Intercultural YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERCULTURAL LEARNING IN THE AFS NETWORK
The State of Intercultural Learning (ICL) in the AFS Network MELISSA LILES, DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, AFS INTERNATIONAL For most AFSers, whether you are reading this newsletter in a booming urban metropolis like Moscow, Auckland, or Rio de Janeiro; accessing it from a quiet town in the northern Finnish countryside, a farming community in the US Midwestern plains, or a village in the Bolivian mountains; or it finds its way into your hands at any one of the countless AFS points on the globe in between, seasons are shifting and change is in the air. This is certainly the case here in NYC and as a result, I can’t help but to reflect on these transitions as we publish this 4th issue of AFS Intercultural Link. In our last newsletter we touched briefly on the ICL strategy that is emerging for the greater AFS Network worldwide. I call this strategy “Ensuring our Expertise.” In this time of seasonal adjustment and thinking of the past, present and future—leaves are rustling to the ground and harvests being gathered in some parts of the world, while bright green shoots are peeking out and pastelcolored flowers budding in others—I’d like to elaborate on why this strategy is not only important for our organization right now, but also in looking ahead to AFS Vision 2020 and beyond.
IN THIS ISSUE The State of Intercultural Learning (ICL) in the AFS Network by Melissa Liles Page 1 Did You Know? How AFS Orientation Framework Can Support Participants and Families During Re-Entry by Lisa Cohen Page 3
VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 4 - APRIL / MAY 2010
Call to Attention FRANCE LAUNCHES SECONDARY STUDENT MOBILITY CAMPAIGN As you may know, AFS France has launched a campaign to raise public authorities’ awareness about the remaining obstacles to secondary students’ mobility inside and outside Europe (no validation of the year spent abroad, difficulty to re-enroll in one’s school upon return, no Government Sponsored scholarships to encourage such mobility, etc.). The main action of this campaign is an online petition that we will present to the government on the occasion of Europe Day on May 9th. In order to show the strength of the AFS international Network and demonstrate your support for students' mobility in France, you are invited to sign this online petition: http://www.bouge-toi-pour-ta-mobilite.org/en/petition and to forward it to your national AFS and exchange networks.
Educational Relations at the Grassroots Level: School Relations in Finland by Pirjo Vartiainen Page 7 Educational Relations at the Institutional Level: Thailand and its Cooperation with Three National Ministries by Nittaya Sararat Page 7
Concepts & Theories: The Re-Entry Phase by Anna Collier Page 3
Current Network & Partner Initiatives: Calling all AFSers! 2010 In-Person ICL Education Opportunities by Lisa Cohen Page 9
News You Can Use: Intercultural Adjustment Curve Models by Lisa Cohen Page 5
German Summer Academy Opportunities Page 10
Beyond-AFS ICL News: Interview with Irid Agoes Dr. Irid Agoes is a former AFS International and AFS Indonesia Trustee and a former National Director of AFS in Indonesia. She currently directs the Indonesian International Education Foundation (which administers both IIEF and Institute of International Education programs in Indonesia) and is a Lecturer on Intercultural Relations at the University of Indonesia’s Graduate Program. She was interviewed by Johanna Nemeth. Page 11 ICL Field Conferences & Event Updates (Apr-June 2010) Page 12 Training Session Outlines: 2 Re-Entry Activities Page 13
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First, a pause to reflect on previous challenges we have given ourselves. In the 1990s we declared that by 2010 (this year!) we would have cemented our role as leading interculturalists and among the top educators in this field.
AFS Will Be A Leader In Intercultural Education “AFS will be recognized throughout the world for high quality programs and our defining role in educational youth exchanges, as well as for our contributions in the field of intercultural learning and global education. Our competency in intercultural education will be based on long experience, grounded in research, and reinforced by our ability to innovate”. — excerpted from AFS Vision 2010
I will leave it to you, the reader, to assess whether and how successful you believe we can claim to be in having achieved this goal today, but I believe that we can all agree that this strong position is certainly one that we would like to be identified with moving forward. Indeed, the recently established AFS global brand platform incorporates this sentiment as an essential element of who we wish to be known as around the world. The declaration is fairly directive in terms of what we need to do to establish and, perhaps more importantly, maintain a leadership role. Specifically, it suggests we balance the old (our long experience) with the new (our ability to innovate). To me, this balance is critical: It acknowledges that the world is changing and will continue to do so at exponentially greater rates. (For anyone who questions whether this is an overstatement about the speed of change, check out the very thought-provoking analysis, “Shift Happens,” produced by none other than two secondary school educators: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=pMcfrLYDm2U. Hint: Be sure to buckle up your mental seatbelt before viewing!) It also suggests that we rely on our considerable strengths and deep history when moving forward in order to be both mission and market relevant. Now, how does this apply to the Intercultural Education arena? Our arena? I—and a growing number of others—would argue that AFS, while continuing to deliver excellent programs has not generally speaking kept up with the fast pace of change that has occurred within the ICL field-cum-industry over the past 15 years. Today, related to, yet distinct within, the greater international education industry in which we operate, there are now hundreds if not thousands of ICL offerings available for any would-be student of the topic. These are both formal and informal; they can be experiential, classroom-based, or both; they may offer official certification or degree, ranging from Bachelors to Doctorates. A quick scan finds over 600 accredited higher education institutions currently offering a recognized program (not simply a course or two, but a full academic offering, and, yes, we are now tracking them) in Intercultural Communications/Relations/Education. And, as highlighted earlier this year, there are over 100 different ICL competency assessment tools and instruments available today. Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the thousands of Intercultural experts, consultants, coaches, and trainers—and all of their related services and products—available in the marketplace today. For, make no mistake, not only is this a rigorously growing academic field, it is also an established economic sphere. I write this as a glance at Kate Berardo’s report sitting
on my desk, titled the “The Intercultural Profession in 2007: Profile, practices & challenges.” What does this mean for us, AFS? Well, on the one hand, the maturation of the field is good news in that it signals more and growing awareness of the need for better understanding of each other at the most profound cultural levels. A case in point: AFS will be present at the United Nations’ Alliance of Civilizations forum in Brazil later this year. This now recurring event brings together heads of state and other government leaders with corporate, academic, and not-for-profit influencers to address how intercultural dialogue, including international academic mobility, can improve international and domestic relations while minimizing violent conflict in our increasingly heterogeneous and globalized world. But, as important as this opportunity is, it is not enough for us to be present at or even to organize occasional conferences. Nor is it enough to only run our excellent programs as they are today with some guided interventions and structured reflection components incorporated. To satisfy the demands we have made of ourselves for true and ongoing leadership and in order to distinguish ourselves meaningfully from others in this space, we must invest in deepening our own expertise as well as enriching and expanding our offerings to more audiences. In light of the many developments listed above, we can learn much from the work that has been done by others in recent years, collaborating with them where appropriate for our mutual benefit. As you’ll see on page 4, Dr. Bruce La Brack touched on this very topic when we spoke with him about how AFS might further distinguish ourselves in the field. Our starting point in this process is first coming up to speed within the field ourselves—volunteers and staff—as AFS service providers. As previously shared here, the AFS Core ICL Competence Development Program is being designed to do this. This assessment and training initiative is by no means a small undertaking, but steps are already underway to get it launched and then sustain it as a “given” part of our operations. You can read more about these efforts on page 9—including learning more about some exciting in-person education opportunities that you can take part in this July and August. And, as we progressively and continually strengthen our own competencies, we will be better positioned to identify and implement new opportunities for our customers. We, as an interdependent network, will need to investigate innovative ways to leverage our long experience and renewed expertise in ways that are relevant in an increasingly cluttered “marketplace” but that are also true to the heart of our mission and ourselves. This work will happen via dialogue with you and early communications around this have already been flowing among leadership bodies and at the recent AFS Innovation Meeting that took place in San Francisco in March, where topics included “ICL Beyond Exchanges” as well as inventive ways to strengthen our current offerings. So, as the winds blow and seasons change all over the world from winter to spring, summer to fall, and (for our readers near the equator) rainy season to dry or vice versa, there are many seeds to sow and gardens to be carefully tended to, while at the same time we continue to reap the fruits that are ripe. Let us dig in and get to work together!
DID YOU KNOW? HOW THE AFS ORIENTATION FRAMEWORK CAN SUPPORT PARTICIPANTS AND FAMILIES DURING RE-ENTRY LISA COHEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT, AFS INTERNATIONAL In the first issue of Intercultural Link, published in October 2009, we provided an overview of the AFS Orientation Framework which enables our global network “to share a common set of goals and objectives which help ensure the high quality of our program worldwide, while allowing autonomy and flexibility over how these goals and objectives are achieved in each country, region, area or chapter.” As the Framework states, “The educational value of AFS programs comes from the direct experience of the participants in their encounters with previously unfamiliar places and cultures. Experiential learning is learning by doing. It involves the body, the senses and the emotions as well as the mind, and it always involves relationships with others.” As AFS becomes increasingly aware of the added value that structured support and reflection can provide in enhancing experiential learning and advancing intercultural competence, it is more important than ever that AFS volunteers and staff worldwide are familiar with the outlines of the Orientation Framework. This way, our interdependent network can ensure that participants will receive support and learning activities that aim to achieve consistent goals at each stage of their experience. For each of 6 phases of the AFS program experience – Pre-Departure, Arrival, PostArrival, Mid-Stay, Pre-Return/End-of-Stay, and Post Return (Re-entry) – the AFS Orientation Framework outlines content to be provided to sojourners and families across 6 different educational categories, that range from logistics to safety to cultural adjustment to personal expectations.
Focusing on the sojourner, for the Post-Return (or Re-entry) section of the Framework, learning goals are concentrated on personal well-being; cultural adjustment & coping; cultural learning; and personal goals & expectations. It is with these objectives in mind that Partners are encouraged to develop their orientation programs or follow-up outreach. For example, the following are three specific goals under the culture learning category: 1)Participants can identify two or more cultural differences they have observed between themselves and their host family/community in the areas of language use, perception, nonverbal communication, communication style, patterns of thinking, and values 2)Participants can identify a new insight about one or more “hidden” characteristics of their own culture that they have only come to recognize after their experience in another culture 3)Participants reflect on the AFS experience in the worldwide context and can begin to articulate the roles played by the home and host countries in the world historically and today
they return home and realize in retrospect the enormity of the experience they have undertaken. One approach to overcoming participants’ reluctance to participate in reentry events is to reach out to them directly, providing them with content they can access on their own and work with at a pace that suits their new ‘returnee’ lifestyle. Alternatively, providing an open offer to re-join AFS (as a volunteer, friend or supporter) may be a good way of keeping the door open until the sojourner is ready to explore re-integration in more depth.
At this time of year we encourage a special focus on preparing for the largest re-entry period during the AFS year, when the majority of Northern Hemisphere (NH) participants return home in the months ahead. Be sure to take a look at the full Re-entry section of the AFS Orientation Framework and review your organization’s approach to supporting participants at each stage of their experience. Also see the article on page 4 of this issue of AFS Intercultural Link about how at least three different AFS organizations work with their new alumni – and check out Dr. Bruce La It is easily apparent how training activities Brack’s resources dedicated to this topic. And, and/or reflection materials can be developed in the future, stay tuned for further materials (or adapted) to meet each of these goals. Often the main challenge is getting participants and ideas about this topic that will be to attend re-entry orientation events once their available via the AFS Digital ICL Library. time abroad is over. This is typically due to a Good luck with your re-entry preparations! common, but mistaken, idea that after returning home the experience is over. AFS Orientation Framework: However, research has shown that the re-entry http://www.afspedia.org/index.php/ phase is a key period in terms of consolidating AFS_Orientation_Framework learnings, integrating host and home cultural in particular, the Re-entry (Post-Return) values and practices, and forming future plans section: for study and work based on the impact of the http://www.afspedia.org/index.php/ AFS experience. In fact, some say that their AFS_Orientation_Framework#Post_Return intercultural learning does not truly begin until
Concepts & Theories: The Re-Entry Phase ANNA COLLIER, ICL PROJECT CONSULTANT, AFS INTERNATIONAL The growth and learning that occur during an AFS exchange, both intercultural and personal, are significant and AFS has long believed in the necessity to mediate and support this process. In addition, recent research conducted on international experiences (including the Georgetown University Consortium Project, 2009; Maximizing Study Abroad, 2006; the Study Abroad for Global Engagement (SAGE)
Project, 2009; as well as AFS’s own Educational Results Study, 2005) point very clearly to the fact that people have a more satisfying experience and undergo more growth if their study abroad is mediated. In AFS, this type of intervention takes place through the orientation cycle and participant advisors, both of which provide participants with support at appropriate stages and in
appropriate ways, thus allowing learning and reflection to occur throughout the entire
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exchange experience, from pre-departure to postreturn. Mediation in the postreturn, or re-entry, stage is particularly important because that is the stage in which one reflects on what transpired during the exchange and what one is going to do with the newly acquired knowledge and skills in the future. It is very important to realize that when someone comes home, the journey is far from finished. The international part has come to a close, but the return home remains an intercultural sojourn. Recently, the AFS Network has begun placing more emphasis on the re-entry phase of the intercultural learning cycle. Mediating the re-entry process encompasses more than just providing support for the exchange participants because at re-entry it is not only the sojourner who is affected by the process. As all returning sojourners re-enter into a social network and a society, the returnee’s family and close friends are also likely to be strongly impacted. ‘Home’ has changed for the returnee and the returnee has changed for the people back home. As a result of this dynamic, it is likely just as important to provide cross-cultural training and some understanding of the psychology of ‘reverse culture shock’ to the people with whom the returnees are going to be coming in contact as to provide it to the returnees themselves. As the above mentioned studies on international exchanges and our long experience suggest, intercultural learning does not happen by accident. It has to be planned and coordinated and, most of all, it has to be both sustained and guided. According to Dr. Bruce La Brack (University of the Pacific), this can only occur when intercultural learning is made part of the fabric of the organization and part of the commitment to providing the best support and intellectual resources for people to get the most out of their study abroad experience. La Brack believes that AFS has an excellent foundation in mediating intercultural learning; however, this mediation needs to be built into all of the trainings and orientations that are done across the Network, not only for participants, but also volunteers and staff.
Although it is important to provide our participants with the best intercultural resources and skills we can, it is not necessary that all AFS Network organizations use exactly the same curricula. What is more fundamental is that every participant that goes abroad has intercultural learning resources available to him or her, whether it is through direct training, or through some mix of reference materials and distance learning, or through skilled and knowledgeable local volunteers and staff. For many decades, Bruce La Brack has observed that most people who go abroad do not receive adequate orientations, especially concerning re-entry. As a partial remedy he created a free and self-guided website titled, “What’s Up With Culture?” (http://www2.pacific.edu/sis/ culture/), which contains information and materials for sojourners, as well as their friends and families, for all stages of the sojourn including re-entry. An example of a re-entry activity found on the website is a letter sent to natural families or caregivers. The letter contains a list of twelve things that the family can do to help the returnee readjust and explains why the returnee will be exhibiting certain attitudes and behaviors. Access the website to view this re-entry activity, as well as others. The AFS Network also has many effective and popular activities to mediate the re-entry process: In AFS USA, another of the activities found in the La Brack website and that is used in reentry orientations, helps participants reflect upon positive outcomes of their exchange experiences. Participants are given a handout with 75 positive possible outcomes from an international experience. These outcomes are divided into four groups: Intercultural and Communication Skills, World View, Personal Capabilities, and Own Culture. Using the list as examples, participants identify positive outcomes of their own exchange experiences and reflect on how these outcomes could impact future choices and experiences in their lives. In AFS Thailand, the re-entry orientation has three components. Participants have the opportunity to share some of their experiences in their host countries, as well as take part in sessions on cultural readjustment to Thailand. However, in addition to providing participants with new intercultural skills and a chance to reflect on their experiences, AFS Thailand also includes a more tangible component: At every re-entry orientation, an officer from the Ministry of Education comes to speak about credit transfer. This creates a well-rounded combination of necessary skills and information to make the re-entry process as
smooth as possible. A third example is from AFS Germany. AFS Germany offers a sequence of two re-entry orientations, with the second containing more advanced information and concepts to assist in the re-adaptation process. One activity from the second orientation is called, “Best of all Worlds”. The objective of this activity is for participants to reflect on their host cultures and look for ways in which those cultures demonstrate the AFS mission through their domestic policies, social life, schools, religion, and treatment of the environment. In the activity, the UN has developed a new project that gathers international best practices in order to create a more just and peaceful world. Due to the similarity of the AFS mission and this project’s goals, former participants are being hired to research these international best practices and discuss the following questions: “What can we do to promote real development in these areas?”, “What keeps us from doing this?”, and “How do we deal with these obstacles?” This activity helps participants reflect on their AFS experience in a critical manner and further solidifies the importance and presence of the AFS mission in the world. As you can see, some AFS organizations already have re-entry orientations in place; however, others may lack the resources and skills to thoroughly develop this last stage in the intercultural learning cycle. Through AFS’s renewed emphasis on re-entry and intercultural learning, the needed knowledge of and support for re-entry orientations will hopefully increase, thus providing our participants with valuable mediation during this last and long-lasting stage in their exchange cycle. All contemporary research confirms that to receive the maximal benefit from an international educational experience it is necessary to participate in some kind of a post-return consideration of where one was initially coming from, what one gained while abroad and how one is going to apply those new skills, attitudes and values in the future. It is also clear that this does not happen automatically and can be greatly enhanced by supportive interventions and providing returnees opportunities for reflection. AFS is in the unique and fortunate position to assist returnees and mediate their adjustment after they return home. We all need to consider ways we can collectively and individually accomplish this worthy organizational goal on behalf of all of our participants.
Please find the attached translations of the article in Spanish.
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News you can use: Intercultural Adjustment Curve Models ANNA COLLIER, ICL PROJECT CONSULTANT, AFS INTERNATIONAL Almost as well-known within AFS as the blue flag which is our international symbol, the familiar U- and W-Curve models of intercultural adjustment find their way into most of our participant orientation materials. These models utilize the form of a U and a W to describe the emotional ups and downs that occur during intercultural sojourns. The U-Curve is applied to the time spent 7.0 6.5 6.0
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flexible and all-encompassing as they appear? Are they truly the best explanation for the process of cultural adaptation? We believe that the answer to both of these questions is: No. The two models are valuable, yes, but the adaptation process is much more complex than they show. In fact, the level of complexity found in the adaptation process is such that no single model is sufficient to capture every aspect of it. The U- and W-Curves are an attractive way to show general emotional ups and downs that occur during the exchange experience; however, they are not applicable to everyone’s experience nor do they explain why cultural adjustment takes place.
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The use of the U and W models to explain the cultural adaptation process is helpful because they help to establish
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in a foreign culture. It suggests that a sojourner begins his or her intercultural experience with high spirits, yet drops to a more negative state after the initial ‘honeymoon’ period wears off, eventually regaining a positive perspective as s/he becomes more comfortable in the host culture. The WCurve simply adds another U to the UCurve model. This second U depicts the sojourner’s experience upon his or her return home. The model suggests that the sojourner once again experiences a negative emotional dip during the reentry process, but regains a positive outlook as time passes. A version of the W-Curve as it specifically relates to the AFS experience of northern hemisphere year-long exchanges can be found in Dr. Betsy Hansel’s book, The Exchange Student Survival Kit, in chapter 8. The U and W-Curve adjustment models are taught and utilized in AFS orientations across continents and in both hemispheres, but it is necessary to stop and question: Are they really as
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that the challenges one encounters during the exchange experience are normal and expected. They also allow participants to prepare for such challenges by developing coping strategies ahead of time. However, the adjustment challenges presented in a single model do not necessarily manifest themselves in every individual nor does one model necessarily encompass all aspects of the cultural adaptation process. To accommodate for these limitations, then, it is necessary to also reference various other models such as those outlined below when explaining
the adaptation process to our program participants—whether sojourners, families, schools or volunteers. The use of several different models allows for multiple views and a broader understanding of the adaptation process. In her book, The Psychology of Culture Shock, Dr. Colleen Ward, a New Zealand-based expert on acculturation processes, has defined three adaptation frameworks: (1) stress and coping, (2) culture learning, and (3) social identification. These frameworks are often referred to as the ABC’s of intercultural encounters because they emphasize the affective, behavioral and cognitive aspects of the acculturation process. The stress and coping framework focuses on the affective or “feeling” components of the adaptation process. Topics pertaining to this framework include coping mechanisms for acculturation stress and culture shock: The U- and W-Curves fall into this framework. Cultural learning, the behavioral framework, refers to the process of acquiring necessary social knowledge and skills in order to thrive in the new culture. Such knowledge and skills include language fluency, appropriate non-verbal communication, social etiquette, and factual information. Lastly, social identification, the cognitive or “reasoning” framework, looks at how individuals and/or groups view themselves, as well as the effects of stereotypes and discrimination on one’s identity. This framework is concerned with the shifting of one’s individual, cultural and social identities, a process that occurs naturally and unavoidably during an intercultural exchange experience. When selecting which models to use in your participant orientation, it is a good idea to include at least one from each framework, to provide participants with the most comprehensive preparation possible. Models should be assessed for
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1) Coping and Stress—Affective Framework • Transition Model (W. Bridges): This model is based on the idea that there are three stages of all transitions (in our case, cultural adjustments) . Adjustment begins with letting go of the familiar. This moves the sojourner into a neutral zone where he or she emotionally disconnects from the past. The sojourner advances to the new beginning when he or she is emotionally able to embrace aspects of the new culture. Although only one stage predominates at a time, all three are present throughout the entire adaptation process. Source: Bridges, W. (1980). Transitions. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
• Stress-Adaptation-Growth Model (Y. Y. Kim): This model uses a spiral to represent adaptation and personal growth. The sojourner oscillates between stressful experiences and the eventual growth and adaptation that result from the challenge of the negative experience. Each successive stressful situation takes the sojourner to a higher level of cultural adaptation. Source: Kim, Y. Y. (2001). Becoming intercultural: An integrative theory of communication and cross-cultural adaptation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
2) Cultural Learning—Behavioral Framework • Deculturation and Acculturation Over Time (Y. Y. Kim): This model represents the unfinished product of the AFS participant. As the sojourner spends more time in the host culture, he or she incorporators more aspects of that culture into his or her beliefs, behaviors, and values. Eventually, the sojourner “re-arranges their mental furniture” such that their worldview adjusts to accommodate both new and old cultural values, norms and behaviors, resulting in a new construct. Source: Kim, Y. Y. (2001). Becoming intercultural: An integrative theory of communication and cross-cultural adaptation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) (M. J. Bennett): The DMIS allows people to chart cultural
adaptation in relation to their attitudes and behavior toward cultural difference. The scale progresses from ethnocentric approaches to cultural differences, the most extreme stage being denial of the existence of other cultures, to ethnorelative approaches, where one is able to distinguish, be comfortable with, and even adapt to cultural differences. Source: Bennett, M. J. (Ed.). (1998). Basic concepts of intercultural communication: Selected readings. Boston, MA: Intercultural Press.
3) Social Identification—Cognitive Framework • Transitional Experience Model (P. S. Adler): This model focuses on the progressive changes that occur to one’s identity during cultural adjustment. The process begins with the sojourner’s initial contact with the new culture. The newness leads to a period of disintegration, where the sojourner feels confusion and disorientation. He or she becomes increasingly conscious of differences in beliefs, behaviors, and values between the home and host cultures and this can lead to reintegration, or a rejection of the host culture. As the sojourner develops coping skills and language fluency, his or her comfort level with the host culture increases and he or she progresses to a stage of autonomy. The final stage, independence, is marked by acceptance and sensitivity to cultural differences and similarities. Source: Adler, P. S. (1975). The transitional experience: An alternative view of “culture shock.” Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 15, 13-23.
• Cross-Cultural Adaptation Model (M.
Yoshikawa): Yoshikawa’s model repeats the same first four stages of Adler’s model; however, it replaces the final stage, independence, with double-swing. JOURNEY
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their usefulness, as each model will not necessarily meet the needs of every AFS Network organization. Below, divided into each of the three frameworks, are brief descriptions of a number of cultural adaptation models.
Sojourners who have arrived at doubleswing are sensitive, open, and responsive to cultural differences; yet, at the same time, encounters with such differences still create emotional crises. In this final stage, the sojourner oscillates between intercultural
acceptance and crisis, a dynamic which generates continuous growth. Source: Yoshikawa, M. Y. (1988). “Cross-cultural adaptation and perceptual development.” In Y. Y. Kim & W. B. Gudykunst, Cross-cultural adaptation: Current approaches. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
An additional option for explaining the cultural adaptation process is to use metaphors. Metaphors can be applied to all three of the above mentioned frameworks, but it is important to remember that when choosing a metaphor, you must consider who your audience is and what kind of metaphor will likely resonate with them most. The following are examples of metaphors and possible attributes for them: the four seasons (changing, yet with predictable characteristics), the merry-go-round amusement park ride (up, down, and circular movements), the rollercoaster amusement park ride (both fast and slow, seemingly unpredictable and out of control yet following a set path), the journey (no determined end, constantly encountering new experiences along the way), the remodel (exchanging old for new). These are just some of the models and metaphors that may be used with the cultural adjustment process. As stated above, there is no perfect model—or metaphor—for such a complex process and it is important that AFS orientations incorporate a variety of both in order to be comprehensive. Metaphors are also a very powerful tool for helping participants through the adjustment process but it is necessary to use those that are most relevant for your audience. A metaphor that is well matched to a group can be an extremely powerful visual, but a poorly matched one will be of no benefit. Take time to reflect on the particular group you will be addressing before selecting your metaphor. For graphic representation of all models and frameworks, please see the attached set of graphic representations of all models.
Educational Relations at the Grassroots Level:
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School Relations in Finland
PIRJO VARTIAINEN, M.A. , TEACHER OF ENGLISH AND FRENCH; FULBRIGHT TEACHER 2002-2003 AND BOARD MEMBER 2006-2010, AFS FINLAND AFS is highly appreciated among schools in Finland because of its reliability and effectiveness. AFS has been very active in Finnish school relations, and there is still a lot to be done. As a high school teacher in central Finland (Iisalmi) and as a member and volunteer of AFS Finland, I have had the pleasure of being able to work closely with AFS exchange. students and many AFS projects. Intercultural education and internationalization are part of the Finnish educational system, based on the national curricula. This gives guidelines to be followed by all schools in their respective curricula. AFS Finland supports the national requirements with all the work we do with schools, mainly with high schools. AFS Finland makes itself known to all high schools in Finland by taking concrete and active measures, such as:
• Taking direct contact with schools via Internet/phone/other media • AFS staff from Helsinki paying visits to schools, and together with exchange students tell about the work of AFS • Sending brochures, cards, badges etc. to schools • Sending study books to the exchange students free of charge by mail (this is very much appreciated) • Exchange students taking part in international weeks/days held in schools and create awareness
Contact Teachers In all high schools intercultural education is highly supported, which is made possible by municipal funding. Every school has a contact teacher who is in contact with the AFS office and takes care of the exchange student during
and items about his/her culture and give a presentation about his/her life. Articles, opinion and pictures are also welcome in the school’s newspaper on the Internet, for example once a month. School Activities and the AFS Student Besides studying the chosen subjects, an AFS exchange student takes part in the Intercultural courses, giving presentations and communicating with other students. Besides these courses, the student is invited to take part in the school’s field trips to different cultural sites of Finland. Moreover, an Intercultural Education day and/or week each year offers a lot both to the exchange student and to the whole school. Our purpose is to make AFS as visible as possible in schools.
Exchange Student and the Community When the exchange student arrives s/he is his/her stay in the school. S/he makes the given all possible information about the personal curriculum for the student and acculturates the student in the new school. The opportunities there are in the community. For contact teacher is a key person to support the example: vocational schools, primary schools, exchange student in many ways. If the studies junior high schools (where s/he can take are planned effectively, the exchange student different courses), stalls and other sport centers, civic centers. In my town AFS students can even take part in the National are always interviewed by the local Matriculation examination at the end of the newspaper which they find great fun. study year. In most schools the AFS year is regarded as so important that the student gets Latest EU Project credits from the subjects that S/he has done In 2007-2008 AFS piloted in Finland a successfully during the year of exchange. European Union program for “Comenius” schools. Through this program 30 students In some schools there’s also a “twin student” from Finland were chosen to spend three to chosen to support the exchange student and six months abroad. The program was make the acculturation easier. successfully completed by AFS and received great appreciation in the EU. In this way AFS School Notice Board and Newspaper In the school corridor there is a notice board and its links to schools became once again where the exchange student may put pictures more visible in Finland and in Europe.
EDUCATIONAL RELATIONS AT THE INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL:
AFS THAILAND’S COOPERATION WITH THREE NATIONAL MINISTRIES NITTAYA SARARAT, DIRECTOR OF VOLUNTEER DEVELOPMENT & ADMISSIONS, AFS THAILAND Over its 48+ years, AFS Thailand has cultivated strong relationships with three important government ministries over the years. The following article overviews how the organization works with each of these and shares how it nurtures these to sustain cooperation for the mutual benefit of all parties. In the eyes of the government sector, as well as parents, teachers, and the mass media, AFS Intercultural Programs Thailand is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious organization operating exchange programs
in the country. In support of this, our returnees and natural parents are recognized as holding successful roles in various private and government organizations. In fact, many currently are in high positions including roles in the ministries with which AFS collaborates. This provides a good example for future generations and allows us to be welcomed when seeking to initiate a new relationship or asking for cooperation. This is based on a long and solid history of institutional relations.
A historical perspective: Strong ties from the start As was common for AFS all around the world at that time, AFS in Thailand began activity in 1962 under the supervision of the Thai Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) with support provided from the U.S. Information Service (USIS), a branch of the US government. So, from its very beginning, AFS in Thailand has been closely linked to and supported by the work of key governmental ministries. Today this has expanded so that
8 we enjoy cooperation with not only the Education and Foreign Affairs ministries, but also the Ministry of Culture (MoC). The Ministry of Education Throughout our long relationship, AFS Thailand has been immensely supported by the Ministry of Education in various aspects of our operations, in both the sending and hosting areas. For example, the MoE supports AFS Thailand by granting permission to our volunteers and participants— including students, teachers, educators, and administrators—to take part in AFS programs and activities without conditions and by allowing our 80 Chapters and 15 Hosting Centers to be physically located inside Thai schools. Because of the Ministry’s support, School Directors are appointed as AFS Chapter Presidents, and Hosting Center Presidents, allowing for a smooth leadership succession. Additionally Teacher Volunteers hold the positions of Chapter Coordinators, Hosting Center Coordinators, and other roles as designated by the AFS National Office. The relationship between the schools and AFS is close and, in turn, Chapters and Hosting Centers regularly collaborate with the National Office in all areas of AFS Programs. For example, Chapter schools organize AFS national selection tests and interviews; host meetings) initiatives. Meanwhile, Hosting Center schools recruit host families and other schools
to host; organize AFS camps and orientations; and, of course, host participants as well as volunteers from various AFS programs. In the meantime, Teacher Volunteers can participate in various AFS meetings and workshops that take place during formal school hours without this being considered an “absence” from their responsibilities. Aside from the permissions granted to AFS schools, the MoE also supports AFS in terms of providing information: The Ministry assigns some of its officers as AFS contact persons who provide details on schooling in relation to AFS programs at our functions upon our request. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs By law, both year-long and semester length secondary school program students coming to Thailand need to apply for the Non-Immigrant “ED” visa. For this reason, we require a telex number for each student assigned from “the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand.” All documents of each student’s background are reviewed and the telex number is then sent to the Royal Thai Embassy in the relevant sending country. AFS Thailand sends these matched telex numbers to each AFS Partner to submit for the student visa application. The MoFA, through the Royal Thai Embassy, also plays an important role in many countries to
support Thai youth while they are hosted on AFS programs. Many Thai Embassies abroad pay special attention to hosted AFS participants, inviting them to the embassy’s functions or helping them in times of trouble. A good example is after the recent earthquake in Chile when all AFS students were kindly hosted at the Thai Embassy for several days. The Ministry of Culture At present, AFS Thailand also has a great relationship with the Ministry of Culture. The MoC helps support the organization, especially the National Office, in certain parts of the program where culture is involved. This includes providing documents about Thai culture for all AFS sending and hosting participants. And, other assistance from departments and sectors under the MoC can be obtained upon request. Moreover, AFS Thailand is currently the Ministry’s preferred organization to run a new sponsored exchange project for teachers of fine arts. An MOU (memorandum of understanding) will soon be signed with the Ministry giving greater recognition to AFS Thailand as an important promoter of cultural learning in the country through youth exchange.
7 ACTIONS FOR OUTSTANDING RELATIONS AFS Thailand uses a variety of approaches to maintain first-class relationships with its key ministries. Many of these can also be used to establish (or re-establish) relations for those AFS organizations that may not (yet!) have 48+ years of strong government relations in place. Learn more here. 1. Link AFS goals with national goals. As a result, when assistance is needed, certain contact persons in each ministry provide us their warm support. This has been continuing for a long time and relationships between AFS staff and ministry staff are steadily growing year by year. The linkages—both organizational and personal— have enabled both sides to share our experiences and work together smoothly. The ministries are fully aware that AFS works for the benefit of the country and, accordingly, them. 2. Regularly invite Ministry staff to share advice and information. Operational level staff members from different ministries are regularly invited to join AFS events as guest speakers to give advice, knowledge, rules, etc. for natural parents, students, and volunteers on relevant topics. 3. Regularly invite Ministry officials to be honored guests. Management level staff members from each ministry are being invited to participate in several big events as keynote speaker, the chairs of opening ceremonies, or honored guests at Volunteer National Meetings or special event Gala Dinners.
4. Invite Ministry personnel to become AFS participants. Some of the operational and management ministry staff members we work with are occasionally offered an opportunity to join our Volunteer Exchange Program in AFS hosting countries. This allows them to learn more about and further appreciate AFS’s operations, especially at international level. 5. Honor Ministry officials at public events. Every year, our Board of Directors organizes the Gala Dinner to honor people from both the government and private sectors, including embassies from Partner countries with which we have mutually successful exchange programs. This is an ideal opportunity for these key people to meet and make our relationship more profound. 6. Make regular visits with ministry contacts to give updates and/or make proposals. AFS Thailand staff members regularly visit contact persons in each ministry to keep in touch or discuss any potential cooperation. The big occasion is the New Year holiday period when we pay our annual respects to high-ranking officials. 7. Accept offers of cooperation. We are regularly invited by the ministries to join their activities on special occasions and sometimes as guest speakers. For example, as a result of our close cooperation, the Ministry of Culture recently requested that AFS Thailand organize “the Fine Arts Teacher Exchange Program” between Thailand and China.
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Network & Partner Initiatives: Calling all AFSers! 2010 In-Person ICL Educational Opportunities LISA COHEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT, AFS INTERNATIONAL With the Northern Hemisphere summer around the corner, the possibilities for in-person Intercultural Learning (ICL) and training for members of the AFS Network are greater than ever before. Profiled here are two exciting opportunities—one in Oregon, USA, the other in Germany—available in July and August 2010. All qualified AFSers, especially staff and volunteers, are encouraged to participate in order to enhance professional and personal development. Both sets of offerings are designed to accommodate busy professionals’ work-lives by offering meaningful content in digestible timeframes. The Summer Institute in Oregon, USA For the past 34 years, the US-based Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication (SIIC) has been providing short-term professional development opportunities for people who are committed to the value of bridging cultural difference. Following its first ten years at Stanford University in California, SIIC has been run by the Intercultural Communication Institute in Portland, Oregon. As announced in the last issue of Intercultural Link, AFS returnee Dr. Janet Bennett, Executive Director of the Intercultural Communication Institute, has granted the AFS Network some 20 scholarships for SIIC 2010. These scholarships waive tuition to the Summer Institute courses which range from three to five days in length and cover a wide range of topics relevant to the work of AFS, for example “Leveraging Diversity as Culture Change,” “Negotiating Conflict across Worldviews,” and “Values around the World.” Thanks to Dr. Bennett and the ICI, more AFSers than ever will have the chance to benefit from SIIC’s long history of intercultural learning. 12 of the scholarships that waive tuition costs are available via open call for staff, volunteers, returnees, families, and other individuals who are a part of the AFS Network. Additionally, eight (8) supplemental scholarships available to assist with travel and accommodation costs will be available via the AFS International Diversity Funds to encourage participation from a wide geographic range, these are intended for volunteers, staff, and alumni from each of these regions: Africa(1), Asia-Pacific(2), Central & South America(2), Europe(2), and North America(1).
Download the attached application instructions for the AFS Network SIIC and related supplemental scholarships. Visit the SIIC website: http://www.intercultural.org/siic.php
Summer Academy on Intercultural Experience, Germany This year, AFS Germany is proud to significantly expand opportunities for in-person formal education on ICL topics through their new cooperation with Karlshochschule International University. This partnership will bring together academics and practitioners in a university setting in southern Germany. The Academy features coursework in English and the opportunity to earn academic credits—although participants are not required to be currently enrolled in school in order to attend.
Please see the article on page 10 for information about both AFS and general scholarship opportunities to attend the new Summer Academy of Intercultural Experience. Or download the German Summer Academy Scholarship Application. Visit the Academy’s website: http://summeracademy-karlsruhe.org/ Jumpstarting the AFS Core ICL Competency Development Program The educational centers in both Oregon and Germany echo AFS’s mission to provide intercultural learning opportunities. Both also provide much-needed formal educational foundations for AFS staff and volunteers seeking to expand their intercultural knowledge and to ensure AFS’s expertise. As noted earlier in this issue, Ensuring our Expertise is the new AFS Network ICL strategy and a key component of this approach is the AFS Core ICL Competency Development Program. This program, currently being developed by a committee of the Network Intercultural Learning Work Group, will offer us, the volunteers and staff who are AFS service providers, assessments of our own intercultural competence and opportunities for ongoing development, enrichment, and enhancement. These in turn can be passed on to our customers and communities. As a part of this program, AFSers will be able to receive both experiential and formal learning opportunities to enhance their knowledge, consolidate their experiences, and identify themselves at particular levels of ICL expertise. And, while we have a great deal of history and practical knowledge to draw from, strategic partnerships with other entities will be critical to the successful design and implementation of this ambitious but necessary initiative. Both SIIC and the Summer Academy are foreseen to be important components of the AFS Core ICL Competency Development Program and key institutions for expanding AFS’s expertise in the intercultural field for many years to come.
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German Summer Academy Opportunities Apply now for the first Summer Academy on Intercultural Experience: Scholarships are available for YOU! As announced in the last edition of Intercultural Link, AFS Germany will organize the inaugural “Summer Academy on Intercultural Experience” together with Karlshochschule International University in August 2010. The Summer Academy approaches relevant topics in the field of intercultural management and communication and is intended to foster an intercultural perspective within the field of management theory. An additional goal is to develop applied solutions for business and societal problems and reinforce how we use intercultural communications day-to-day. The Academy will run from August 16th through September 3rd, 2010, and students can enroll for either two or three week courses. On offer are lectures taught by instructors with both academic and practical experience; course topics will include Intercultural Communication, Intercultural Management, Cultures and Conflicts, European Cultural Studies, Intercultural Training and Coaching, as well as Intercultural Teams and Leadership. More information about the courses can be found at http://summeracademy-karlsruhe.org. Are you interested in attending the Academy and strengthening your intercultural skills and knowledge? Although most participants are likely to be between 18 and 35, the program is open to all who qualify. In addition to regular enrollment, there are two different kinds of scholarships available. 1. General Scholarships There are a number of scholarships that are open to all applicants, regardless of their association with AFS and that cover the program tuition fully or partially. For general scholarship applications, please visit: http://summeracademy-karlsruhe.org/index.php/registration/ scholarships.
2. AFS Int er national Diversity Fund Scholarships Staff, volunteers, returnees, families and other individuals who are a part of the AFS Network may apply for scholarships through the AFS International Diversity Fund. The money has been granted by AFS International to support the AFS Core ICL Competency Development Program that is currently being developed to advance the Network's ICL strategy, Ensuring our Expertise. These are seven (7) partial scholarships valid for the 2-week program enrollment (August 16th through August 27th). They will cover: room, half board, course participation/tuition, and reimbursement of airfares up to 800 € for participants living outside Europe and up to 350 € for Europeans. You will be responsible for paying 400 € for other administrative fees and your board. The following criteria will be considered in the awarding process: Previous intercultural experience (e.g. internships abroad, semester abroad, school exchange) • English language proficiency (level C1 highly recommended) • Proven record of active participation within civil society (e.g. community service programs, volunteer work, school/class representative) • Individual financial situation of the applicant • Geographic diversity: Africa (1), Asia-Pacific (2), Central & South America (2), Europe (1), North America (2) • For students or recent students, academic record during the past 2 years (Grade average of at least 2,3; respectively B) To apply for this scholarship, use the AFS International Diversity Fund application form attached on (see page 9) and send it to Manuel.Schwinn@afs.org by April 30th 2010.
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Be an Intercultural Learning Intern for AFS in NYC AFS International seeks an individual with a formal background in the Intercultural (Ic) Communications and Education field for a senior-level internship position. Working from the AFS International office in NYC, the AFS Intercultural Learning Intern will support the AFS Network’s "Ensuring our Expertise" ICL strategy and related projects. In addition to strong familiarity with contemporary Ic theories, concepts and practices, this person should have experience in training/teaching/curriculum development as well as project management, and be completely fluent in written and spoken English. If you meet these requirements and are extremely bright, motivated, self-directed, well-organized, detail-oriented yet able see the ‘big picture’, interested in intercultural issues … and you have a great sense of humor, we welcome your application. Candidates from within the AFS Network are especially encouraged to apply. This is a fulltime internship requiring a 6 to 12 month commitment on location in NYC. A stipend of USD$1500/month will be provided. Additionally, airfare to/from NYC, visa sponsorship (if needed), and some NYC metro transit costs will be covered. Send your letter of interest along with your qualifications and resume/CV to miu@afs.org as soon as possible and not later than 1 May.
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Beyond-AFS ICL news: Interview with Irid Agoes Dr. Irid Agoes is a former AFS International and AFS Indonesia Trustee and a former National Director of AFS in Indonesia. She currently directs the Indonesian International Education Foundation (which administers both IIEF and Institute of International Education programs in Indonesia) and is a Lecturer on Intercultural Relations at the University of Indonesia’s Graduate Program. Additionally, Dr. Agoes oversees training of Indonesian undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students and scholars bound for foreign universities and incoming foreign scholars and professionals to Indonesia. Since 1985, Dr. Agoes has trained and consulted officials from government and business corporations from Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Central and South America, New Zealand,Western Europe, and the United States. She also chairs the Indonesian Intercultural Studies Centre, is the founder of a consulting firm providing intercultural training to international organizations/corporations, and is the President of SIETAR (Society for Intercultural Education,Training & Research) Indonesia. This month she spoke with Johanna Nemeth, Partner Director of AFS Austria. How did you get involved in the intercultural field? In the early seventies, when I was still an undergraduate student at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Indonesia, my part-time job was helping Foreign Embassy officials with their struggle to learn the Bahasa Indonesia language. This continued until I obtained both my Bachelor’s Degree and then my Master’s Degree at the same university. Throughout my private teaching I was not only teaching the language but also teaching the Indonesian culture as I saw that this was interlinked. I did not realize that explaining the Indonesian culture from my perspective was actually an intercultural teaching, a field I knew the name of only later on. To further our study, both my husband and I, went on to study at the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY at Buffalo) in 1980. My experience adjusting to the cold Buffalo winters and taking care of my three young children without the help of my extended families back home was a true intercultural training to understand myself and my culture from the inside and a role reversal from when I was teaching others about my culture in Jakarta. Learning American Studies furthered my understanding of the American culture from the inside as well, since I was constantly faced with the realities of American life (SUNY wrote up my experience in their magazine, relating my struggle facing individualism in the US). With a full scholarship from the university, I graduated in early May 1982 with my second Master’s Degree and by mid May I was interviewed and hired by AFS
Intercultural Programs in NY to become National Director of AFS in Indonesia. Starting in June 1982, I began my work at AFS in Indonesia and that was a true recognition of my own experience understanding Re-entry, which was terribly important to me, as I fully understood how foreigners in Indonesia saw Indonesia when they first arrived. In a way, my re-entry issues were difficult and somewhat similar to theirs. In my two short years overseas, I unwittingly learned and internalized many new values I did not have before: longing for privacy, doing and planning things on my own, not minding being different, impatience with the non-direct cues and wanting people to be upfront and a lot of others. I officially did a lot of Intercultural stuff (now my activities had an official name) and I worked closely with the AFS Director of Research at that time, Dr. Cornelius Grove. With the help of the vibrant OPIL (Occasional Papers in Intercultural Learning) series and the various Handbooks for Orientations, I began to write more on Indonesian Cultures. I joined the Otter Lake meeting in Canada (the famous Montreal Workshop) for the first full week of AFSwide Intercultural Education discussions and subsequently followed all the important intercultural events at AFS. I trained the staff and volunteers in Malaysia and Austria and joined follow up international Intercultural Meetings that took place in Italy. In 1984, the Indonesian Government invited me to help them with the Overseas Training Office (OTO) as their expert on the intercultural team and introduced me to the SIETAR (Society for Intercultural
Education, Training and Research) network, an organization I have been active in up to now, as a member of their Governing Council and as their President in Indonesia. I continued as the National Director of AFS in Indonesia until 1992. All my activities outside the office were to build the intercultural field in Indonesia, because it was greatly needed. In facing the upcoming Partnership in AFS worldwide, together with two returnees and two host families, we established the Indonesian legal entity for AFS in Indonesia in 1985. It is called Bina Antarbudaya or in English, The Indonesian Foundation for Intercultural Learning. Starting in 1986, I was asked to teach Intercultural Relations at the Graduate School of the University of Indonesia, an activity I keep up to now. To raise fund for AFS Indonesia, I also taught at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as their In-Country Coordinator for Indonesia. Since that time on, my programmatic activities and intellectual activities blended in AFS and intercultural teaching. In 1992, when AFS became a Partner in Indonesia, I finished my ten-year tenure to focus more on my academic side. I established the Intercultural Studies Center in Jakarta to help coordinate requests from universities that wanted to do Intercultural Relations teaching. In 1995, I went back to SUNY Buffalo to take my Ph.D. at the Cultural Studies section of the American Studies Department. My doctorate study focused on the intercultural impact of globalization. Following my commencement in 1998 I accepted a job
12 offer as the Representative of the Institute of International Education (IIE) starting in May 1999 and became the Director of The Indonesian International Education Foundation (IIEF), an Indonesian legal body to implement the IIE and the IIEF programs in Indonesia. I am still holding these two positions up to now. Through these organizations, we sent thousands of marginalized Indonesian students on Master’s and Ph.D. scholarships to all over the world. I am also still teaching the Intercultural Relations subject at the Graduate School of the University of Indonesia. Which aspect of intercultural learning has your work focused on? Along with my work and my teaching, I focused on the preparation of Indonesians going to study overseas, their re-entry and their development in Indonesia afterwards, as well as preparing expatriates about to work in Indonesia. Based on my thirty-plus years helping expats adjusting and working in Indonesia, I also focused on this intercultural training along with the Indonesian Government mandate. With these activities, I reached all sectors of society, from the governmental sector to the multinationals, from the private to the public sectors. Up to now I have taught thousands of expatriates and nationals to understand intercultural learning. What do you wish more people would understand about intercultural work? Intercultural learning is a serious and
ICL Field Conferences & Event Updates April - June 2010
If you are aware of upcoming conferences in the intercultural area, please advise Hristo Banov at hristo.banov@afs.org
comprehensive effort. It goes much beyond do’s and don’ts. In fact, it should not be that. People should focus more into the intrinsic part of creating a peaceful world, and along with peace comes justice and equality, a concept that must first be embraced and understood by any interculturalist.
What would you suggest for people new to the ICL field to read as they get started and what are the hot topics in ICL these days? I would start by reading books on one’s own culture, so s/he understands where s/he is coming from. Then go to the intercultural concept books which are abundant. (I have a complete list of the required books at UI.) [Regarding the hot topics,] it differs from region to region. For me, it is how we can preserve the health and sanity of the world, to keep our world as peaceful and as beautiful as it should be. How has the ICL field changed since you entered it?
In Indonesia, I think we need to work a lot more. Especially since Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world and after September 11th 2001, a lot of prejudice and negative stereotyping surfaced between Muslim and non-Muslim. More intercultural efforts have to be done so we finally can understand in order to build an everlasting peace. What steps do you recommend AFS take to continue to distinguish itself as a secondary school exchange provider in the ICL arena? As it recalibrates its Intercultural Education direction, AFS should work to be as sustainable as possible; efforts should not be on an ad hoc or project basis. By working with other complementary or like-minded institutions (including IIE) AFS might consider recreating an Intercultural Research Department and/or regularly collaborating with others to produce academic work alongside practical materials. By using our strength worldwide, we can have a focused discussion on this intercultural aspect alone. In addition, the world has changed so much since I was National Director in the early 80’s. With internet, facebook, Twitter, Skype, etc., AFS needs to be ahead in helping our students and families understand how to maximize their intercultural experience leveraging new and emerging technologies.
April
May
June
CAIR – Conference on Applied Interculturality Research; 7-10 April; Graz, Austria http://www.ifacca.org/events/ 2010/04/07/conference-appliedinterculturality-research-cair/
Intercultural Entrepreneurship Conference; 1 May 2010; Utrecht, Netherlands http://www.ice2010.nl/
XIV Congress of World Council of Comparative Education Societies: Bordering, Re-Bordering and New Possibilities in Education and Society; 14-18 June 2010; Istanbul, Turkey http://www.wcces2010.org/
Living and Working in an Intercultural World, Tenth Annual Conference; 14-17 April; Spokane, WA, USA (AFS will attend) http:// www.sietarusaconference.com
EFIL Intercultural Learning & Exchanges: Where do we stand & what is the way ahead? (A European Perspective), 10-16 May 2010 in Strasbourg, France NAFSA 2010 Annual Conference & Expo; 30 May-4 June 2010; Kansas City, Missouri, USA (AFS will attend) http://www.nafsa.org/
13 Some of Irid Agoes' frequently-used intercultural reference books
Training Session Outlines: 2 Re-Entry Activities
Bennett, Milton J.; Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication,
As mentioned in the “Concepts & Theories: The Re-Entry Phase" piece in this newsletter (page 4), many AFS organizations have useful activities to enable participants to reflect on their experience during the re-entry period.
Selected Readings; USA, Intercultural Press. 1998 Brislin, Richard W. & Yoshida, Tomoko; Improving Intercultural Interactions, Modules for Cross-Cultural Training Programs, Multicultural Aspects of Counseling Series 3; USA, SAGE Publications, 1994 Casse, Pierre & Deol, Surinder; Managing Intercultural Negotiations, Guidelines for Trainers and Negotiators, 1st Ed.; Washington, D.C., SIETAR International, 1985 Hall, Edward T.; Beyond Culture; USA, An Anchor Press Book, 1977 Paige, R. Michael; Education for the Intercultural Experience, 2nd Ed; Yarmouth, Maine; Intercultural Press, Inc., 1993 Pedersen, Paula; A Handbook for Developing Multicultural Awareness; Alexandria, Virginia, American Association for Counseling and Development, 1988
CORRECTION The SAGE Handbook on Intercultural Competence, referenced on page 4 of Intercultural Link vol 1 issue 3 is cited with the wrong publication year. The book was published in 2009, not 2004.
Intercultural Learning Work Group Johanna Nemeth Rosario Gutierrez Annette Gisevius Lisa Cohen Melissa Liles, Chair Lucas Welter Roberto Ruffino
(AUT) (COL) (GER) (INT) (INT) (INT) (ITA)
Call for Submissions Partners are invited to submit articles, news items and intercultural activities with accompanying graphics or photos for consideration in future issues of Intercultural Link. Submissions can be AFS-specific or part of the larger Intercultural Learning (ICL) field. Simply send your inputs to Hristo Banov at AFS International: hristo.banov@afs.org
The activity used by AFS USA, “75 Positive Long-Term Outcomes from an International Experience” (La Brack, 2005) helps participants reflect on positive outcomes of their exchange experiences. Participants are given a handout with 75 positive possible outcomes from an international sojourn to help them identify the positive outcomes of their own exchange experiences and reflect on how these could impact future choices in their lives. This exercise is available in English. The German activity called “Best of all Worlds” asks participants to imagine that they are United Nations consultant hired to provide research and recommendations that will help create a more just and peaceful world. This exercise is available in English and German.
Attached please find an English version of an AFSadapted “75 Positive Long-Term Outcomes from an International Experience” TSO and German and English versions of the “Best of all Worlds” TSO. You are encouraged to translate these into your local language and use them as needed.
Intercultural Newsletter Editor Editorial Consultant Layout & Research Design Consultant & Graphics Contributing Writer
Lisa Cohen Melissa Liles Hristo Banov Raquel Martinez Anna Collier
VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 4 - APRIL / MAY 2010
YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERCULTURAL LEARNING IN THE AFS NETWORK
Questions or Comments to: hristo.banov@afs.org