Monrovia – Rebuilders International (REBI) has ended a two-day training seminar on ‘diversity and civic responsibility’ for high school students and teachers in Monrovia.
The seminar brought together 15 high schools’ students including William V.S. Tubman High School, S.D.A High School, G.W. Gibson High School, Len Miller Senior High School, among others.
The seminar was held in the YMCA Conference Hall in Monrovia, under the theme, “Respect for Diversity and Civic Responsibility.”
Speaking at the climax of the seminar, the Executive Director of REBI, Patrick A. Duncan, said the seminar is intended to create awareness among students and teachers to respect the differences in others and to become good citizens.
Duncan added that despite the differences in religion, sex, age, culture and ethnicity, the world can only be a better place if we respect the values of others.
“Diversity is much more important than just the surface qualities of race or gender. It encompasses all qualities that make us unique, as individuals or as part of a group. It is acceptance, respect, and understanding of those unique qualities,” Director Duncan said.
He added that valuing the diversity and characteristics that make a person unique encourages tolerance and promotes peace and unity in society.
“It is important that, Liberians stop discrimination, stigmatization and we need to also stop looking down on others. Respecting our differences is the major key; we need to respect our differences and take them to the higher level, any level but let respect people.
“We are stronger, even in our differences we are stronger. Just how we are stronger in our similarities, we are also stronger in our differences,” he noted.
Touching on civic responsibility, Director Duncan noted that civic responsibility is the responsibility assigned to every citizen to respect the rights, beliefs and opinions of others despite the differences in persons.