Intercultural Competence Defining and improving our knowledge

Grounding Assumptions for OED Workshops   •The work of equity and diversity is about creating community, which involves building trust through careful listening, respectful disagreement, and taking risks • We will do our best to be present & minimize distractions •We respect each other’s confidentiality; pay attention to what is yours to share – and what is not •We are all doing the best we can •Growth and learning can be uncomfortable; remember it’s ok to make mistakes - we all do •We always need to practice self awareness: Think about when you’re speaking up; Think about when you’re not speaking up •Individuals and organizations can – and do – grow and change, but it doesn’t happen overnight •This work is everyone’s responsibility; every person is capable of making equity and diversity a core value in their life •There are no “quick fixes,” and we don’t have to fix everything •It’s ok to take care of ourselves; practice forgiveness and letting go, so you can sustain yourself in this work Adapted from Jamie Washington, Washington Consulting Group

What is it? “the appropriate and effective management of interaction between people who, to some degree or another, represent different or divergent affective, cognitive, and behavioral orientations to the world” - “Conceptualizing Intercultural Competence,” Spitzberg and Chagnon 2009 Our present understanding of intercultural competence comes from a number of disciplines, such as communication, cross-cultural psychology, social psychology, linguistics, anthropology, and education, to name a few. – Oxford Research Encyclopedia So many words! It all boils down to – being able to have relationship with people who do not live within our same frame of reference

Key Components Self- and other knowledge Motivation Curiosity Cognitive flexibility Tolerance for uncertainty It’s not so complicated!

Start with Self Think, pair, share – 3 to 5 minutes Talk to one person at your table about your identity. What makes you you? Gender? Religion? Education? “How is our communication going? What are my reactions? What are their reactions? How do you know”?