Working Groups

The community-based ICC working group defined the following priority: Advancing our knowledge and connecting within our glocal communities to establish praxis in developing community-based ICC. Concepts like global, local, community and praxis were the main keys for our brainstorming about the mission and name of our group. The group arrived at the following mission: The World Council on Intercultural and Global Competence connects researchers and practitioners across disciplines, languages, and countries to advance knowledge, research, and praxis of intercultural competence globally.

This working group brings together different disciplinary perspectives on ICC and GC with the aim to explore, understand and compare different disciplinary perspectives, concepts, and models of ICC and GC. The group also seeks to compare and contrast how ICC/GC is taught in different disciplines within higher education or professional development post-graduation and how professionals in different disciplines develop ICC and GC.

The ECP working group is aimed at students and professionals who meet at least one of the following conditions: a) less than 5 years of experience as a researcher and/or practitioner in the field of intercultural and global competence, b) advanced degree in a relevant field completed in the last 3 years. The working group’s key priorities are to develop research and practice collaboration in emerging fields, to provide webinars and training workshops, and to develop networking opportunities with established researchers.

A group of professionals interested in ICC development among faculty in education from K-12 through higher education. The main purpose is for sharing resources, tools, and opportunities in the field of ICC development. Key priorities include identifying tools and resources for those working on ICC with different constituencies at higher education institutions around the world, researching global learning pedagogies used in different contexts around the world, and identifying examples of ICC Mentorship programs for students in different countries.

The main aim of the ICC assessment working group is to learn together in an international and multidisciplinary group of professionals about different approaches to both quantitative and qualitative ICC assessments. Key priorities include to build a team and create a space where we can learn from each other and improve current ways of assessment, to collect alternative methods of gathering evidence to assess ICC and to analyze different selection criteria. 

A group of international, inter-professional individuals, all with a passion for enhancing international education. It aims to raise continued awareness of the importance of intercultural competence in international education and explore ways to maintain and increase its centralize across schools, curricula, and programs. The group seeks to accomplish these by harnessing the skills and diverse world perspectives and experiences of its members. Key priorities include internationalizing curricula, improving ICC in study abroad programs and of international students, exploring ICC in digital education, and understanding global experiences.

Launching in 2021

El grupo de trabajo ICC en Español tiene como objetivo conectar profesionales de distintas disciplinas y contribuir en el desarrollo del conocimiento, la investigación y la practica de la Competencia Intercultural desde la pluralidad de perspectivas que aporta la comunidad hispanohablante.

Our culturally and professionally diverse team aims to contribute to the international research and practice of ICC by sharing and creating resources that reflect a more diverse approach to how ICC is perceived and practiced in a variety of contexts, and also by giving ICC experts an open platform to share their ideas. Our team will strive to decolonize the field of ICC through ensuring representation of perspectives from different language and cultural backgrounds, to promote the integration and practice of ICC across disciplines and professional fields, and to contribute to ICC material development.

To explore IGC in Africa. Data driven and research-based we work to extend IGC models beyond the education sector to include civil society. Our aim is to provide data driven information on IGC in Africa, to share region specific research on IGC in this culturally diverse region, and to promote IGC as an instrument of peace.

The mission of the Middle East and North Africa Region & Intercultural and Global Competence (IGC) Working Group is to look at IGC in the MENA region. Our work is research-based and extends beyond the education sector to include the world of work and society at large. We aim to provide data driven information on IGC in the region, to share region specific research on IGC in a culturally diverse region, and to encourage embracing IGC as an instrument of peace.

Multilingualism (Mother language + 2) is becoming a global norm. Monolingualism is increasingly limited to isolated states or remote geographies.This working group will explore the relationship between multilingualism and global competence. We will explore the relationship between multilingual skills and global engagement as evidenced by languages learned, majors and degrees obtained in tertiary education, and career choices. How does multilingualism correlate to competence associated with skills developed during studies abroad, public and global humanitarian service, participation in transnational organizations and conferences, and global employment mobility?The committee will also continue an on-going longitudinal study of a multinational cohort of multilingual students from undergraduate studies beyond graduation and in their careers thereafter.

The Ph.D. Working Group serves as a safe and supportive space for Ph.D. students at any phase in the IC-focused programs. In this group, Ph.D. students feel free to share their knowledge and experience and seek help, support, and collaboration academically and personally. We meet monthly on the last Tuesday of the month (for 40-45 mins). The meetings are structured as either Expert Sharing or Member Sharing with subsequent breakout rooms for deeper conversations.

We are living in a world where global challenges need global solutions. This puts us at the nexus of local problems that might need international experts, cross-cultural teams (interpersonal dynamic), an intercultural workforce (corporate dynamic), and tricky international diplomacy. Global collaborations are becoming the norm, even if working remotely. Professionals will need ICC skills for intercultural problem-solving, systems-thinking keeping global nuances in mind, and truly understanding local need, capability, capacity to enable infrastructure development and empower the local demographic to own their solution space. The OECD PISA global competence framework goes into great depth of preparing youth for an inclusive and sustainable world. The UN also talks about why global competence in youth is critical to achieve the SDGs. This working group hopes to bring together like-minded professionals who wish to explore the intersections of ICC with the SDGs, deliberate about the outcomes and impact of these intersections, discuss best practices to integrate ICC systematically into curricula and experiential learning related to the SDGs, and share our collective learnings with the larger community.

To move the needle on intercultural policy development – within and beyond education, through research – in order to advance intercultural competence and make it accessible to the public. Key priorities include to identify the role of intercultural policy makers (at local, regional, national, international levels), translate research to inform policy makers globally, create innovative resources to raise ICC awareness and implementation, and raise the profile of ICC, making it more broadly accessible.

This working group addresses the conceptual and practical implications of a transcultural perspective as a relational view on cultural complexity. Such a perspective includes a shift in focus to commonalities (in their relation to cultural differences, similarities, etc.) and particularly to corresponding learning processes and other determinants of mutually beneficial cooperation. Against this backdrop, transcultural leadership refers to the individual and organizational competencies to create new commonalities beyond cultural borders.

The aim of the working group is to:
– discuss the conceptual offer of transculturality and a relational view on cultural diversity
– discuss practical implications
– organize an international and interdisciplinary conference on the transcultural approach (including publications)

This working group meets every first Tuesday of a month, typically 4.30-6pm CEST (timing may).

This group is for those interested in learning from a wider range of knowledge/understanding than typically represented in ICC research. Key priorities include to educate ourselves on what underrepresented voices are already contributing to ICC research and to create opportunities for more contributions. 

This working group is collecting and sharing information on experiential intercultural training in virtual spaces, including but not limited to best practices in facilitating and executing virtual intercultural programs and activities. Key priorities include creating a space for meaningful exchange on virtual ICC as well as developing and adjusting program designs for virtual mobility and exchange.

Purpose:To describe the current state of IGC in Healthcare, to raise awareness on IGC frameworks related to healthcare and assess their applications critically, and translate research to inform and improve health care practice. Introduction: Over the past few years, reports indicate that health care staff require further development of their intercultural competence (FOPH, 2008; Casillas et al., 2014; Smedley, Stith & Nelson, 2003; Zazzi, 2020).Frequently healthcare literature does not focus on the health care professionals’ worldview toward cultural difference and its effect on care. Literature in the health care field mainly focuses on migrant care, health belief models, health disparities, utilizing interpreters, conducting a transcultural patient history, and using family systems care.Failure of health professionals to acknowledge ethnicity, language, cultural beliefs and values in the provision of health services exacerbates health disparities, creates distrust and reduces health care quality specifically pertaining to noncompliance, inaccurate diagnosis and treatment, and ultimately causes poor health outcomes (Smedley, 2010; Casillas et al., 2014).Intercultural competence in health care is not just about a positive attitude, or common sense, or using an interpreter, or matching staff to the patient population, or learning about specific cultures, or do’s and don’ts. Intercultural competence is indispensable to provide safe and effective health care, it is also about patients having real options that are acceptable to them and it is about them being valued for the person they are (Van den Bergh, Schärli-Lim, & Wong, 2020). Mission: To explore IGC in Healthcare. Let us as practitioners, educators, managers, and researchers within the healthcare field focus our intention on how we can improve health care not only guided by our professional knowledge, but to enrich it with the application of intercultural and global knowledge.

The working group on the intersection of science diplomacy, intercultural communication, global competencies, UN SDGs and internationalization of higher education is a collaborative effort aimed at exploring the connections and opportunities for synergy between these areas. The working group seeks to identify the ways in which these areas intersect and can be leveraged to enhance the achievement of the UN SDGs and promote greater collaboration and understanding across borders The goal of the working group is to foster greater understanding and cooperation between individuals and organizations from different cultural backgrounds, promote the use of science diplomacy as a tool for global problem-solving, and contribute to the achievement of the UN SDGs through higher education and research