This is the second and final extract from the annual Intercultural Management Institute conference held in March in Washington DC. Laura Hash was our on the spot reporter.
absolute war:
Even in war there is intercultural work to be done. R. Philip Deavel, Deputy General Counsel for Dispute Resolution, US Air Force tells of the intercultural skills needed when American tanks have destroyed a Korean farmer’s rice field or when the warring factions in Rwanda had to come to an accommodation.
absolutely personal:
Richard Harris, Professor, Faculty of Management, Chukyo University, Japan has a novel way of describing the proximity expected in some cultures. ‘People from the Middle East …say they love to feel the breath of the other person’. He also explains how distance is measured by the singing of songs by some Pacific cultures.
absolutely Kahn:
Dr Gary Weaver explains a cultural simulation involving a Mr Kahn of unknown origin. Kahn comes from a high context culture as defined by Edward Hall and we hear an extract of a role play in which low context meets high context with amusing results. Behind the fun lie some important intercultural principles.
absolutely diplomatic:
Darren Krape, New Media Advisor, describes how the new media are influencing diplomatic work. The first example is of virtual consuls and the second is of a Wikimedia type exercise within the state department called Diplopedia. Not surprisingly the open editing approach of building up intelligence in this way had some sceptism to overcome.
absolutely worldclass:
Don’t forget that May 10th is Pangea Day. People all over the world have been competing to make short films illustrating universal human values. The 24 best films will be shown over four hours at 18 GMT. Which do you like best? Did you hold an event or attend a Pangea event? Tell us about it by adding a comment here.
absolutely champion:
Absolutely Intercultural has been nominated for a Danish podcasting award because every other AI show is produced in Denmark. If we are to have a chance of winning then we need more nominations before we get to the voting stage! So if you like what you hear then send a mail to nominering@podcasterprisen.dk with the following details:
Name of the podcaster(s): Anne Fox
RSS feed of the podcast (if you know it): http://feeds.feedburner.com/absolutely-intercultural
URL of the podcast: http://www.absolutely-intercultural.com
Nominator’s name and email address (to take part in a prize draw of nominators
Reason for nomination: optional but you can explain why the podcaster deserves the nomination
Deadline for this first round is May 12th. If your Danish is good you can read more at:
http://www.podcasterprisen.dk/
The next show will be coming to you on 16 May from Dr. Laurent Borgmann from RheinAhrCampus in Germany.
So long…stay tuned!
The host of this show is: Anne Fox
Editor: Dr. Laurent Borgmann
Hello from Nashville, Tennessee also known as Music City USA! For some time I have been a big fan of your podcast. You have such a great wide range of material that you cover. I volunteer with international exchange high school students through the AFS Exchange program. I recommend your podcast to volunteers as well as students. Your podcasts have helped me to understand different cultures around the world which has helped me to relate better with some of the students. One small example was the German student that thought I was very odd for flying a US flag at our home. Last year once I heard your podcast on Germans flying flags, it clicked why she us not comfortable with my display.
Next week I am headed off to Portugal to visit Mariana who lived with us last year. In July I am headed back to Copenhagen to see Charlotte that lived with us in 2004-2005. On my layover in Frankfort I hope to visit with Carmen who was a student who visited my home several times last year.
Thanks for helping me to better understand my foreign friends!
Keep up the great work with the podcasting, it is certainly appreciated. J You are doing your part toward world peace.
Tammy Roberts