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Birkbeck hosts SIETAR UK One-Day Conference 2017

Written by Joyce Jenkins: SIETAR UK, with the support of Birkbeck, were delighted to be able to offer a one-day conference featuring presentations, workshops, TED style talks and research papers from some of the leading practitioners and academics in the intercultural communication field. It has become a tradition that in the Autumn after the biennial SIETAR Europa Congress (this year held in Dublin in May) that SIETAR UK should organize a ’mini-congress’ of highlights from the larger event, which is considered the leading event of the intercultural communication calendar, with over 400 participants gathering from all over the world.

As students on Birkbeck’s MA ICC programme ourselves, Agnes Bamford (SIETAR UK’s Director of Professional Development) and I (SIETAR UK’s President) were very pleased that Birkbeck hosted and supported the event enabling students to attend.  On the day, we had a full house with 40 participants, including students and staff from Birkbeck as well as SIETAR UK members and other professionals from the intercultural field. A varied programme allowed plenty of time for interaction and discussion. After welcoming participants and speakers, I invited SIETAR’s new Director for Community Development, Ciaran O’Brien to introduce new plans for developing intercultural training which will help the integration of refugees and migrants in communities. We then kicked off our keynote session with a fascinating and informative presentation by Dr.Phuong-Mai Nguyen, Associate Professor, Intercultural Management, Middle East Studies, Amsterdam School of International Business (AMSIB). She talked about “Intercultural Communication - An Interdisciplinary Approach: When Neurons, Genes, and Evolution Joined the Discourse” (based on her book of the same title.) She posited the notion that culture is not static, context is the driving force for change, and individuals can develop a multicultural mind. Using a life-size model of a brain, she shared hands-on insights from evolutionary biology and the newly emerging discipline of cultural neurosciences on how cultural interaction transforms our brains. Other sessions were: Cinema Film Clips Used to Illustrate Intercultural and Diversity Learning Points when Training Business Executives presented by Matthew Hill, accompanied by a cinema film clip resources list training films clips for the attendees to take away and use in their everyday intercultural training, coaching and teaching work. Cathy Wellings of London School of International Communication then stood in for Adrian Pilbeam of LTS Training and Consultancy in Bath to deliver a short practical TED style talk on Developing your career as an intercultural trainer and I (Joyce Jenkins)then followed with a short TED style Talk on applying intercultural theory to encourage best practice in multicultural teams and organisations.

After lunch, Thomas Greenaway, Ph.D. Student from Warwick University, winner of the Best Student Research Paper at the Dublin Congress, shared his research on: Fostering ‘Global Graduates”: in what ways do students develop teamwork skills and intercultural competencies through teamwork? We then had a lively, interactive workshop on Trust - the key to effective international teamwork, led by Abby Beckley and Geraldine Pace of WorldWork.

Our closing session (before networking drinks and snacks) was a typically lively and entertaining (as well as informative) presentation by Birkbeck’s own Prof. Jean Marc DeWaele on Pragmatic challenges in the communication of emotions in intercultural couples.

Dr. Jackie Jia Lou then very kindly gave a round-up of the day.

Once again, I would like to say a huge thank you to all the speakers, organisers and participants for making the day so valuable and inspirational and to Birkbeck for supporting the event.

Further Information

SIETAR UK and Birkbeck have collaborated on a number of projects and Birkbeck is an Academic Institutional Member of SIETAR UK. This means that students on the MA ICC are entitled to attend SIETAR UK events for free or at discounted rates and to other members’ benefits. See www.sietar.co.uk for more information. Birkbeck students who wish to be added to our members’ list and receive information directly about our events should email info@sietar.co.uk

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