Intercultural Training Conference
Intercultural Training – ICC- Annual Conference
What do I have to know about other cultures? How should I greet someone? Do I understand the different forms of politeness? How should I dress in different situations? What are some topics that are better left alone? What are the taboo subjects and where could I put my foot into my mouth?
These questions are becoming ever more important in a globalised world that communicates internationally. To negotiate successfully, isn’t it enough to speak a mutually understandable language, which is usually English? Or do you also have to understand the cultural context of your partner and, at the same time, be aware of your own cultural idiosyncrasies. Ever more frequently, international companies are not only sending their employees solely to a language course before they go on to conquer new markets and open branches in foreign countries, but the employees are also being trained to be more culturally sensitive. It’s all about developing a feeling for the differences, both of others and your own, in addition to learning about the hard facts of the target culture.
Thus, “Intercultural Dialogue” was the main topic at this year’s ICC Conference in London from 13-16 March. The ICC (International Certificate Conference) is a global network of different organisations dealing with language learning issues and was accredited by the European Council as a “non-governmental organisation”. Members range from entire ministries (e.g. the Greek Ministry for Education and Religion) to associations and umbrella groups (e.g. the German Association of Adult Education Centres), universities (e.g. the University of Westminster), publishers (e.g. Hueber), and private language schools (e.g. IH Berlin PROLOG). We all came together with an interest in exchanging ideas, networking, setting standards for language education and teacher training, and developing European projects. Numerous projects that are funded by the European Union can be developed and implemented under the auspices of the ICC.
If you have any questions about the ICC, intercultural training or about European projects, we would be glad to help: •felix@prolog-berlin.com
Interesting links:
ICC: •www.icc-languages.eu
European Council: •www.coe.int