Recently, my 11-year-old daughter, Gabriella, and I went to Bolivia to visit our family. It was Gabriella’s first trip to South America. As I watched her experience so many things for the first time, I began to ponder how these experiences will shape her as she moves into young adulthood. Educating children to learn from other cultures at an early age has a profound impact upon their attitudes toward difference. However, it is also important to ensure that these educational opportunities are fun for the children so they’ll view learning as an enjoyable experience.

As a mother, I was proud to witness the effect of this learning. My daughter is attending Camp Shalom this summer and has met another camper who speaks only Russian. One day while visiting my office, she asked a colleague of mine how to say a few words in Russian so that she could talk to the boy the next day. To see her reaching out in such a way to someone who comes from a background so unlike hers indicated a maturity that I believe comes from her exposure to diverse cultures. I think teaching our children the importance of valuing cultural differences and developing a sense of inclusiveness is essential to the development of well-rounded young adults who may soon be taking on leadership positions in the world.

As I see this growth in my daughter, it causes me to ponder the journey that many of us travel from an often ethnocentric beginning to a larger sense of culture. The steps between the two attitudes navigate the concept of inclusiveness. It is one thing to learn about another culture and objectively appreciate its differences from ours, but the true realization of worth is found when one learns from another culture and embraces and integrates those differences as personal values.

At the Iowa Council for International Understanding, we are planning our second annual Global Village at the Blank Park Zoo. The fun family-oriented event, which is free with the price of zoo admission, will be held Saturday, July 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. We’ll transform the zoo into a festival of cultures, activities and animals from throughout the world. The Global Village will feature booths showcasing African, Asian, Australian, European, Latin American and Native American cultures. Music, dancing, storytelling and arts and crafts present a perfect opportunity to blend fun and learning. We think it’s a wonderful way for children and adults alike to experience diverse cultures.

Experiences such as these are invaluable for our children. By encouraging their participation, we parents can help make the world a better place. As our children are made increasingly aware of the values of diversity in our society, they can gain understanding and respect for cultures other than their own.

Every time children are exposed to something new and unfamiliar, their perspective broadens. This happens nearly every day in the life of a growing child, so it is vital that the exposure includes the unique experiences inherent in other cultures. These moments become part of the bank of experiences the child will draw from when encountering differences in others. These diverse experiences teach children to embrace and value all human differences as they move into adulthood.

The Global Village is just one of many opportunities for parents to share with their children the richness of diversity. The city of Des Moines has numerous opportunities for this kind of learning experience if you just keep not only your eyes, but also your heart and mind, open.

Michele Soria is the executive director of the Iowa Council for International Understanding.