Intercultural encounters: how (not) to handle a conversation (online workshop)

The core of Australian reality lies in its multicultural and multilingual society. While it provides great foundations for diversity, many of us might not realise how complex intercultural encounters are. In general, we all strive to make people we talk to feel comfortable, appreciated and would, in turn, expect the same from them. However, in many situations, things can certainly go awry. What to do then? Or, better, is there a way to avoid it?

 

 

In this workshop, we will look at some ordinary conversations and try to find some good answers to the following questions:

 

How (not) to start a conversation?

What (not) to say to make people feel that they belong?

Where to look for signs that something said has gone wrong or against someone’s expectations?

 

This workshop will be a combination of the key concepts related to intercultural conversations, plenty of examples and practical group work applying your new cultural awareness skills.

 

Facilitator: Dr Valeria Sinkeviciute, The University of Queensland

 

Contact: slcengagement@uq.edu.au