Many people believe that globalisation is leading to the culture of individual countries being under threat. What can be done to protect a society’s traditional values?

The financial benefits that individual countries gain from being part of a global economy are often counterbalanced by the fact that it puts their own cultures in danger of being erased. The only way to address this problem is to ensure that local languages and food are preserved. First, governments of small countries have to invest in schemes that encourage people to continue speaking in their native tongue. Language is the bedrock of all cultures and is, therefore, key to national identity. Schools need to continue to provide an education in their native language, even if English or another dominant language is also spoken. If children learn in their native tongue, they are very unlikely to forget it later in life. Moreover, radio stations should receive extra funding if they play songs in the local dialect, which in turn, would also encourage local artists to record more music in their first language. Food is also a major part of individual countries’ cultures, and the responsibility of preserving this lies both with individuals and governments. Parents need to encourage their children to eat traditional food at home, passing down recipes from generation to generation. Moreover, governments may be able to limit the influence of foreign food by introducing legislation that bans international fast-food restaurants from small towns, which would also allow local restaurants to continue trading. While I concede that this solution might be hard to implement, it might be the only way that smaller countries are able to fight back against globalization. To conclude, only if countries retain their unique language and cuisine, will they be able to preserve their individual cultures in the face of globalization.