Reflections from attending some recent international conferences / meetings

• With a common purpose, you find more 'universal themes' than you might expect.
• You can choose to focus on cultural differences, similarities or both if you have enough faith in the similarities to appreciate the differences.This will yield the best results.
• Levity and humour help lighten difficult situations and bring groups together.
• The need for reciprocity is becoming ever more important for cross-border, cross-cultural partnerships what can be learned from each other?
• Attitude and cultural sensitivity (even simple gestures) can make a very important difference to building trust and having a successful cooperative project.
• Acronyms, even within an organization, can be a challenge.Always give the full name initially and then the acronym can be used.
• Just because someone is communicating in English, don't assume you understand the cultural translation of what they're saying.
• There is a need to create comfort zones. If you have participants with different levels of experiences, providing some information that is new to all can put everyone on the same level and empower those who are new to speak more freely.
• A core group of visionaries who are willing to take risks is extremely important to any new and creative initiative. When there has been a history of non-cooperation or competition in a field or activity area, it is especially important that there be a group of visionaries who are willing to go beyond the past and re-establish trust. This can be a long process.
• In many fields and issue areas there can be a challenge in obtaining credible information country to country if no central database exists. It is important to take the time to do this research and verify that the information is credible.
• Stories are a very powerful way of exchanging information and developing a rapport, especially within societies that have an oral tradition, or a multinational grouping.

Bonnie Koenig

Going International

June 2010