“Me Exchanged” – an unusual perspective on impact of study abroad

Posted on by
Reply
From http://www.inakoehler.de/ausstellung.html
From http://www.inakoehler.de/ausstellung.html

When we talk about intercultural experiences of young people abroad, we focus primarily on the internal changes that are happening with the young individual. We can hear that “the young person has become a real adult”, “s/he is more mature”, “s/he has learned a new language” or that “s/he is now more prepared to face the reality of our globalized world”. A number of researchers have attempted to describe and interpret what is happening “inside” of the young person. But have you ever thought about what kind of change happens on the outside?

German photographer Ina Köhler posed this question after she saw how her own daughter changed after spending a year abroad. Her experience then motivated her to explore the topic through art, namely photography.

In her project, Ina aimed to capture the impact that a year abroad can show in a person’s face. She invited 30 high-school students from Berlin to pose for a portrait photography both before leaving for abroad as well as after returning home after a year. The collection of portraits was first displayed in her gallery in Berlin and it is now touring various schools in Germany. You can view sample of the portraits on her website or read a more detailed article about the exhibition.

Do you know about any other art projects inspired by intercultural exchange experience? Let us know!

AFS Intercultural Link Learning Program Upcoming Events

Posted on by
Reply

In the first quarter of 2013 AFS has seen a number of Intercultural Link Learning Program events already as delivery of What Every AFSer Should Know About Intercultural Learning® picks up. The remainder of the year will continue to be full of intercultural learning and education opportunities in many AFS organizations and in all regions!

Especially noteworthy are the National Qualified Trainers Workshops for five AFS organizations in the Southern Cone, Malaysia and Denmark, as well as the 3rd Annual Regional Events in the Asia-Pacific and Caribbean regions.

The Learning Program will also collaborate with like-minded organizations in intercultural training around the globe at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication in Portland, Oregon, USA and the Summer Academy on Intercultural Experience in Karlsruhe, Germany.

For the latest updates on Learning Program events, check our website regularly or get in touch with us at LearningProgram@afs.org.

 

“Outrospection” and Empathetic Thinking

Posted on by
Reply

Philosopher Roman Krznaric has coined the term “outrospection” to provide us with a new way to approach our relationships with others. Outrospection is a way to get to know oneself by developing relationships and empathetic thinking with others. Krznaric does not see empathy as a soft social concept used to connect with those who are dis-empowered, but rather as a discovery of oneself by “stepping outside ourselves and exploring the lives of other people and cultures”. In this way empathetic thinking is a pathway to expand your social influence, overcome stereotypes and barriers about those who are different and engage individuals in collective empathetic movements that can make change. Learn more about “outrospection” and empathetic thinking on Krznaric’s blog or by watching this RSA video in which his words are accompanied by drawings about this theory.

As you watch the video, you will hear about several ideas that are closely related to intercultural learning and the work that we do at AFS, such as overcoming stereotypes, affective and cognitive empathy, perspective-taking, worldview, beliefs, assumptions, attentive listening, two-way dialogues, etc.

“Highly empathetic people get beyond those labels by nurturing their curiosity about others. How can we might nurture our curiosity? How can we find inspiration?”

What does “the common good” mean to you?

Posted on by
Reply

In the intercultural field, we spend a lot of energy and time attempting to put ourselves in others shoes, take on their perspective, view the world through a culture-neutral lens – or in other words, follow Milton Bennett‘s Platinum Rule*: “Treat others as they would like to be treated” (*a reference to the Christian Bible’s Golden Rule: “Treat others as you would like to be treated”).

Although it might seem that the final goal of our efforts to understand the world as others see it is to work towards a “common good” for all, respecting other’s needs and interests, a recent interview on NPR (National Public Radio) suggests that employing the term “common good” may actually disengage people from thinking of other’s needs and in fact have the opposite effect as was intentioned.

This interview by Steve Inskeep is based on a recent speech by US President Barak Obama on gun control in which Obama asked US citizens to think beyond their individual rights to the common good of the society. While the request itself seems straightforward, Standford researcher MarYam Hamedani has found that the result is actually the exact opposite – because US Americans have individual liberty as one of their core values, the collectivist / interdependent term “common good” causes a negative reaction in many people. However, this does not mean that these people are in fact against doing something that will help their communities, neighbors, or entire country. It is simply that the term goes against what they believe. For example, Hamedani presented US American volunteers with two identical policies on an environmental issue – the only difference was that one was written with language emphasizing individual liberty and the other emphasizing the common good. Support among these volunteers for the policy was far greater for the one written with language around individual liberty.

If the underlying concepts were the same, but the language used caused a significant difference in the way the policy was received, what does this suggest about the unconscious language / terminology biases that we all carry around with us? For certainly, this type of situation occurs in all countries and in all languages.

Can you think of situations in which your unconscious biases toward language have influenced your behavior / choices? What does ‘the common good’ mean to you and how is this term perceived in your community? What about the term ‘individual liberties’? Perhaps these two terms have the opposite effect in your community as they did in Hamedani’s research.

How do your cultural values unconsciously influence how you interpret different terminology? (image represents collective vs individualistic tendencies)

In AFS, we aim to provide our audiences with intercultural skills, one of which is the ability to discern when we are acting on an unconscious, culturally-influenced bias. We encourage you to reflect on your core values – how do these influence your choices and beliefs? (both consciously and unconsciously)

Click here to read the full interview on NPR.

Concept of “Cultural Intelligence”

Posted on by
Reply

Today we recommend an article on the concept of “Cultural Intelligence” by Clodagh O’ Reilly. The article is published on the site TrainingZone.co.uk, a portal with resources and articles for trainers and educators.

“Cultural Intelligence” is a concept that is directly related to cultural values and dimensions and to cultural adaptation. Generally, cultural intelligence consists of understanding the values, attitudes and behaviors of a culture group and a knowledge of how to appropriately apply this to achievement a specific goal (Earley & Ang, 2003). One’s own cultural intelligence is therefore developed not only by learning about other cultures, but also by interacting closely with people of cultures other than our own. By paying special attention to the motivations and emotional maturity of others during our own process of developing cultural intelligence, we can better foster this ability in others. According to O’Reilly, cultural intelligence also requires an intrinsic demonstration of respect for the other culture.

Cultural intelligence is relevant for individuals, but also for teams. Research shows that in multicultural teams and organizations, especially those with diversity in leadership, can offer more creative and innovative outcomes. However, diversity does not just happen by having diversity within a team. Unmoderated cultural diversity may increase team conflicts and miscommunication; therefore, cultural intelligence is necessary in teams in order to minimize the chances of experiencing conflict and increasing the successful communication that leads to innovation, Earley and Ang (2003) say.

To read more about cultural intelligence, check out Earley and Song’s book Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions Across Cultures or several books by David Livermore. Also, the Center for Leadership and Cultural Intelligence in Singapore and the Cultural Intelligence Center in the US are important points of reference in the study of this concept, not only with their research but also with professional and educational activities.

While defined differently by different groups of researchers and trainers, cultural intelligence is a concept that can expand the focus AFS places on increasing intercultural competence. As we learn more and incorporate frameworks and concepts into our work, we should keep an eye on research and practices in cultural intelligence that connect with our Intercultural Learning in focus (for instance: understanding values, attitudes and behaviors) and in our mission to promote heightened understanding between cultures.

New communication technologies – benefit or barrier to intercultural experiences?

Posted on by
Reply

When I embarked on my AFS exchange experience in 2001, I didn’t have a cell-phone, my e-mail account was only 2 years old and neither Skype nor Facebook existed at that time. During my year long stay in Norway, I called my family back home once a month through a land line and kept the communications short to avoid unnecessarily high phone bills.

Nowadays, everything has changed and the above description of communication with my family might resemble a chapter from a history book for the generation that grew up during the recent boom of modern technology that allows us to communicate freely across the globe. The role of modern media and communication tools in the study abroad experience is a fascinating subject and it has been recently addressed in the article “How Facebook Can Ruin Study Abroad”.

Robert Huesca, professor of communication at Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas USA, uses the comparison of his two long-term experiences abroad (in 1980 and 2012) to point out both the positives and negatives that new communication technologies bring to the study abroad experience.

Digital media and technology can be used for capturing stories of the people who live abroad and they provide space for sharing their experiences and learnings with family, friends and other audiences back home. They can also serve to build bridges between the sojourner and the local culture. The negative impact comes when the time spent connecting with “the familiar on-line” exceeds the time spent “living the real life” in the host country. Huesca also argues that excessive use of digital technology protects students from experiencing culture shock and the feelings of stress, loneliness and homesickness. Lack of these experiences can reduce the transformational impact of living abroad and ruin the opportunity for the personal development that motivates many of us to move to another country in the first place.

The above mentioned examples give just a little insight into how complex this issue is and how modern technology can play role both in inefficient and efficient coping strategies. This new reality is something we can’t really change or even just ignore. As the author of the article concludes, we can learn how to cope with the new situation and we should explore new approaches to the challenges that new technology represents. One of his concrete suggestions – adding technology management to curricula preparing students for their intercultural experience – is a very relevant and useful tip for all educational institutions and organizations providing study/live abroad experiences.

The Value of Intercultural Skills in the Workplace

Posted on by
Reply

Intercultural Skills is becoming a buzzword in educational and work environments, but why do employers value such skills? And which specific skills are employers actually looking for? British Council, together with Ipsos and Booz Allen Hamilton (a market research and consulting company, respectively), recently conducted a study on the Value of Intercultural Skills in the Workplace which addressed these particular questions.

The study found that “employers are under strong pressure to find employees who are not only technically proficient, but also culturally astute and able to thrive in a global work environment.” 

The intercultural skills that where shown to be most important were:
  • The ability to understand different cultural contexts and viewpoints
  • Demonstrating respect for others
  • Knowledge of a foreign language
And these skills were so highly valued because employees with them:
  • Brought in new clients
  • Worked well within diverse teams
  • Supported a good brand and reputation for their organization
The study also suggested that policy makers and education providers could contribute to the development of these intercultural skills by prioritizing:
  • Teaching communication skills
  • Offering foreign language classes
  • Opportunities for students to gain international experience
These results from British Council’s study provide further justification for the importance of developing intercultural skills and sensitivity to differences – especially for the younger generations who have not yet entered the job market.
.
AFS is proud to have a long history of providing opportunities for its audiences to develop intercultural skills – as an exchange student, host family, volunteer, or staff! Read about the AFS Educational Goals and the Intercultural Link Learning Program as examples of how AFS activity contributes to this global theme.
.

A fascinating journey around the World… through photography

Posted on by
Reply

Have you ever dreamed of traveling around the World? Embarking on a journey where you are not limited to a tourist experience, but rather learn about people’s lives, listen to their stories and get an idea of what their usual day looks like? Nothing compares to a real life experience, but you can also do all this without getting on a plane or even leaving your own living room/desk.

Menzel's book, Material World: A Global Family Portrait

Photojournalist Peter Menzel has taken numerous trips around the world and invites us to join him in visiting people’s homes through the photographs that he had taken. Besides being respected for his coverage of international feature stories on science and the environment, Menzel is also known for producing a number of books that capture the realities of people living in different parts of the world.

His book Material World: A Global Family Portrait (1994) focuses on the material possessions and daily lives of average families around the world. It depicts 30 families from 24 different countries with all their possessions in front of their homes. Pictures are accompanied by essays and background stories of the photographed families. Women in the Material World (1996) is another documentary book, based on his previous work, but focusing specifically on lives of women across the globe.

Another fascinating journey, this time through people’s diets was captured by Menzel in Hungry Planet: What The World Eats (2005) and also in his latest release What I eat: Around the World in 80 Diets (2010). In the first book mentioned, families share what they week diet looks like; in the latter, 80 people are captured with the food and beverages they consume on an average day.

Images from Menzel's book, What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets

To learn more about Menzel’s work and browse through a gallery with a sample of pictures, you can visit Peter Menzel Photography website. Are you and educator and do you wonder how to use this for educational purposes? Then explore the link to educational materials that were developed in addition to the books and that represent an inspiring example of how to bring global perspectives into the classroom.

Living in Interfaith

Posted on by
Reply

From wikipedia.org

Today we wanted to share a blog entry by Rev. Eleanor Harrison Bregman from the Huffington Post in which she talks about living with cultural differences within the family, at home – and with something as important as religion. Although she is a Christian Protestant Minister, Bregman is raising her children in an interfaith relationship as Jewish children and they attend a Jewish school. In her entry, she describes how she tries to participate in her children’s prayers and practices, in order to be a part of this aspect of their culture.

Looking for opinion texts on interfaith relationships or bicultural/bireligious households, one can very soon find many different authors with different opinions. This is such a thought-provoking topic that it is important to learn what interfaith parenthood, interfaith relationships and living with two religions means for different people and in different geographic contexts. Here are some links to articles that encourage you to reflect on this topic:

Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section!

Intercultural Competence in European Youth Work

Posted on by
Reply

If we search for the definition of Intercultural Competence, we find a whole variety of answers – the term is defined differently by experts on Intercultural Communication, consultants working with Global Teams or by Intercultural Education theorists. The definition also varies across countries and regions of the World. Given this reality, we might be asking: Is there a need to redefine what seems to be well defined already? Probably not if our societies were static organisms that are not impacted by migration, to name just one global trend observable in many parts of the World, including Europe.

Changes that have occurred in society in the last decades and, in particular, trends that will shape Europe in the next ten years were the driving forces of a long-term project started by SALTO Cultural Diversity. The goal of the project was to redefine and review the concept and practice of Intercultural Competence Development in youth work at European level, in order to be able to provide more adequate support to youth workers and youth leaders in the future.

The belief that the traditionally used tools and approaches based on the understanding of culture as a static concept are not always achieving the educational objectives of youth trainings led SALTO to develop a new definition of Intercultural Competence:

Intercultural Competence (ICC) developed and demonstrated within the framework of European youth work…are qualities needed for a young person to live in contemporary and pluralistic Europe. It enables her/him to take an active role in confronting social injustice and discrimination and promote and protect human rights. ICC requires an understanding of culture as a dynamic multifaceted process. In addition, it requires an increased sense of solidarity in which individual fear of the other and insecurity are dealt with through critical thinking, empathy and tolerance of ambiguity.

This working definition (as defined by the SALTO Intercultural Competence working group in 2009/2010) was at center of the Research, which aimed to investigate it’s validity as well as link it to current practice.

It is by no doubt valuable for organizations who work with ICC development, such as AFS Intercultural Programs, to be familiar with how other actors see and define it. It is remarkable that the above presented definition can be easily linked to AFS Educational Goals. It’s context (Non-formal Education and Youth work) makes the definition also extremely relevant for any other organization working with Youth.

To learn about the practical outcomes of the research as well as about the reference literature behind it, access the full Research Report in English.