Refreshing Conference

Thank you for the opportunity granted to me to attend IMI's 12th Annual Conference through the availability of the scholarship fund. I am very grateful.

I found the conference sessions informative and the people very open and welcoming. Sharing ideas, knowledge and lessons learned is invaluable to the future of the intercultural field and that this kind of atmosphere was fostered so well at IMI's conference was a testament to their abilities.

I attended a variety of sessions from military-related to how to more successfully integrate professionals who are educated outside of North America into their new home country to how to better handle international disasters - a timely topic as evidenced by the terrible earthquake in Japan on Friday. It is clear that intercultural study is not only a fascinating field, but the real-world examples of the presenters highlighted the need for more and more awareness and intercultural understanding of how to effectively manage cross-cultural differences. Business deals, individual talent and in some cases, lives are lost over this lack of understanding between cultures. Additionally, Lara Logan and Akbar Ahmed spoke volumes of these points in their provocative and interesting keynote addresses at lunch time.

The pace of the conference was tight but I prefer to have as much put into a conference as one can since there are only few opportunities to bring together these kinds of interests. One may not agree with all one hears but at least the topic of intercultural dialogue is kept alive in this manner. The diversity in the field is an accurate reflection of the diversity in our world and the networking, pragmatics and research between interculturalists must keep pace with the fast-paced interconnectedness of the world.

Thank you for the conference and I look forward to another year.

Until Next Year!

For me, the timely presentations of two extraordinary individuals from opposite sides of the world stole the spotlight at Friday’s IMI – those of Professors Motoo Unno and Akbar Ahmed. Their wealth of experiences and nuanced insights shed light on contemporary issues in intercultural communication and lessons to be applied across a variety of sectors.

Professor Unno’s session supported guided discussion on differences in communication styles between American members of Congress and Japanese executives from Toyota during their hearings last year. It was fascinating how much could be gleaned about the two culture’s values from a few short video clips. The To Do – To Be continuum was completely new to me, but I am excited to reference it going forward in my career as I work to prepare college students to study abroad. The presentation allowed me to reflect on my own communication style as well and to note what aspects are more strongly associated with my American culture versus my individual personality.

During the lunch plenary, Professor Ahmed gave a rather informal but very powerful account of Muslim-American dialogue throughout the past fifty years. He illuminated how America’s foreign policy concerning Muslim nations affected domestic dialogue, but also how opening and strengthening local dialogues with Muslims at home can have a positive effect on international relations. I appreciated his frankness and his challenge to each of us to actively embrace and support peaceful Muslim communities in the U.S.

I very much want to thank the IMI team for all of their hard work and for the wonderful opportunity afforded through the EDF scholarship. I hope to be able to participate for many years to come and support the conference as it settles into its new home in the SIS building!

Day II and future

Day II (Friday, March 11, 2011)

The rain has gone! American University’s campus turned out to be more stunning than yesterday. I bless ad appreciate it because couple hours before the second day’s conference started, Japan was hit by the earthquake and the tsunami. Please pray for Japan!

An interesting session I experienced today was a case study by a Japanese visiting scholar Motoo Unno, about the significant cultural impact in last year’s Congressional hearings of the motor company Toyota. Motoo presented four pieces of video from the Congressional hearing. Each of them was a valid piece to show why and how cross-cultural conflicts occurred between the company’s President Mr. Toyoda and the Congressional Members. TO-DO and TO-BE cultures and Low v.s. High Context communication styles were presented to session audiences in a lively and persuading way. The idea of Protean Negotiation was new to me. How to be dynamic and effective in cross-cultural negotiation? I would say “Listen” is the first step you need to take!

If you are interested in arts/cultural exchanges, especially between U.S. and the Soviet Union, you will regret for not being at scholar Yale Richmond’s session: Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: How the West Won. He provided us such a comprehensive first-hand report from 1958 to 1988. His information then provided us a mirror to reflect today’s cultural exchanges activities and the cultural policies behind the scene. Yes, the Soviet Union and the Cold War have gone. But history should never be forgotten because it is the best guideline for every practice and for each of us.

The overall experience at the conference was just great. It may not lead to direct benefits for your research, study, or operation right away. Don’t worry. After the conference, take some time to digest what you have gotten from sessions, discussions, observations and random conversations with attendees, benefits will come to you automatically, sooner or later :D

Best luck to everyone. Maybe see you at the 13^th IMI conference next year.

By Chen Yang, 2011

Day 2

Today started metaphorically, literally. What? Walking into my first session, I was presented a room with pictures randomly scattered atop all of the desks in the room. Everyone was asked to select one that represented our cross-cultural experiences. Once we were settled, each of us introduced ourselves and why that photograph was representative. The stories were pretty personal, diffused tension and created an instant feeling of friendship. We went on to talk about how effective metaphors are for understanding across cultures. Chuck and Judy provided tons of resources for engaging materials for future training. This metaphorical start to the day literally got me jazzed for more sessions.

Next, we talked about a very literal culture clash. Suzanne Zaldivar shared her successes and struggles working in organizational development in a truly complex place, Afghanistan. She remarked of the great beauty, history and people that inspired her work. She is clearly an accomplished professional but what struck me most was the sensitivity and warmth with which she conducts her work. This presentation was more than just about work. We talked about great books, movies, and metaphors for understanding conflict. In all, an eye opening experience.

Today’s keynote speaker was Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, a distinguished man of many talents and a sharp wit. His presence at the conference was a real treat. Dr. Ahmed incorporated poetry, history, politics, the audience, and humor to his presentation. I attended the Q & A session with him afterward. He started with questions for the audience and contrary to my initial impression, they were not rhetorical. The result was a lively discussion. When Dr. Ahmed began fielding questions, I had to take notes. His rich and nuanced responses were thought provoking and awe inspiring. I could have listened to him talk for the rest of the day! A person like that is in high-demand and he was called away for another engagement, so I grabbed a cookie and moved on to the “Mr. Khan Exercise”.

As it so happens, I am familiar with this experiential technique of cultural awareness training but had only read about it in books. Brave Sonya from the audience volunteered to engage with Mr. Khan and tried her hardest to make some progress only to find out her version of progress was wildly different from Mr. Khan’s. I was only an audience member but seeing this simulation has really made me question my own perspective on life, work and relationships. We had a wonderful surprise at the end of the exercise. Dr. Weaver informed us that this was THE original Mr. Khan….he has played this role since the simulation was developed; a living legend of sorts. This made participation all the more special.
We wrapped up the conference with delicious hot hors d'oeuvres and a few prizes. Although I didn’t leave with a book or a trip, I left with more valuable experiences and friendships than I could have possibly expected. Will I be an annual IMI Conference participant? Absolutely. I’m hooked!

Thank you to all of the organizers, presenters and EDF for giving me such a wonderful opportunity!

Great Work IMI!

First, I must mention how wonderful I thought this conference was. The diversity in content, organization, consideration, and character of all those involved made the couple of days an amazing experience. Thank you to IMI and all the presenters!

Day two started with Ray Leki's energetic and rather grim look into the drug-related violence in Mexico. The fear produced by gruesome yet anonymous acts of violence has taken a severe toll on the residents of Ciudad Juarez, where so much of the violence takes place, but also on the US consulate workers and their Mexican-citizen colleagues. Within Ciudad Juarez, elements of intimidation and coercion have seeped into every aspect of its residents' existence. This has created communication barriers as each person can no longer do what formerly felt safe. The most seemingly innocuous endeavors have become filled with danger and apprehension. Leki posed a simple question with a very complex set of solutions, "how do you create a context where people safe to express emotion?" How can you get a traumatized community and a foreign population of equal traumatization to get beyond a communication impasse that is a product of stress and fear? What does that dialogue look like? Unfortunately, this same general area of dealing with crises, fear, and building resilience as a response-is applicable across so many different contexts. I began thinking of the ideological effects of those living in countries which govern based around deeply embedded systems of sustained fear and social control. Much like the former USSR or the modern North Korean state...

Motoo Unno had many of us squirming in our seats with discomfort as we looked into the Congressional Hearings around the faulty Toyota vehicles that began to make problems last year. The two sides were speaking different languages far beyond the mere linguistic difference. An absolute lack of mutual understanding the expectations and purpose of the hearing made for what must have been an incredibly uncomfortable three and a half hours. It made me wonder how a similar Congressional hearing across different cultural scapes would have compared. I was specifically thinking of Tony Hayward's (CEO of BP) hearing where he took a grilling but was also met with sympathy (Rep. Joe Barton) in what became a politicized issue. Toyoda had no such luck in this instance and instead was forced to come away with a serious loss of face amongst those who ultimately will continue to judge him, the Japanese.

Akbar Ahemd, like Lara Logan, was both eloquent and poignant. The issue he raised has such timely relevance that his message seemed to echo even louder. While he painted a somewhat dire picture of the US' standing in the Muslim world, I appreciated that he retained optimism and ultimately put the responsibility in the hands of people. I don't know if the world has moved beyond the days where the first lady could be greeted with flowers in Lahore, but, with the urgency communicated by Mr. Ahmed, we must never stop pursuing this ideal.

The last session of the day for me was getting acquainted with the famed Mr. Khan. Again, there were cringeworthy moments, but the point was clear-cultural collisions are suddent and unexpected due to the way in which interactions unfold dependent on each individual's cultural context. The role play was applied into a framework provided by Dr. Weaver, a series of explanations I have been privileged to hear as a student in his class at AU. He mentioned Khan throughout his lectures, and so to sit in on the exercise was a fitting pinnacle to the conference.

Again, many thanks to IMI and everyone involved. It was a wonderful experience, one that I will take away many lessons from.

What a question can do for you.

Questions do not only produce clarity, they also provide direction. In Arthur Freedman and Skip Leonard’s session, Orientation to Action Learning & Coaching, I participated in a demonstration of a team action learning exercise. My role was to present an actual organizational problem to my team. Then through a coach (Skip) facilitated discussion between me and the rest of the team, I walked out of the session with great ideas and possible solutions. Lesson: in an action learning problem solving process it isn’t just what is asked that matters, but also how, when, and whom it is asked. You see, holding back from giving quick answers, asking each other both open-ended and closed questions, and knowing whom to direct the questions to, helped frame our brainstorming/problem solving exercise in a constructive pattern.

In Ambassador Ahmed’s keynote and Q & A sessions, he encouraged us to continue to ask questions about what’s happening in our society, to attain clarity. For instance, when elected government officials say US Muslims are trying to impose Shariah law on the rest of the country, we need to ask ourselves, “how could this be possible?” Even if all Muslims wanted to impose their beliefs on the rest of the country, how is it possible for a group that makes up about 2% of the US population to impose their ways on the other 98%? Questions like these will help us separate facts from fiction.

I couldn’t have chosen a better way to end my first IMI conference than attending Dr. Weaver & Mr. Khan’s session, The Contrast-Culture Simulation: Mr. Khan. It was informative, interactive, and entertaining. Mr. Khan was outstanding in his improvisation, Dr. Weaver was exceptional in his facilitation, and I really appreciate the participants who volunteered as Mr. Smith and Ms. Smith. They did an outstanding job and we wouldn’t have had a great learning session without them.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Gary Weaver and the rest of the IMI team. It was an honor to be an EDF scholar, and your support of our careers is very much appreciated. Thank you! All the best to each of you and IMI.

Thanks IMI

I really appreciate the opportunity to attend this year's conference. In two days I've learned quite a lot about intercultural relations and had some fantastic conversations. (And of course the food was amazing as well.)

I enjoyed today's sessions even more than yesterday's, as they were more closely aligned with my background and interests. First was Ray Leki's "Fear, Culture and Community Resilience Across Cultures," an incredibly engaging case study of an intervention he did at the U.S. Consulate in Juarez. Dialogue around honest emotions was powerful in fostering resilience and engagement among consulate employees, of which there were three groups: Foreign Service Officers, locally employed Mexicans, and Civil Service employees commuting from El Paso. And though violence in Juarez continues, Leki's intervention helped to ameliorate relations within the consulate.

Suzanne Zaldivar spoke on "Clashing Cultures: Consulting in Afghanistan," where she explained the culture clash between the field of Organizational Development and what Entezar refers to as "Afghan national culture." (Entezar applied Hofstede to Afghanistan.) In terms of minimizing culture clash, she stressed the importance of learning about the region and simply being observant, though fear initially affected her ability to perceive during the first two weeks.

Akbar Ahmed's talk at lunch was timely and inspiring. I am really interested on reading his book, "Journey into America," his study on Muslim Americans. This tied in perfectly with Lobna Ismail and Daniel Tutt's session on "Addressing Islamophobia Through Film and Dialogue." (See Willow's post below for links to some of their video projects.) I haven't yet checked out their films, but I'm already anxious to share them with friends, family, and colleagues. It seems that even people who consider themselves to be "open-minded" or supportive could benefit from learning more and gaining a clearer understanding of Muslim Americans, especially considering the current circumstances in the U.S.

And finally, I was thrilled to finally see the Mr. Khan Contrast-Culture Simulation by Gary Weaver and Mr. Khan. I had heard about it in Professor Weaver's class, but it was great to experience the simulation first-hand, especially with the original Mr. Khan, who's been playing the role for over 40 years and does a fantastic job.
 
Thanks again to IMI and all of the staff and volunteers who put together this conference. I had a great experience and plan on coming back next year!

Day 2

Thank you to IMI for the opportunity to attend this conference. I enjoyed all the sessions I went to as well as the lovely food and conversations in between.

The second day of the conference was as inspiring as the first. I was interested to see how people from so many disciplines are incorporating knowledge from intercultural studies into their research (and practice).

The first and last sessions that I went to both had linguistic components to them. I am always interested in analyzing language in terms of the multiple meanings that words contain and the power that they can convey.

Madoka Kaide gave an eloquent presentation that compared language uses in speeches by President Obama, President Ahmadinejad, and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. She used excerpts to illustrate how language choices (using “I” or “we”) shapes discourse in the UN.

The last session I went to was about how a company articulates it diversity program. The sisters who gave this presentation, Kathryn and Kristina Ticknor, are in two different MA programs (linguistics and communication). Their articulate presentation also included activities for the audience that helped to strengthen their points. The first exercise was to write down ten aspects of our identity. In sharing these words, we were able to see how their definition of diversity goes beyond the usual assumptions of diversity meaning only gender, ethnicity and other visible identifiers. Their challenge to us at the end was for us to plan an event at the “company” that would be inclusive and help to increase communication between the different communities within the company. We all agreed that food and music bring people together. And one group made the point that having an activity that people do together, such as community service, helps to build a common unifying bond.

Suzanne Zaldivar’s honest and clear presentation on her experience working as a consultant in Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008 added depth to the keynote given by Lara Logan yesterday. Her slides were very effective because she used images and charts that illustrated her points without too much information. She used the Hofstade dimensions to compare Organizational Development culture with Afghan culture. But she went beyond this to ask- is this enough? She then had us speak with partners about our experiences with culture clash and ways to take of yourself and to build trust in these situations. The big take away from this session for me is that ultimately you have to just show up and be present, even if it feels like you are not accomplishing anything.

Lobna “Luby” Ismail and Daniel Tuft illustrated how they do their training to help people to work through stereotypes about Islam and Muslims. They have many movie resources and workshop materials that are much needed:

groundzerodialogue.org

20000dialogues.org

understandingmuslimdiversity.org

These films are tools for dialogue. Thankfully Ambassador Akbar Ahmed addressed the need to love and have hope. This is particularly helpful to hear during this week as the King hearings on the hill are so eerily reminiscent of past mistakes and trials based on prejudice and misinformation. It is inspiring to see the kind of media that Ismail and Tuft have made available to offer insights and leadership for dialogue.

Thank you!

Day 2 at the IMI conference was a fantastic experience for me - professionally, intellectually, and personally.

The morning began with a simultaneously heartbreaking and encouraging presentation on resilience training based on the experience of employees at the American Consulate in Ciudad Juarez. Having lost several of their own to the violence plaguing the community, it was heartening to hear that through cross-cultural community resilience exercises, various groups within the Consulate were able to begin the healing process. That case study made me think about other potential applications in intercultural dialogue for the model being used by Ray Leki and his team at the Foreign Service Institute.

In Suzanne Zaldivar's session about the challenges of consulting in the midst of Afghan culture, we discussed the importance of self-awareness and being present in those moments when one can feel totally overwhelmed by your submergence in a totally alien culture. I personally found discussions about how to build trust most enlightening as that is the ultimate goal of the British Council as an organization.

I must say that I was most inspired by Ambassador Akbar Ahmed in his speech about the situation in which Muslim Americans find themselves. I found the argument he used about the foreign policy implications (i.e. - blunders) of the surge in anti-Muslim feeling in the US quite compelling. It says something very powerful about the world we live in and about American society when General David Petraeus on the one hand has to appeal for a pastor in Florida to not burn the Quran and when Rep. Peter King uses his position to launch a public investigation into Muslim radicalization in America which reveals no new information or insights.

As before, however, I was greatly heartened to hear about the incredible work of "Luby" Ismail and Daniel Tutt who are effectively combating Islamophobia through film and dialogue. I was particularly excited about this session because it fell in line so closely with the work the British Council is trying to do with the Our Shared Future and Our Shared Europe projects - trying to address the extreme narratives which have emerged in European and American discourse around the role of Muslim and Islam in Western society.

This conference has been a wonderful opportunity for my personal and professional development, so thank you IMI and the Education and Development Fund for this unforgettable experience!

Unfortunately, the Conference has come to an end and the time has come to reflect on the day’s events and digest the many lessons offered by our illustrious presenters and speakers. I, for one, feel incredibly honored and humbled to have been given this wonderful opportunity to listen and learn from the great thinkers and practitioners of the intercultural relations field. I must thank the Institute and the event’s organizers for putting on such an excellent conference and for bringing together such a remarkably diverse group of people.

Although all of the workshops that I attended were extremely informative, I found two to be particularly insightful and relevant to my individual interests. The first was Ray Leki’s presentation of the dire situation in the Mexican border towns where drugs and extreme violence have decimated the local population and forced those who are not killed to psychologically retreat far into themselves simply to survive the constant emotional and physical onslaught caused by the endemic violence. Mr. Leki’s passion and intensity were truly inspiring and I hope that he will continue to reach out to these types of communities and coax them from their protective shells. The world needs people who can feel and talk and empathize and listen and show compassion.

The second workshop that I especially enjoyed today was delivered by former Peace Corps Volunteer, Chad Ryerson. He spoke about his experience setting up an entrepreneurial recycling venture in Honduras and the intercultural challenges of that endeavor. From a development perspective, his project seemed to be a perfect example of sustainable, bottom-up, local development that yields tangible results and positively affects a variety of constituencies within the local population. Not only that, but Mr. Ryerson’s recycling venture provided a valuable public service that satisfies a growing demand.

I really can’t thank the Institute and the presenters enough for providing this illuminating series of workshops. To Professor Ahmed and Ms. Logan, thank you for the inspiring and insightful messages that you so eloquently delivered. To Mary Margaret Herman and the rest of the organizers and volunteers, thank you for your diligence and patience both in the weeks and months leading up to the conference and throughout the two day event. And finally, I would like to extend a special thank you to all those at IMI who support his annual event and bring all these incredible people together, allowing them to connect and appreciate each other’s work and feed off each other’s passion. I can’t wait until next year!

Diversity: Think Again

Although I’m now two months shy of receiving my master’s degree here at AU, today marked my first ever interaction with the passionate and innovative people of the Intercultural Management Institute. The sessions I attended throughout the day shared a commonality beyond their intercultural theme; the presenters challenged and transformed many popular ideas by introducing new approaches in this arena.

The earliest session, Transformational Diversity, delved into how to transform “diversity” (a state of mind) into “inclusion” (an action) in the corporate workplace. This presentation went beyond the older notion of diversity as employing a few token minorities to develop a systematic approach for integration and synergy. It reminded me that the root of diversity is indeed the individual and not necessarily membership in a defined group.

Next, several AU staff members promoted the idea of assessment in higher education as an ongoing process, challenging participants to push beyond once-a-year or programmatic reviews. Later, their colleagues highlighted areas where what was once considered non-traditional in study abroad has now become mainstream, and also how the students involved should be managed differently according to their cultural background and intercultural experiences. Both sessions spoke directly to my personal and professional goals working with international exchange programs in higher education.

Ultimately, most insightful for me was the HR 2.0 session on Millennials in the workplace, of which I am one. It gave me a new perspective on how academics and other generations view Generation Y that I believe will help me to be more proactive about my work style in any collaborative intercultural arena. This presentation was highly interactive and drew from the strengths of multiple generations in the audience, reinforcing the need to dig deeper to discover the many layers of diversity in an otherwise rather homogeneous looking group.

I look forward to learning and sharing more tomorrow!

My Day I Experience

Who cares about cultural differences? I mean truly caring about what it means and how it affect the way you performing and the organization operated, not just being nice or patient to your clients, co-workers and employees who come from a totally different culture from you. And how can you turn any of potential disadvantage/danger of those effects into leveraging factors?

Often time, at the end of the day, I sat down and asked myself similar questions. Who cares? Do I care? The answer always went not very positive. People are so busying at finishing tasks, running to meetings and conferences, preparing for next project or multi-tasking on a crazy number of projects, etc. etc. Yes, for many of us, cultural sensitivity may not be a necessary thing to give conscious attention to, not even mention that many of us confidently assume we are already culturally equipped because we are born and living in a country where multi-culture is a key social context. And for many of us, the power of intercultural communication skills has never been important until harmful lessons have been given by the consequences of miscommunication.

I came to this conference with a hope to find a group of people who truly care about the importance of intercultural communication and who may know and teach how to implement strategies to bring opportunities and create power.

The first day was full of inspiration and excitement. I managed to go four sessions: a (1) a digital video mini-conference with Alexandra Parrs and Jameela Al Mahari on a joint virtual cross-cultural communication education project among American University, Al Bayan College in Oman, and the University of Bahrain; (2) an informative and exploring session by Richard Linowes on using cross-cultural skills for Competitive Advantage in the corporate settings; (3) an interactive workshop type of group discussion on HR practices on today’s mixed cultural norms created by emerging technologies; and (4) a self-exploring exercise with Donna Stringer on using social psychology concept and training to apply intercultural skills for personal and organizational uses. High engagement is the cool part of this conference and prevents me from getting information without digesting. Here are some inspiring ideas and questions I took out of the Day I participation. Hope you will find one or two interesting to you:

- Lack of structure in intercultural communication could lead to conflict or even disaster. However, it may promote self-learning and self-discovery motivations. It’s easier to say it than finding a degree to define how much is “lack”. It’s really up to your case-by-case evaluation. But at least be aware of it!

- Building trust in a multicultural communication is essential. You may successful do that through out a year or two. The question is how you can build trust with a tight time barrier (let’s say a week…)?

- What are the dimensions of culture? How do you define culture?

- Do you expect millennials to know every popular technology and put it into execution at work? Or are you expected to be a know-how millennial? How should HR process be tailored for new generations and for an era with so called Traditionalists, Boomers, Gen X and Y being together at the same workplace?

- Try hard to identify core values you have for who you are and what you do, and try harder to find those for others.

- Being an outsider of a team or an organization may not necessarily lead to a negative outcome (although it does not generate positive feelings). Try to interpret it in another way. How you feel is really depending on what perspective you have and what philosophy you embrace.

by Chen Yang, M.A. Candidate
Arts Management at American University

The Power of a Story

It’s amazing the ability a story has to convey complex concepts, data, and emotions. My highlight from Day 1 were the stories shared by presenters and participants on their intercultural experiences and practice.

In Fiona Citkin’s session, Transformational Diversity at Work: How Intercultural Competencies Can Help Organizations to Survive and Thrive, it was interesting to hear how her identity as a native Ukrainian has presented both challenges and opportunities to her in the diversity and intercultural field. Even as an experienced interculturalist with a Ph.D, she's been discriminated against just because of her accent. To illustrate the challenges practitioners may face, she told a story of how a client, referred to her company by a colleague, specifically requested for someone without a foreign accent to do a training on diversity. Though shocked, she honored their request by sending a native "USian" speaker to do the training. I could particularly relate to this story because I also have a non-US accent.

In Lara Logan’s keynote session, the 60 Minutes video on Staff Sgt. Giunta’s Medal of Honor and the stories she told were powerful media. By using the video to tell a story, it helped me see the mental, physical, and emotional states of US soldiers on the battlefield in a new light. Statistics are important and sometimes necessary, but I doubt I would have been able to understand the severity of the situation as much as I did if she had just spewed out figures of dying and injured soldiers. By putting a name, face, and narrative on her reporting, I was transformed into the realities of the foreign soldiers and locals.

We may sometimes find it hard to wrap our minds around numbers, but we all communicate through the universal medium of stories. Thank you for a great Day 1, IMI. Now I'm eagerly waiting for Day 2!

The Importance of Engaging

My first day at IMI's Annual Conference was inspiring, enlightening, and informational. As someone who works, lives, and breathes culture, it was nice to be in the company of like-minded folks. An overall theme of the day for me was engagement. It is not enough to simply do your research and pass the test-- one must apply their learnings on the ground and ENGAGE. For one to claim to be culturally competent or inclusive, he or she must understand, respect, and engage with those who embody other cultures.

The first session I attended was all about "Transformational Diversity" which is a shift from the old way of thinking about diversity as race and gender to a more strategic framework of minorities-integration-synergy-performance. In order to change organizational cultures, it is important to create an inclusive environment with actions in place that value and respect difference.

My second session was titled "The Cultural Dimensions of Plane Crashes" which was all about the Case of Avianca Flight 052. This interactive session really provided insight into how cultural differences can influence life and death decisions.

After hearing a great keynote address from Lara Logan, CBS 60 Minutes correspondent, I went to my third session that dealt with multigenerational issues within HR policies. Again, I mention the importance of engagement here because I find that generational issues in the workplace can be minimized by simply engaging respectfully with your colleagues of all ages. As groups discussed their organizational HR issues, the overall theme seemed to be the need to develop understanding amongst all employees around technology and policies.

My last session of the day was titled "Diversafari" and was all about including graphics and exercises when creating a training program. This session was all about engagement with others, from learning how they relate to the Diversity Wheel, to learning how they handle being on the inside and the outside of a group. When working in teams, this type of information is so useful for reaching the organizations' ultimate goals.

Overall, I have to say that today reinforced that I am in the right field. Working to help others understand the value of culture, diversity, and inclusion is a job that can never end. People must ask questions, share experiences, respect others, and continue the process of engaging in order build inclusive environments.

Follow me on twitter @diversitynmci

Day 1

As a master's student in International Communication, it was great to have the opportunity to listen and speak with so many practitioners today, both during the sessions and at the wine and cheese reception. I took Professor Weaver's Cross-Cultural Communications class last semester, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and today's sessions allowed me to build upon the theories from the course as well as learn of possible career paths in intercultural relations.

Though I don't have much of a background in healthcare or negotiation, I enjoyed the sessions on "Mastering the Art of Negotiation in the Military Environment," "Treating Cultural Challenges in Healthcare," and "Practicing Cultural Competence in Calamity." All three of these sessions discussed how culture shapes perspectives and what this means in terms of negotiation and healthcare. Clearly culture is important and indispensable in understanding motivations and communication in negotiation, understanding and providing for patients in the healthcare field, and helping disaster victims.

I also attended "Education Abroad: Models and Approaches for the 21st Century." Though much of this presentation covered programs at American University, with which I was already familiar, I had not recognized the uniqueness of the graduate study abroad programs at AU's School of International Service. SIS offers several different types of study abroad and a greater variety of programs than similar schools at other universities. This explains why 42% of SIS graduate students study abroad (up from 8% just 4 years ago).

And Laura Logan's keynote talk was bold and fascinating. I especially appreciated her approach to journalism, as she begins her interviews with a question like "What's the most important thing I need to understand about (Iraqis, Afghans, etc)?" This allows her to really get at the heart of a person's perspectives, values, and motivations, without being clouded by preconceived notions of who this person is and what they want. Relating this back to cross-cultural competency and healthcare or disaster relief, similar questions ought to be asked: "How can I help you?" or "What is most likely to help?" rather than trying to administer the same kind of care to diverse populations or otherwise make assumptions about wants and needs. This is especially important when practitioners are unfamiliar with the culture or context in which they are operating.

All in all, today's sessions gave me a broad perspective on various aspects of intercultural relations and how theory applies in practice. I'm happy to be attending IMI's conference and look forward to another exciting day tomorrow!

Assessment in Higher Education

I learned a great deal from today’s session, “Assessment: A Tool for Decision Making and Strategic Planning in the Higher Education Environment”. While effective assessment is imperative in every professional context, higher education has a distinct responsibility to utilize assessments to gauge performance and effect change. One of the elements of the presentation that I found to be most valuable was the definition of assessment as “an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving performance”. The emphasis was on the idea that in order to be effective, assessment must be valued and embedded as part of an institution/office culture. Balancing the challenges and opportunities of assessment such as the quality of the assessment vs. time available and using sound methodologies vs. the reality of data collection are issues that most institutions can relate to, however, if one focuses on creating an assessment that will provide useful results that can help improve performance it will be of use to concentrate on the essential components of a quality assessment.

On the theme of higher education and assessment, the Education Abroad session was very informative. Mark Hayes, the Associate Director of AU Abroad, introduced some interesting data on where AU stands in relation to the aggregate study abroad trends in the U.S. It is clear that the AU Abroad staff assess their students’ needs, as they are successful in sending 60% of their undergraduates abroad in addition to developing new ways to engage more students in study abroad.

DAY 1

Welcome to the 12^th Intercultural Management Institute Annual Conference on Intercultural Relations Blog! Boy is that a mouth full. Now that I’m done getting that out, I’d like to tell you a little bit about my day. It started out with some delicious breakfast treats and shifted smoothly into an insightful workshop on Mastering the Art of Negotiating in the Military Environment. This was one of the highlights of my day, particularly because the presenters were so knowledgeable about the negotiation tactics and cultural aspects of the Department of Defense. I have been studying this very topic in one of my foreign policy classes and was thrilled to have an opportunity to get an insider look at how the DOD handles their business. I only hope that Mr. Eisen reached his daily quota of 10 lawyer jokes. If not, I’d like to help him by quoting famed architect Adison Mizner, “Ignorance of the law excuses no man – from practicing it.”

From the disciplined military presentation I passed to the world of international business at the workshop on Using Cross-Cultural Skills for Competitive Advantage led by Richard Linowes. This was a stimulating crossover conversation for me, as I have not personally been involved in international business but I have studied many of the same principles we discussed, including many of the cultural communication techniques that help businessmen to utilize culturally unique capabilities and practices.

Following a fantastic lunch and inspiring talk by Lara Logan, I had the pleasure of learning about the incorporation of cultural sensitivities in disaster relief operations. This talk, led by Professor Michael Caudill, was truly insightful and led me to think about how even in crisis situations, cultural understanding can be a vitally important factor in determining the success or failure of a given operation.

The last workshop that I had the pleasure of attending was led by Neal Goodman, a representative of Global Dynamics. His talk covered the basics of Knowledge Managements Systems and their crucial involvement in the diverse dealings of the present-day, multinational corporation or organization. This pragmatic approach to information distribution and appreciation could and should be incorporated into practically every organization which hopes to establish a culture of learning and improvement among its employees.

The day was an incredible learning experience and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds!

The first day of IMI's 12th Annual Conference on Intercultural Relations made me proud to be an AU student! After recently returning from a slightly disappointing trip to Boston for Harvard's Social Enterprise Conference, I decided to keep my expectations in check. However, I was pleasantly surprised by a lovely day of reuniting with past connections, building new networks, collaborating with other like-minded individuals, and ultimately growing as a communications for development professional.

My morning got off to a great start with Assem 'Awesome' Nasr. With a bundle of energy, Assem shared his insights into the world of Lebanese consumerism and the commercials that fuel consumption. With mesmerizing media clips, results-focused research, and passionate personal recounts of his persistence to purchase Nike's, Assem captivated the crowd.

Like a roller coaster, my low of the day came during this session as well. As Assem divided us into two groups, he asked each team to come up with a list of possible perceptions of Muslims and Americans. My team recounted views that some may have about Muslims with reluctance and reservation, but the opposing team (of mainly Americans) eagerly announced that Americans are viewed as loud, religion-less, overweight...and on and on. Although it was a simple exercise, hearing these negative generalizations was hurtful. But then again, that's why it's not good to stereotype...

Lunch with Lara Logan was a second high. Lara's feisty honesty and apolitical rhetoric was extremely refreshing in a town such as DC that tends to dance around the issues. Lara's obvious passion for journalism inflamed my deepest desires to get back to the field as soon as possible. Her confidence and convictions were moving, and her insistence on integrity inspired me to hold true to my beliefs and aspire to make a difference by pursuing my own passion of communications for development.

Now, my hopes are way up, and I can't wait to see what's in store for tomorrow! My picks for day two include "Clashing Cultures: Consulting in Afghanistan", "Addressing Islamophobia through Film & Dialogue", and "Cultural Considerations in Doing Business in MENA". If you share my passions, I'll see you there!

Day 1

Wow, with five concurrent sessions to choose from I found myself repeatedly studying my program guide and constantly reconsidering which sessions to sit in on. In the end, I was very satisfied with the choices I had made. Although I had difficulty in relating to my first session, which covered the challenges for organizations in dealing with intercultural communication issues arising at a community level, the speaker noted several issues that are relevant when dealing with diversity in larger contexts. A coherent vision between an organization and its mediators, as well as the need to dig deeper to understand the linguistic and locational needs of mediation are both areas which can be pivotal in creating successful outcomes.
The second session was a complete turnaround. Moments of quiet reflection and introspection resulted in some pretty powerful dialogue. The self-discovery session definitely lived up to its name, and was aided in the fact that several of the visiting cohort of Libyan scholars were also very enthusiastic in sharing their unique perspectives. Time betrayed us in the end and the conclusion of the session was rushed, but it seemed like everyone had gained from sharing with each other on a more personal level.
Lara Logan's 60 minutes piece was extremely poignant and her subsequent political commentary very entertaining. I appreciated her frank and thoughtful way of speaking although I really felt like I needed a little more time with my giant piece of cake.
Two semi-related sessions followed lunch, both were discussions about intercultural education. The first of the two presented a method of assessing intercultural compentency for educators, its particular emphasis on nonverbal communication, while seemingly obvious to those of us who have been exposed to various related theories, is undoubtedly huge in getting educators to become aware of their own potential areas for gaining new knowledge. Creating culturally-cohesive classrooms is no easy task for many reasons, and any progress is good progress. The second session made me quite proud to be a student in SIS. Listening to our faculty and staff list the sizeable range of international programs reaffirmed why I was so attracted in coming to this school. It's amazing the extent that everyone involved in SIS goes to in order to truly create opportunities for its students to become involved as active participants in the global context that we learn in. As someone who has considered a MA dual degree program since the beginning, it was fun to see the thoughtfulness that goes behind creating such a wide range of relevant programs.
Even a downpour couldn't deter many from the chance for good conversation over wine and cheese. It was a privilege to be able to speak with a few of the professionals who are doing such good work, and to hear their insights as to where they have come from and where they are going. Looking forward to a less wet but equally productive and busy day 2.

Day 1

Despite the dismal weather there was an energy of excitement in the beautiful new SIS building this morning. In my first session, we were greeted by a lawyer, an economist and a professor; and no, this isn’t the start of a bad joke. This is a collaborative team working on Air Force strategy for intercultural negotiations. Interesting research is on the horizon with strategies broken down into nuanced components and is set for publication this fall. As if that weren’t enough, these publications are for public distribution. There may be little glory in it for the authors but with the wide application of their research, there’s a sense of personal satisfaction by all involved in the project.

The following session on using cross-cultural skills for competitive advantage, Dr. Linowes presented as a global traveler whose excitement and enthusiasm would make anyone consider a career in international business. He led a lively discussion and enlisted audience participation to provide instances of disaster and success in intercultural interaction in the business sector. Personal anecdotes and insight from current controversies like the recent Toyota recall, provide perspective on just how global business is affected by intercultural interaction.

At lunch we were served a yummy buffet luncheon to please carnivores and vegetarians alike….and let’s not forget the decadent chocolate cake. We were lucky to have Lara Logan as our keynote speaker. She has lived a lifetime of intercultural experiences and wasn’t shy about talking with us about them. Lara brought a particularly moving segment from 60 Minutes framed around an interview she did with Medal of Honor award winner, Staff sergeant Sal Giunta. She went on to share not only anecdotes of experiences, she provided personal stories about her life and inspiration from her upbringing in post-Apartheid South Africa and her continued zeal for the real grit of journalism.

I was lucky enough to snag a spot at her Q & A session. She was presented with some challenging questions and without hesitation; she provided thoughtful responses and made no bones about telling us about the limits of the media. I hope to speak for most of us when I say we left feeling inspired and motivated by her candid and insightful responses to difficult questions.

I was also fortunate to attend a session on intercultural knowledge management where we participated in a lively discussion on the nuts & bolts of the problems organizations often face in collecting and organizing valuable cultural information. It’s a complicated process but Global Dynamics, Inc. is there to help organizations sort out the complex system of compiling, storing, accessing and supporting organizations that send valuable personnel overseas for duty.

Let’s not forget the rainy and windy walk to Chef Geoff’s for the IMI associates happy hour. Always a good time, Geoff did not disappoint. Yummy finger food and some adult beverages led many to intense discussions. Everyone was having a great time meeting and talking with one another. I suppose it’s easy when you have similar passions. After much insightful discussion and merriment, I left feeling inspired and more knowledgeable.

Here’s hoping to better weather and an equally exciting day tomorrow!