Culture and Intercultural Awareness

This seminar aims at providing the participants with an introduction to the practical knowledge and skills they would need to successfully interact in intercultural settings. Starting with an overview of the concept of culture, the participants will engage with their own cultural imprints, in order to understand the influence that this background has on one’s behaviour and communication. They will then take a closer look at different cultural characteristics and value systems, thus moving from self-awareness to awareness of the others. Using various interactive methods, they will reflect on the influence of these systems on ways of thinking and learning.
This will help the participants to not only appreciate the differences – and similarities! – but also create an understanding for the underlying sources of the same. Another important focus in this seminar is the sensitisation for subtle signs that could indicate possible points of friction in intercultural encounters, in order to find ways to manage these effectively.
The participants own experiences play a vital role – using practical examples and their personal experiences, they will apply the new insights and critically reflect on intercultural encounters, thus developing their intercultural competence and promoting intercultural learning. 

Key points of content

• Culture and understanding of culture
• Perception of self and the other
• The impact of one’s own cultural characteristics on behaviour, communication and learning/work styles
• Intercultural competence 
• Reflection, application and transfer: class discussions, case studies, role plays and communication tasks