Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is the acceptance or promotion of multiple ethnic cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations. In this context, multiculturalists advocate extending equitable status to distinct ethnic and religious groups without promoting any specific ethnic, religious, and/or cultural community values as central.
The policy of multiculturalism is often contrasted with the concepts assimilationism and social integration.
Now, I’m going talk a little bit about Sudan’s culture.
Sudan has a population of 34 million. This country is formed by many ethnical groups. The majority of the population is black but Sudan have many Arabians too.
The actual flag was adopted in 1970 and carries a lot of Islamic symbols.

It consists of three horizontal stripes:
• Red, representing the blood of Muslim martyrs;
• White, which stands for peace and optimism;
• Black, which represents the people of Sudan
It also has a green triangle at the left border, which symbolizes both agriculture and the Islamic faith.
Sudanese tend to identify with their tribes rather than their nation.
Only 25% of the population lives in towns or cities; the remaining 75% are rural.
Food


Foo The day usually begins with a cup of tea. Breakfast is eaten in the mid- to late morning, generally consisting of beans, salad, liver, and bread. Millet is the staple food, and is prepared as a porridge called asida or a flat bread called kisra. Vegetables are prepared in stews or salads. Ful, a dish of broad beans cooked in oil, is common, as are cassavas and sweet potatoes. Nomads in the north rely on dairy products and meat from camels. In general, meat is expensive and not often consumed. Sheep are killed for feasts or to honor a special guest. The intestines, lungs, and liver of the animal are prepared with chili pepper in a special dish called marara.
Cooking is done in the courtyards outside the house on a tin grill called a kanoon, which uses charcoal as fuel.
Tea and coffee are both popular drinks. Coffee beans are fried, then they are cooked with cloves and spices. The liquid is strained through a grass sieve and served in tiny cups.
Marriage
Marriages are traditionally arranged by the parents of the couple. This is still the case today, even among wealthier and more educated Sudanese. Matches are often made between cousins, second cousins, or other family members, or if not, at least between members of the same tribe and social class. Parents conduct the negotiations, and it is common for a bride and groom not to have seen each other before the wedding. There is generally a significant age difference between husband and wife. A man must be economically self-sufficient and able to provide for a family before he can marry. He has to be able to furnish an acceptable bride-price of jewelry, clothes, furniture, and among some tribes, cattle. Among the middle class, women usually are married after they finish school, at age nineteen or twenty; in poorer families or in rural areas, the age is younger. Polygyny was a common practice in the past. Divorce, although still considered shameful, is more common today than it once was. Upon dissolution of a marriage, the bride-price is returned to the husband.



Religious Believes
Seventy percent of the population is Sunni Muslim, 25 percent follow traditional indigenous beliefs, and 5 percent are Christian.
Medicine
Technically, medical care is provided free of charge by the government, but in actuality few people have access to such care because of the shortage of doctors and other health care personnel. Most trained health workers are concentrated in Khartoum and other parts of the north. Health conditions in most of the country are extremely poor. Malnutrition is common, and increases people's vulnerability to diseases. It is especially pernicious in children. Access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation also are problems, which allow disease to spread rapidly among the population. Malaria, dysentery, hepatitis, and bilharizia are widespread, particularly in poor and rural areas. Bilharzia is transmitted by bathing in water infected with bilharzia larvae. It causes fatigue and liver damage, but once detected can be treated. Schistosomiasis (snail fever) and trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) affect significant numbers of people in the south. Other diseases include measles, whooping cough, syphilis, and gonorrhea.