The Birth of a New Zone for Our Own Learning

Posted Kris Acheson-ChairLeave a commentPosted in Intercultural Connector Blog

Two years ago, when the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC) didn’t happen for the first time in over four decades, my staff and I searched in vain for summer professional development opportunities for interculturalists that would offer similar depth of learning and networking opportunities. Mourning the potential end of an era and with a strong desire to honor the work of the giants on whose shoulders we stand, the Center I direct–Purdue University’s Center for Intercultural Learning, Mentorship, Assessment and Research (CILMAR)–pulled together a group of a dozen intercultural and diversity, equity and inclusion thought leaders in the fall […]

Up Your Virtual Facilitation Skills with this “Zoom Bootcamp”

Posted Leave a commentPosted in Intercultural Connector Blog, Special Series: Inclusivity and ICC in Online Spaces

On 16 February 2021, I offered two “Zoom Bootcamp” sessions for members of our World Council on Intercultural and Global Competence community. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many of us to move our meetings, formal and informal learning interventions, to virtual sessions, oftentimes using Zoom or other video call solutions. Over the past 12 months, I have facilitated more than 100 sessions online, ranging from short workshops on intercultural competence to 10-day train-the-trainer programs. My clients, partners, and participants have been as positively surprised how powerful and enjoyable online intercultural learning can be as I have been. Part of the […]

Accessibility in Intercultural Competence

Posted Leave a commentPosted in Intercultural Connector Blog, Special Series: Inclusivity and ICC in Online Spaces

“Equity is often related to justice or proportional fairness… Equality differs from equity in that it relates more to sameness or equal distribution. In society, equal treatment does not always produce an equitable result.” Over the last year, we have learned a great deal about how to engage with the world around us when limited to virtual spaces, communication, education, and socialisation. In some cases, the shift to online spaces and remote work or learning has provided unforeseen advantages. In others, it has shone a light on the disparities that exist in our societies.  In the US, during the height […]

Intercultural Competence in a Virtual World

Posted Hayley Pottle1 CommentPosted in Intercultural Connector Blog, Special Series: Inclusivity and ICC in Online Spaces

As a practitioner in international exchange and education with a focus on intercultural competence, the onslaught of COVID-19 was a surreal experience unlike any other. The entire world shut down and yet there was transformative work to be done. The spring months of 2020 were truly all they were described to be—challenging, trying, difficult, uncertain, and every other adjective used in email exchanges. And yet, what an enormous opportunity to potentially expand the reach to meet the direct needs of today’s youth. To stretch our flexibility muscles and, instead of waiting for things to go “back to normal,” to creatively […]

Maintaining ICGC in Higher Education through Virtual Exchanges

Posted Yovana S. VeerasamyLeave a commentPosted in Intercultural Connector Blog, Special Series: Inclusivity and ICC in Online Spaces, Working Groups

As a member of the ICC Virtual Working Group, I would like to share how Intercultural & Global Competence (ICGC) maintained traction as a learning outcome in higher education during the pandemic. In the past two decades, U.S.-based institutions have placed more importance on international institutional partnerships between U.S. institutions and foreign counterparts, but the 2020 global pandemic unleashed restrictions which hampered physical mobility between nation states. In response to this and other challenges to ICGC in curricula, institutions adopted innovative solutions in the form of Virtual Exchanges and Collaborative Online Intercultural Learning (VE/COIL) to maintain global partnerships and serve […]