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.
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