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!