK9% and Philippines 9%. (Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, 2015) It proves that the Auckland's international labour imported is diverse both ethnically and culturally.  As more and more international labour forces came to Auckland, Auckland become multiculturalism city.

Education
Besides international labour flow, the international students is another main stream cause multiculturalism. As worldwide economy uniformity, studying abroad becomes more and more popular in all countries. Students expect to experience a high-quality education in other countries and are eager to have an opportunity to touch exoticness as well. In 2016, there were nearly 5.1 million international mobile students. Besides learning academic knowledge, overseas students are affected by local culture, meanwhile, they are showing off their colorful diverse culture to local folks.  London, the capital and largest city of the United Kingdom, is one of the most attractive destination for international student. According to website, London is the top choice for international students looking to study abroad. Over 100,000 international students are studying in London every year, International students come from over 200 different nations. Top 5 countries of origin are as follows: China, Malaysia, United States, Hong Kong and India. Oversea students is making London a global, vibrant and diverse city.  As more and more international students came to London, London become multiculturalism city.

Refugees
Refugee also makes great contribution to multiculturalism. The refugee refers to those people who has forced to leave their countries because of war or other humanitarian reasons. It is a group of miserable people, mostly of them are in very poor economic status. They have to move to other countries then bring into their culture and convention. There are 25.4 million refugees in the world (UNHCR, 2018 page 1), the number is enormous.

Germany has taken in the largest number of refugees among West Country. There were 222,683 refugees came to Germany in 2017, the top 5 countries of origin are as follows: Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iran (Federal Office for Migration and Refugee, 2018 page 1), many of them were staying in Berlin. Some of them live in refugee shelter and some live with local people together. Berlin itself is a multi-cultural city, among its 3,388,434 population, the Top 5 citizenship origin are as follows: Germany 88.6%, other Europe 3%, Turkey 2.9%,Asia 1.7%,Poland 1%.As to religion ,Protestant 19.2%, Roman Catholic 8.9 and other 71.9%. (City population, 2018 page 1). The coming of refugee increases its level of multiculturalism. As more and more refugees from different countries coming to Berlin, berlin become multiculturalism city.

International Law And Multiculturalism

The greatest importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December 10, 1948):

This Declaration is of paramount importance which established a set of civic, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It is a triumph for human dignity inherent in everyone regardless race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, national origin:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.' (art. 1)

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.' (art. 2.2)

Cultural diversity: a new approach of the concept of culture
In this field, one must mention the large contribution of UNESCO in terms of anthropological approach of culture which is innovative, and in the area of international law production standards. In this sense, the adoption of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity on November 2, 2001 was a very important step towards multiculturalism, and a vital achievement8.

This Declaration was followed by a Convention in the same sens which was adopted in 2005, actively supported and ratified by both France and Sweden.
It is said that cultural diversity is The common heritage of humanity', and that culture takes diverse forms across time and space. This diversity is embodied in the uniqueness and plurality of the identity of the groups and societies making up humankind.' (art. 1).

The importance of language heritage
In this regard, the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples are obviously recognised and guaranteed, as a visible sign of cultural diversity:
The defence of cultural diversity is an ethical imperative, inseparable from respect for human dignity. It implies a commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular the rights of persons belonging to minorities and those of indigenous peoples. No one may invoke cultural diversity to infringe upon human rights guaranteed by international law, nor to limit their scope.' (art. 4 of UNESCO Declaration on Cultural Diversity).

The right of peoples to autonomy, self-government and self-determination
Meanwhile, within a historical short time there has been a significant increase in the number of States due to decolonization process beginning in the 1960s. In this connection, I will mention the right of peoples to self-determination which was absent from the UDHR. The UN Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples, which was adopted on December 14, 1960, stipulates in this view:

The subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights, is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and is an impediment to the promotion of world peace and co-operation' (art. 1)

All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development' (art. 2)

The international society is currently counting nearly 195 states whereas it was numbering only 58 in 1948. In 1948, 2/3 of humanity was living under the burden of colonialism. Other peoples remain however deprived of their national rights and are still waiting for their recognition.

Conclusion
there are three main causes of multiculturalism has been listed, they are international labour, international student and refugee. It is undeniable that multiculturalism has its advantages, it makes world colourful, demolish prejudice, enhance social creativity and benefit economy. However, the drawback should be mentioned as well, such as social conflict, marginalization etc., the multicultural societies surely have more benefits than its disadvantages, as long as it is managed properly. In general, the multiculturalism is a great opportunity with challenge, such a trend is unavoidable all over the world. People are supposed to embrace it, with a kind positive comprehensive state of mind.