Intercultural Encounters We don’t give a second thought to our intercultural encounters that go well. It is only when things get complicated, that we notice the cultural differences. Our cultural vision can be a tease; it is like a pair of glasses that we can’t take off, so we are forced to see everything through them. However, we can’t always use cultural differences to explain why things sometimes go wrong in intercultural encounters, since people who share the same culture also experience problems in their communication with each other! An open and motivated approach to meeting the ‘strange’ can turn intercultural encounters into a platform for development. But whether it is about different ethnic cultures, professional cultures, or indeed any cultural context, it nevertheless poses a real challenge. So, what is needed to ensure that the encounter, its challenges and the work to solve differences become a rewarding experience for everyone involved? An important aspect of learning about culture is to get our own worldview turned right upside down, as well as being introduced to, and take account of, topics such as the concept of culture, prejudice and stereotyping, the dynamics of intercultural encounters and intercultural communication. My intercultural encounters courses offer • Knowledge about the concepts of culture, characteristics of different cultures and intercultural communication. • Insight into the dynamics of intercultural encounters, when cultural differences make (and don’t make) a difference in conflicts and how to solve them. • Tools to be able in practice to change ways of communicating and acting in different intercultural encounters. How to have respect for others while holding onto one’s own cultural values. Intercultural communication An understanding of intercultural communication has its foundation in learning about differences and similarities in human communicative behaviour. This includes not only body language, but also distance and personal space, gestures, argumentation styles, and much more. It also deals with rules and norms in relation to what to do and not do in different situations. We ask the question: What is communication anyway? We examine the fact that there are as many ways to see the world as there are people in the world, and these ways differ as much as people themselves are different from one another. Our experiences are interpreted and put into categories the way each of us, throughout our lives, has learned is ‘the right way’. This process of interpretation can create misunderstandings between people - but it doesn’t have to! In essence, intercultural communication is about how to see through what is going on in communication, and thereby develop one’s ability to communicate constructively in different intercultural encounters. Cultural intelligence (CI) CI is ‘intelligence’ in the sense of the specific knowledge, understanding and practice one develops to be able to act constructively in any given intercultural encounter. There are three dimensions of CI which work together:  Intercultural engagement which deals with the emotional engagement, i.e. the motivation and will to step into an intercultural encounter. The emotional dimension.  Cultural understanding, which deals with facts about the concept of culture in general, and about specific cultures. The cognitive dimension.  Intercultural communication, which deals with insight into communication and tools to handle communication in intercultural encounters, and also in conflict situations. The communicative dimension. Source: Elisabeth Plum: Kulturel Intelligens, Børsens Forlag, 2007. (Denmark) Intercultural Pedagogy Intercultural pedagogy is the science of working constructively in schools and kindergartens with intercultural encounters. We live in global times where children need to be able to handle plurality and differences. There is an ever-increasing number of children with a minority background in schools and other institutions. To make sure that these children are afforded equal opportunities of a good education and finding a job, it’s necessary to take a positive point of departure in the fact that today’s classroom is both multicultural and multilingual. And to do it in a way that makes it into an advantage for all the children. Intercultural pedagogy also focuses on the special challenges which i.e. pedagogues working with children experience in the intercultural encounters of everyday life and on best practice of how to plan, teach, educate and conduct pedagogical work in a multicultural environment. Examples of accomplished jobs 2007 and ongoing - twice a year DTU- TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF DENMARK ‘Meeting Denmark’ - a two-day course for DTU’s international researchers. Intercultural encounters in a Danish university context. 2006 AFS INTERKULTUR: Workshops in Intercultural Encounters and Intercultural Communication for volunteer leaders. Since 2006 UC2 – UNIVERSITY COLLEGE COPENHAGEN: (Ressourcecentre for Bilingualism and Interculturalism). Courses for teachers in Intercultural Pedagogy and the Intercultural Encounter in schools. 2003 – 2007: 2 to 3 times annually DANISH MINISTRY OF EDUCATION. Within the International Exchange Department. CIRIUS: Workshops in Intercultural Learning for young Europeans under the European Volunteer Service programme. Bohult Backegården 360 73 Lenhovda Phone: +46-474-24 000 Mobile: +46-70-25 09 108 info@helde.dk