 To understand what culture is and why is it important  To understand the context of cultural diversity and the changing workforce environment  To define cultural competence and the differences between individual and workplace competence  To discuss strategies to increase our skills and knowledge related to cultural competency

Scenario: In pairs, discuss your weekend. BUT every time you use a verb during the conversation (saw, ate, enjoyed) you also have to come up with a synonym (watched, ingested, liked). Try it! What do you notice? What made this challenging? Debrief: This ice breaker is an exercise to increase awareness about the challenges of communication and the English language. Definitions Verb: The part of speech that expresses existence, action, or occurrence. Synonym: A word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language.

Look at your partner and answer (without speaking):  What did they have for breakfast this morning?  Where did they go for their last holiday?  What is their marital status?  How many children they have?  What is their ancestry?  How many generations they have been in Canada?

The ability to function effectively in culturally diverse situations and with diverse people. How do you define culture? Why does it matter? Culture is the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts with which the members of society use to understand their world and one another. (NCCRESt, 2012) “Culture is the context for everything” —Saskatoon Public Schools, 2011

Culture Gives Context and Meaning It is a filter through which people process their experiences and events of their lives. It influences people’s values, actions, and expectations of themselves. It impacts people’s perceptions and expectations of others.

Is the ability to function effectively in culturally diverse situations and with diverse people. For Individuals: A set of consistent behaviours, attitudes, skills and knowledge that create respectful interactions with people different from ourselves. For Workplaces: Recognizing the value of diversity and having policies and procedures in place which support a respectful organizational culture.

Awareness Skills Knowledge Result: Developing cultural competence results in an ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures. (Mercedes & Vaughn, 2007)

Cross cultural competence can be viewed as a process AwarenessSensitivityKnowledge SkillsCompetence

Recognize the broad dimensions of culture Respect families as the primary source for defining needs and priorities Increase sensitivity to alienating behaviors Change decision-making processes to include families and the community Commit to structural and policy changes that support cultural diversity Make policies and practices fluid to accommodate necessary adjustments Source: Focal Regional Research Institute for Human Services, Portland State University

First step: Develop knowledge and awareness about your own cultural awareness & identity. Questions to ask Yourself:  What is my cultural background?  What are some things that I value because my culture values those things? (think below the surface of the iceberg)  How well do my beliefs and values fit in with my culture's values?  Have clashes between my values and those promoted by my culture harmed me in any way?  What things would I like to pass on to children from my culture?

1. Who Am I? Write down 5 words that describe who you are (your identity). Underline the one word you feel BEST describes the identity with which you most associate yourself. 2. Who Are You? Write down 2 words that you think BEST describes the identity of the person you are paired with. Wait to discuss! 3. Who Do You think I Am? Discuss with your partner. Have they used the same or different words to describe your identity? How does their view of your identity make you feel?

Your New KEYS to Cultural Competence: Your understanding of culture, and cultural competency. Your understanding of the context of cultural diversity and the changing workforce environment. Your ability to describe cultural competence and the differences between individual and workplace competence. Your ability to discuss strategies to increase our skills and knowledge related to cultural competency.