The viewer witnesses fascinating footage of intercultural encounters, where questions of power and hierarchy are deeply intermingled with the motives and dreams of all who are involved. Optimistic politicians try to demonstrate how the goals of two Chinese investors, one in the farming business, the other building roads, can benefit both China and Zambia.

Without mutually agreed upon, pre-defined methods of negotiation, however, and only a limited common framework for communicating and relationship-building, it will be difficult to achieve the goal on common grounds, and in collaboration with the local workers.

Few are able to speak a common language well enough to communicate without major problems and neither party has enough knowledge about the other to anticipate the misunderstandings or conflicts before they arise.  Zambians and Chinese use their own frames of reference in this documentary to judge their own and other’s behavior – and so are frequently startled by unexpected behavior of the other. That lack of common expectations impedes trust-building and results in frequent breakdowns of communication and cooperation. The ways in which all parties attempt to deal with the resulting high levels of stress (smoking, yelling, laughing…and more) are highlighted in the story, as is the importance of developing knowledge of general cultural tendencies.

This knowledge can be developed through a reflective intercultural experience, and the AFS year abroad is one way of providing this kind of structured learning environment. As soon as we can understand what is driving  the behaviors of others, we can better understand the thoughts, feelings, and assumptions of those with whom we interact and can have more successful experiences. It is not unnatural to rely on stereotypes in our reactions to unexpected behavior, but if our responses are grounded in culture-general frameworks, we can more constructively approach our differences with others in a way that is likely more productive and pleasant for all.

Watch a video clip here or visit the website to purchase or rent the documentary.

The ICL Team at AFS International has recently uploaded a new video presenting the 2012 Intercultural Link Initiatives. In a dialogue, Laura Kline-Taylor and Vincenzo Morlini, President & CEO of AFS Intercultural Programs, discuss the current opportunities that exist for the AFS Network and for Friends of AFS.

The Intercultural Link Initiatives include the following materials and tools:

• The Intercultural Link Newsletter
• The ICL …for AFSers and ICL …for friends of AFS Document Series
• The Intercultural Link Initiative website which offers resources and advice from experts in the intercultural field
• The digital library with materials that can be used by registered AFS Volunteers and Staff
• The ICL blog (this one!)
• The Intercultural Link Learning Program, the training and assessment Program  taking place in five regions around the world in 2012.

The organization describes itself as a global professional group of educators that focuses on issues of diversity in education. In the recent conference, the group paid special attention to identifying non-traditional ways to promote innovative and creative exchanges in local, national, and regional systems of education.

Xalapa, a small town in the Mexican state of Veracruz, was a vibrant, historic and academic location for the conference, where nearly 200 persons joined in discussions that were intimate in quality and diverse in topic. Sessions were presented by students and professors from local universities such as la Universidad Veracruzana, la Universidad Autónoma Indígena de México, la Universidad Intercultural de Chiapas, and la Universidad Autónoma Indígena e Intercultural as well as key organizations such as GTZ Programme to Promote Better Education in the region and Kibbutzim College abroad.

Keynote speakers presented their ideas from a comparative, cross-national, and sometimes even cross-continental perspective. Topics included culturally sensitive collaborative learning, the use of drama in intercultural education, and critical pedagogy. Concepts such as cultural diversity in the classroom, constructions of difference, the ideas of Paulo Freire, Augsto Boal and many others were also present. The panels and workshops were held in both English and Spanish, and much value was placed not only on the English-Spanish bilingual environment, but also on educational contexts that foster the preservation of indigenous languages in Mexico and nearby areas in the region.

The best part? Thanks to generous funding by its corporate and individual sponsors, membership at Dialogin is free of charge! It is open to everyone who works in international business and management, as well as to university researchers, teachers, students, intercultural trainers, and consultants.

The online platform was first presented at the SIETAR Europa Congress in Brussels in 2000, and now, with more than 4000 members from around the world, it works to meet its ultimate goal of contributing to the improvement in competence in the field of communication and cooperation in international business and management. In 2010, it was relaunched in its current form.

The upcoming Global Leadership Competence Conference taking place this June in Konstanz, Germany  is one of the many ways AFSers and others involved in the field can meet experts and engage in discussions around the competencies required to lead people and organizations in successful communication across cultures.

Click here to join dialogin and take advantage of this online source as you create connections between new ideas, theories and our day-to-day intercultural experiences.

AFS Thailand hosted the AFS 2012 World Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, from 7 – 11 February, just as AFS Thailand celebrates 50 years of student exchanges and intercultural experiences.  The World Congress allows the more than 50 AFS partner organizations from around the world to meet in person to discuss the present situations facing the network and it serves as a forum for ideas about the network’s future course.  The 2012 World Congress had a robust agenda of presentations, workshops and guest speakers.

The theme of this year’s World Congress was ‘Sharpening our Focus.’  The AFS network came together and conferred about different ways AFS Intercultural Programs can capitalize on its many strengths in order to meet the requirements of a changing world.  The leaders of AFS engaged in an active dialogue revolving around improving global practices of AFS as well as increasing the educational programs that have allowed more than 12,000 AFS participants each year to spend time living with a host family and learning about another culture.

Among the various highlights during the conference was the continued deeper focus on Intercultural Learning within the network, new program development and diversity, and volunteer development.

In addition, the AFS network welcomed two guest speakers, Professor Datuk Dr. Zakaria Ahmad and Dr. Irid Farida Agoes.  Dr. Ahmad serves as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the HELP University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  He has published many works in international politics.  Dr. Agoes is the founder and partner of the international consulting firm, Agoes & Agoes and co-founder of AFS Indonesia.  She has dedicated her renown career to intercultural dialogue and understanding among cultures.  Both of their presentations brought added value and insight to the World Congress.

Stay tuned, there is more to come! Meanwhile, you may read this new report of the World Congress in the Thai media here.  Also, check out the AFS Archives Item of the Month in honor of 50 years of AFS Thailand at the AFS Archives Page.

These students travel together through Morocco and in the process, they confront some of their preconceived notions of their respective cultures. In each instance, the students must carefully balance what they had learned previously about “The West” and the “Islamic World” through their schools, the Media, and their wider societies with their new experiences of interacting with a member of the other culture.  In many cases, they find their preconceived notions firmly rooted in cultural misunderstanding.

The students’ intercultural experiences in Morocco powerfully display how people can change their understanding of other cultures by spending time with members of the other culture and gaining a more informed perspective of cultural differences.  When exploring what makes another culture different, it is important to understand how people are similar, despite great differences in geography and way of life. This intercultural experience changes the way the students in “Crossing Borders” view each other and the global community.

View the preview of “Crossing Borders” here

The organization Institute for the Future works to provide research into future trends and phenomena.  Last year it published the report “Future Work Skills 2020″ where it outlined key skills that will significantly aid the workers of tomorrow.  Not only does it note a globally connected world as a major driver of change, but it also prominently describes cross-cultural competency as one of the essential work skills of the future.

The world becomes increasingly interconnected from business, to education and politics.  Companies and institutions spread their offices throughout the world, very often operating in vastly different cultures.  In addition, the advent of the Internet, mobile smart phones, and other technological breakthroughs have connected lives like never before.  As a result, the report describes how people of different cultures and backgrounds must interact with an unprecedented closeness.

The world’s growing interconnectivity is the inevitable reason why “Future Work Skills 2020″ defines cross-cultural connectivity as a key skill for the workforce of the future.  It is already a valued skill in the workplace, and the ability to understand other cultures and societies will only grow as global connectivity itself does.

“Future Works 2020″ reports on skills that will most likely be essential to success in the workplace and beyond.  While the future is never certain, it is a certainty that young people are the leaders of tomorrow.  AFS will continue to provide facilitated intercultural learning opportunities to all those involved in our programs, and encourage intercultural competence building by grounding in in theory and reflective practices the practical hands on experience they attain.

Click here to read “Future Works 2020″

Chimamanda Adichie recalls a time when she was studying abroad at a university in the United States and her American roommate expressed curiosity about Adichie’s Nigerian culture, yet allowed her general knowledge about Africa to color her perception.  Her roommate knew of Nigeria only as presented by some Western media, not as the vibrant and diverse Nigeria that Adichie calls home.

All too often, we learn about different cultures and society but only learn one story, or one side of one story. Adichie warns about the danger of a single story because “a single story creates stereotypes and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but rather that they are incomplete. They make the one story become the only story.”

Our increasingly interconnected world makes learning about differences possible, and thus, it is even more important to learn about all the unique stories and perspectives about our cultures.

At the end of October, a classmate and I travelled to Slovenia for the Young SIETAR (YS) 2011 Congress.  As Master of Arts students in the Intercultural Relations program at the University of the Pacific in conjunction with the Intercultural Communication Institute (USA), the YS Congress intrigued us because it offered a chance to learn about our field through a European lens and to interact with students from around the world.

Flying from the US to Europe is no small (or cheap) task, so we made the most of the journey by exploring both Vienna and Budapest before taking the train to Ljubljana.  Our conference began at Celica, a former Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslavian prison turned youth hostel.  The setting was an artistic invitation to modern Slovenia:  creative, colorful, and playful in the way it put a new spin on its difficult past.  After a social evening, we began the next morning with getting-to-know-you activities at the city’s Ethnographic Museum.  Next, we divided into teams to complete a scavenger hunt designed to introduce us simultaneously to the city’s history and landscape as well as to Slovenian culture.   It also helped us break through our comfort zones to talk to real Slovenes – and to each other.

That afternoon, a bus took us north to Planica, the Olympic Training Center and home to the second highest ski jump in Europe.  Nestled in beautiful Triglav National Park, the location was stunning.  Many of us opted to participate in a scenic hike; my group walked through fluttering golden and red leaves, and across a hill dotted by traditional Slovenian hay stacks to arrive at the source of the Sava River.  Breathing in the fragrant fresh air as I stared down into a completely clear blue pond, I realized that the hike was a window into the Slovenian spirit.  One of our local hosts explained that Slovenes cherish the outdoors, a healthy environment, and an active life shared with friends.  We were not simply going on a walk, but were, for a short while, living a Slovenian moment.

The Congress itself had a variety of workshops and training sessions.  At one point, my group improvised a sketch on the recent history of the field.   I also attended a workshop on the relationship between gender and culture, and another on issues of humanitarian aid campaigns perpetuating stereotypes about regions and peoples.  During yet another session  we focused on becoming better listeners and exploring the intersection of personality and culture.

Congress coordinators had asked us to bring a small item from home, which we shared in small groups.  The discussions allowed us to appreciate ways in which we are all similar and yet different; many of us admitted to feeling torn between a desire to settle down at some point and wanting to be perpetually mobile across the globe.  The final night brought our best chance for simply socializing and kicking back, as some participants took to the dance floor and others curled up in conference chairs for lengthy conversations. On the morning of our last day, we convened for the General Assembly, where we took care of official business and voted for a new board.  I had decided to submit my name, and was elected Education Coordinator.

Now that I have returned home, a few things stand out about the experience.  One was an appreciation for the enormous task that developing and carrying out an international conference must be.  Another was an awareness of the ways that we are all working in our own frames.  Several times, I was struck by how “European” the event felt.  This made me wonder how our own conferences in the US may feel “American” even when we are trying to be inclusive.  Last, I was heartened that, despite the mistakes that we all make as we attempt to move between cultures, real friendships are possible.  I can’t wait to go back.

The Intercultural Development Research Institute in Milan, Italy operates with four main goals:

• To contribute to a constructivist definition of the field of intercultural communication and to support continuing and new research in intercultural development.
• To disseminate the results of research to other professionals in the field of intercultural relations.
• To educate the public on intercultural issues and the results of research in intercultural development.
• To provide researchers, educators, and trainers with constructivist-based strategies and techniques for designing, delivering, and assessing developmental intercultural programs.