2,000 "intercultural activities" since 2007
18 Feb 2011
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Shawn Simpson, Agence Iter France
Intercultural training sessions, international seminars and workshops, weekly intercultural questions and monthly intercultural activities for spouses ... in three years, this adds up to 2,000 participants.
The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization may well become a new reference in intercultural organizations. Embedding intercultural learning within the organization has been a task undertaken since 2007. Between intercultural training sessions, international seminars and workshops, weekly intercultural questions and monthly intercultural activities for spouses, the participation in these events has just reached 2,000.
The need to understand one another in order to work more efficiently together is one of the motivations behind the attendance at these events as well as simple curiosity and interest in learning about other cultures. Most international organizations have to call in intercultural experts to find a solution to a crisis: °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ employees are setting a precedent in learning intercultural skills in order to help prevent possible misundertanding and inefficient communication. The importance of acquiring these skills has become apparent to many. Working in a multicultural team has specific challenges and these are being addressed instead of ignored.
The construction of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ machine is a human endeavour. Recognizing the human dimensions of the project is a pre-requisite for its success.