“Superdiversity” Cool, but what is that?

“Superdiversity”, does that mean diversity is supercool? Well, it is. But 'superdiversity' actually means that the growing diversity has tipped the ethnicity balance: The group that used to represent the majority in a society has become a minority. 

That is the case in several cities in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. For example, in Amsterdam, less than 50% of the population is of Dutch ancestry.  What does that mean? Once you're aware of this phenomenon, you'll find it in many aspects of life and in the media. These are my findings – and Amsterdam serves as an example:

-      Some people with Dutch ancestry feel less ‘at home in their own neighborhood’, the discussion about cultural identity has political and social impact, especially during election times. And interesting: everybody has a different idea about cultural identity: windmills, cheese, bikes, polders, trading history, tolerance are only a few that are mentioned.

-      It has effect on the interpretation of traditions: The celebration of the Sinterklaas (St.Nicolaas) tradition is undergoing changes, also due to the appearance of his helpers: The evolutionary process of black Pete changing into soot-stained Pete has even been applauded at a United Nations meeting. Also the stories around St Nicolaas are now told in a more coherent way so that foreign parents can follow the story of the Turkish bishop who lives in Spain, travels by boat and picks up helping friends along the route. This new 'golden book' is even available in English, for non-Dutch speakers, so that all families in the Netherlands get a warm feeling and understand how to celebrate it (Pam Evenhuis, Stichting Sint in Amsterdam in NRC 15-11-2018)

-      Many of the ‘new Dutch’ root in their neighborhood, they seem to identify more with their local community and the local football club than with the country, the nation as a whole. This was discussed in the MeetUp on superdiversity at Pakhuis De Zwijger https://dezwijger.nl/programma/tijd-voor-superdiversiteit

-      During that MeetUp, the discussion also turned to integration and that in societies with a diminishing dominant culture, the question turns to ‘who is the one who needs to integrate?’. Looking at the 3 phases of growing diversity (Arrival; Disruption; Institutional diversity), integration will not play a role in phase 3, it will be an almost automatic blending, with appreciation of all backgrounds that eventually lead to synergies. And can hiphop be a common denominator for the youth, a culture that they all share?

-      During his visit to Amsterdam two months ago, Barack Obama also spoke about superdiversity in the USA: The majority of 6 or 7-year olds is not white. He mentioned that in the context that as demographics change, so must the leadership, meaning that the US would be more ready for a coloured president 15 years from now. He called the demographic change socially disruptive, possibly scary to some. (https://fd.nl/achtergrond/1272280/de-obama-factor-in-amsterdam)

The Max-Planck Institute sponsored a study (GlobaldiverCities) to understand the development of diversity in 3 cities that are very diverse, but in a very different way: New York City, Johannesburg and Singapore. The study shows that the attitude towards newcomers is comparable in all 3 cities: suspicion, then concerns about disrespect, rudeness, if not violence. Bizar: most suspicious were the migrants that had arrived just before them. The study found that in all cities, the combination of cultures, backgrounds and histories had an impact on the organization of society – the local mobility (migration) has enabled more social mobility in these cities. (https://www.mpg.de/9143045/vielfalt-in-weltstaedten)

Our societies will become more and more diverse, so let us open our minds and let the magic happen!