Asian-Arab philosophical dialogues on globalization, democracy ...

English language, along with mathematics and scientific literacy programs are being introduced by
education reformers with the help of corporate social responsibility advocates of the business sector
in order to sustain and feed the current human resource requirements of the telecommunication and
information economy. There are even current attempts to make use of advanced telecommunication
technologies to mediate the instructional needs of schools in far flung places. This is limited, however,
by the lack of infrastructure such as electricity and the scarcity of technical support systems that are
necessary for the maintenance of imported equipment.
Attention is being given, as a consequence of this aporia, to the local conditions of the educational
system so that teaching materials and equipment can suit local needs and indigenous sensibilities. The
development of local teaching materials and technologies is advocated and enhanced since these are
believed to better facilitate the learning competencies of pupils. The debate on the linguistic medium of
instruction continues to be waged in Congress, with believers who argue that pupils learn much faster
through their mother tongues.
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Asia-<strong>Arab</strong> Philosophical Dialogues on Globalization, Democracy and Human Rights
Even the tourism industry has been affected by this phenomenon of localization since tourists look for
the exotic and distinctive features of localities instead of the generic urban environment of shopping
malls. The Filipino government has embarked recently a program called “education plus tourism project”
targeted to the Northeast <strong>Asian</strong> markets which are expected to flock to exotic places in the Philippines
while learning English.
Hybridization
The twin social forces of globalization and localization have not unexpectedly created a cultural hybrid
in our midst as evidenced by multicultural signages that pervade our everyday lives. It is not unusual, for
example, to dine at a seafood restaurant named Blue Marilyn that depicts an ecstatic image of actress
Marilyn Monroe or buy something from a convenience outlet named West Side Store.
These witticisms take advantage of the power of name recall, derived from the hegemonic culture, in
order to seek leverage in an eschewed economic system that favours the global system. These dominant
cultures are assimilated into the cultural mainstream and continue to enrich the diversity of our cultural
heritage which, since time immemorial, had been a haven for migrants and foreign traders. <strong>Arab</strong>ic,
Chinese and Indian peoples have visited our shores even before the coming of Spanish colonization
and the American and Japanese occupations. We have accepted these historical epochs as integral
aspects of our cultural heritage and we are taking advantage of these intercultural experiences in order
to become adaptable and personable in meeting the challenges and promises of the 21st century.
These ambiguous attempts to deal with global labels have transformed indigenous products to the
level of international standards as expressed in the parlance of the so called “world-class” quality of our
professional and commercial endeavours. This does not mean that we merely receive exported products
passively, although to a certain extent, local products are deemed inferior to imported ones because
the latter are understandably deemed to be originally invented by and made from their countries of
origin in comparison to their cheap imitations. When it comes to indigenous local products, however,
we realize that they have to meet the rigorous demands of the global market if we are to have any
chance in competing or at least meeting international standards of customer satisfaction.
Since we cannot become excellent in everything, however, we have noted the market niches where
our skills are much more appreciated: the service industries and local tourism. The service industries,
in particular, have capitalized on our cultural talent for inter-human relations as exemplified in the
fields of the medical professions, call centre operations, and in entertainment and artistic productions
that require communication skills. Raul Pertierra remarks, for example, that “the enormous success of
mobile phones appears to be an exception [to technological adaptation] but its success is due to a
strong cultural orientation for constant and perpetual contact”. 65 Imported technologies are adopted,
therefore, as a function of the already prevailing personalistic practices in everyday life.
65 Pertierra, Raul. 2006. Transforming Technologies: Altered Selves. Manila, De la Salle University Press, p. 1.