If the world was a village of 1,000 people

In the village would be:

- 606 Asians
- 138 Africans
- 114 Europeans
- 51 North Americans
- 86 Latin Americans (Central and South America)
- 5 Australian/Oceanians

There would be:
- 335 Christians
- 218 Muslims
- 151 Hindus
- 60 Buddhists
- 38 Chinese Folk Religionists
- 57 People Practicing other Religions
- 142 Atheists or Nonreligious

(Source: Bureau of the Census, 2004)
(Quoted in: Lustig & Koester, Intercultural Competence. Interpersonal communication across cultures, Fifth Edition, Pearson Education, 2006, p. 5)

Lecture 5: Intercultural leadership

Over the last 100 years business and social life have been changing quite dramatically. Especially in the last 15 years, communication has become more and more multicultural (web). If we want to communicate these days, we really need to be interculturally prepared.

How NOT to adapt?
- learn all about target culture: is not realistic, cf. economic "window of opportunity".
- Mimic, adapt as much as possible: is not realistic either, impossible, even insulting.
- Prejudices - cultural superiority

How to adapt?
- Leaders are excellent communicators
- Understand communication (+ link communication-culture)
- Active view on cultures
- Avoid prejudices
- Cultural awareness -> open attitude
- Careful transmission of information
- R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
- Find things in common and common objective(s)

Perhaps the most important question of today's lecture:
What are our common things and common objectives? (People in the classroom described themselves as: Belgian, Macedonian, Portuguese, Flemish, Muslim, Spanish, Christian, Chinese,…)

To get started:
- common objective: reach the level of intercultural competence
- common objective: building up a network of (new) friends in order to be able to contact them again in the future.

Other things we have in common and/or common objectives? Add them in the comments.

Before lecture 5: intercultural leadership

A question to think about before the next lecture: What characteristics does it take to have an intercultural leader? Use the comments to react.

Some possible directions:
- charisma
- playing with media (e.g. role of the internet)
- linguistic ability
- thinker vs. doer
- knowing everything about two (or more) cultures
-...

Lecture 4: Intercultural competence

Last week I sent you home with this.

With your answers, I would like to make these afterthoughts:

• The image we have of e.g. a German (punctual, hi-tech industry, conservative) does not always correspond with reality (German economy and industry is not doing well lately, they've had up to now a left government for the last 6-7 years).
• The image we have of a group (e.g. Muslims) is not always an exhaustive one. The first thing that comes up is terrorism, extreme violence, no rights for women, fundamentalist religion. Only later we mention the important social network (relatives, helping poor people,...), if we will mention it at all.
• Sometimes we can say a lot about people (e.g. Americans) or our knowledge can be very limited (e.g. Congolese: we know they're black, but that is really it...).
• We (I mean: in Western Europe) should be a bit more open-minded towards Eastern European people; we still consider them to be part of the Eastern Block (Cold War ended 16 years ago, and yet...). Getting to know our Macedonian guest students, we try to do something about that view.
• If I missed something (I deliberately did about Portuguese and Belgian), please add in the comments.

Potverdekke

To help you with your assignment (previous post), just a few thoughts by Mr. John...

Potverdekke! It´s great to be a Belgian!
I´m not English, I´m not French and I´m not Dutch,
I´m not Spanish, Portuguese or German,
I´m a Belgian so thank you very much!

As I walk along the street, with my mayonnaise and frites,
You can tell I´m as happy as can be.
With my Duvel in my hand
then you must understand,
I´m a Belgian so nothing worries me!

Potverdekke! It´s great to be a Belgian!
I´m not English, I´m not French and I´m not Dutch,
I´m not Irish, Italian or Danish
I´m a Belgian so thank you very much!

Without the Belgians there would be no saxophone,
No Tintin, Captain Haddock or Poirot.
And you´ll excuse me if I´ve missed
anybody off the list,
These are the only Belgians that I know!

Potverdekke! It´s great to be a Belgian!
I´m not English, I´m not French and I´m not Dutch,
I´m not Finnish, Austrian or Swedish
I´m a Belgian so thank you very much!

Now the English egg and bacon´s not so bad,
Especially since all the cows went mad.
But if they´ve never tasted mussels,
on the Grand Place down in Brussels,
It´s no wonder that they´re feeling very sad!

Potverdekke! It´s great to be a Belgian!
I´m not English, I´m not French and I´m not Dutch,
I´m not Spanish, Portuguese or German,
I´m a Belgian so thank you very much!

I´m a Belgian, I´m not Irish, I´m not Greek,
I don´t drink Guiness or Retsina, I drink Kriek!
On the Schelde or the Meuse, you find me drinking Geuze.
Or Leffe, or Chimay, or Lambic!

Potverdekke! It´s great to be a Belgian!
I´m not English, I´m not French and I´m not Dutch,
I´m not a Luxemburger
I´m a Belgian so thank you very much!