A record of meetings from 2006.
November 2006
PANEL OF INTERCULTURAL TRAINERS GWU Elliot School, NW corner of 19th and E Streets, NW (Room 111)
Please join us for a special meeting of sietar-dc
which will be held concurrently with a graduate class on "Designing
cross-cultural training" at George Washington University. The
meeting/class will consist of a panel of 4 seasoned intercultural
trainers who will answer your questions and talk about their careers
paths and visions for the future of the field.
David J. Bachner
David J. Bachner (Ph.D. in organizational behavior,
Case Western Reserve University; B.A. in philosophy, Bates College) is
Scholar-in-Residence in the International Communication Program of
American University's School of International Service, where he also
serves as Director of the Intercultural Management Institute. He joined
American University's faculty in January, 2005.
From September, 1994 to January, 2005, Bachner was
Dean of Global Studies and Director of the Sondhi Limthongkul Center
for Interdependence at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. He was
also the college's acting Vice President for Academic Affairs &
Dean of Faculty from January, 2003 to June, 2004. In May, 2006,
Hartwick College's Board of Trustees elected Bachner Dean Emeritus.
Prior to joining Hartwick's administration in 1994,
he was Vice President of Youth For Understanding (YFU) International
Exchange in Washington, DC, one of the world's oldest international
homestay programs for teenagers. During his years at YFU (1982-1994),
he also served as founding Director of the International Secretariat,
Director of Educational & Program Services, and Director of
Asia/Pacific Programs. He is currently Chairman of the world-wide YFU
organization's International Advisory Council; Trustee and Secretary of
YFU International Educational Services, Inc.; and a Trustee of YFU USA,
Inc.
Following his doctoral work in organizational
behavior (1971-75) until he joined YFU in 1982, Bachner provided
organizational development expertise to private, not-for-profit, and
public sector organizations, first as Associate in Organizational
Psychology at the Center for Planned Change in St. Louis, Missouri
(1975-1977) and then as Senior Scientist at the General Research
Corporation in McLean, Virginia (1978-1982).
Bachner spent 1964-65 as an exchange student at
International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan. After his
graduation from Bates College in 1966, he served in Korea until 1968
with the first group of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers to that country.
From 1968 to 1971, when he started graduate school, he was
Cross-Cultural Training Coordinator, Project Director, and later
Training Officer at the University of Hawaii's Center for
Cross-Cultural Training and Research, which prepared prospective Peace
Corps volunteers for service in Asia and the Pacific.
Bachner has taught courses at American University;
Case Western Reserve University; the Stanford Institute for
Intercultural Communication; the Summer Institute for Intercultural
Communication in Portland, Oregon; Sookmyung Women's University in
Seoul, Korea; and Hartwick College. A Consulting Editor of the
International Journal of Intercultural Relations and a Fellow of the
International Academy for Intercultural Research, he has published and
consulted widely in the fields of international education and
intercultural relations.
Laurette Bennhold-Samaan
Bio will be available at the meeting.
Julia Gaspar-Bates
Julia Gaspar-Bates, M.A., is a certified
cross-cultural trainer and consultant who works with individuals and
groups from the U.S. and abroad to facilitate the challenges of working
and communicating across cultures.
Julia brings a wealth of personal, professional, and
educational experience to her work. With over 15 years experience
working in international business and educational environments Julia
has held positions for a variety of companies and organizations such as
Michelin Travel Publications, UNESCO, the American Embassy of Paris,
Saga International Holidays, Center for Global Education, and MarketOne
International doing global account management, international market
research, product development, and translation/interpretation. Prior to
co-founding Intercultural Alliances (ICA), Julia facilitated
cross-cultural training workshops for executives relocating to and from
the U.S. As President of ICA, Julia currently designs and delivers
customized programs and seminars for executives, entrepreneurs, and
educators from around the world and has delivered workshops in multiple
foreign languages, focusing on cultures such as India, France, the UK,
Canada, Switzerland, China, Mexico, Finland, the Netherlands, Italy and
the U.S.
Julia is also able to share her insights and
expertise from a personal perspective. A bi-cultural British-American,
she was born in London and grew up in the United States. With an
undergraduate degree in the Romance Languages, Julia is fluent in
French, Spanish, and Italian and is able to incorporate a deep
understanding of the complexities of communicating across linguistic
barriers into her work. She lived and worked in Paris, France for seven
years, as well as in Mexico, Italy, and Switzerland and has traveled to
more than 40 countries in both a personal and professional context. Her
seminars are peppered with personal anecdotes sharpened from a lifetime
of interacting and working with people from different cultures Combined
with her sound foundation in intercultural theory gleaned from her
graduate studies in Intercultural Relations, Julia is able to connect
with her clients and participants in her programs and provide a deep
awareness of the "whys"
behind behavior.
Julia is on the Executive Committee for SIETAR
(Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research) Washington
DC chapter and will be an adjunct faculty member at The George
Washington University in 2007.
www.interculturalalliances.com
Tel: 301-356-4230 jgaspar@interculturalalliances.com
URSULA D. LEITZMANN,
Ursula Leitzmann is the Manager, Training and
Development for IOR Global Services. She specializes in intercultural
communication, cross-cultural and diversity training, organization
development, conflict resolution and team building, especially in
multicultural settings and in the healthcare field. A native of
Germany, Ms.
Leitzmann has created and delivered innovative
cross-cultural communication workshops for European and American
business communities, helping them develop cultural competencies, and
designed highly effective relocation training programs for several
countries. A related focus of her work is conflict resolution and
extensive mediation training at a major mediation center in Cambridge,
MA. She had earlier served as Program Coordinator for the well-known
Program on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution (PICAR) at
Harvard University, where she acted as the public relations
representative and engaged in intercultural exchanges with visiting
scholars and diplomats from various national and cultural backgrounds.
Ms. Leitzmann has a master's degree in Intercultural Relations from the
University of the Pacific, CA, through the Intercultural Communications
Institute (ICI), and also a master's in Communication from the
Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany. She also has a Graduate
Certificate in Administration and Management from Harvard University.
She is a member of Society for Intercultural
Education, Training and Research and guest lectures at American
University, DC, George Washington University, DC, and Lesley
University, MA..
October 2006
The first
meeting of the 2006 - 2007 year will be a combined business meeting and
interactive session called "The creative application of the arts in intercultural
training". During this meeting we will
elect new officers. After 2 years of serving as the Executive Coordinator
it's time for me to step aside. Ursula Leitzmann
has served as the Deputy Executive Coordinator for the past year and will be
the new Executive Coordinator.
The creative application of the
arts in intercultural training
Intercultural
training can be infused with artistic activities to bolster learning and fun.
The intersection of three disciplines – intercultural communication, experiential
education, and the arts - results in engaging, innovative practices. After a
brief review of the theories behind the methodology, Stephanie will share how
she's used the arts for training/education in various programs around the
world. Next you'll participate in artistic activities (theatre, writing, and
visual art) that will give you ideas of how to present intercultural training
in artistically creative formats. Finally we'll brainstorm how the arts and
experiential education can be effectively applied in your intercultural work
world, and share our favorite activities.
Stephanie Pollack, M.A., an interculturally focused experiential educator and
trainer, is President of Creative Facilitations which specializes in innovative
teambuilding, interactive training, and experiential education programs. For 15
years, she's adored developing and leading intercultural programs in theatre,
art & leadership, mentoring, and service learning with ages 7-77 around the
globe, and gets excited anytime she can introduce Theatre of the Oppressed and
various artistic processes to trainers. Stephanie specializes in inventing and
facilitating programs for universities, museums, non-profits, arts
organizations, and camps, including the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, The Institute
for American Indian Arts, Friends World Program of Long Island University,
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (The Scholar Ship), Windsor Mountain
International, Global Routes, Coalition for the Homeless, Colorado
State University,
and Bard College.
July 2006
With all of the recent world wide sports - World Cup, Wimbledon, Tour de France, etc. we thought we would use the July meeting as an opportunity to talk about how sports contribute to globalization, cultural awareness, and exchange programs. (Yes, a bit of a strange list of topics but interesting nonetheless!)
This will be our last meeting until the Fall so please join us for a 'Happy Hour' after the discussion.
June 2006
Stephen Moles and Judee Blohm will PILOT a new simulation called "Resilia" that was developed through a collaboration of the Peace Corps and the North American Simulation and Gaming Association. As a part of the Pilot, your input, feedback, and suggested modifications are welcome.
The goal of the simulation is to allow participants to experience the stresses they may encounter as a Part of an assignments as a Peace Corps volunteer. We will also explore the factors that may differ from past high stress situations and the support available that will help them to become resilient and effective in their work.
By the end of the simulation (including the experience and debriefing), trainees will:
- Describe their personal reaction to a high stress situation and natural coping styles.
- Identify at least three factors in the simulation that caused them stress that could not be addressed by their natural coping styles.
- Describe at least five ways they can develop resilience by using resources available to them in their Peace Corps setting.
April 2006
Happy Spring! The April meeting will be a chance for us to watch the documentary "Invisible Children". More information about the movie and organization can be found below.
About Invisible Children Inc
Invisible Children Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial resources to invisible children by documenting their true, untold stories in a creative and relevant way, resulting in positive change.
The start of Invisible Children came in 2003 when three naive filmmakers, from Southern California, flew to Africa in search of a story that would change the world. What they found was a situation in Northern Uganda that disgusted and inspired them. They documented their findings of a 20-year-long war where children are the weapons, and the victims. The result was a film called, "Invisible Children: Rough Cut." After seeing the impact of their film worldwide, they formed the non-profit Invisible Children Inc.
The organization is dedicated to ending the war in Northern Uganda where children are abducted and forced to fight with the rebel army as child soldiers. For fear of being hunted by the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army), these children commute on foot every night to find safe places to sleep in their town centers. To date, more than 30,000 children have been abducted and forced into war. That's why Invisible Children is calling on the world to take a stand.
SIETAR-DC, Intercultural Press, and IMI invite you to join us for a reception and book signing by SIETAR-DC member Judee Blohm (and co-author Terri Lapinsky).
Kids Like Me: Voices of the Immigrant Experience
A timely, illustrated book of 26 real immigrant youth in the U.S. Kids Like Me is intended for U.S.-born students ages 10 years and up to understand the backgrounds of classmates from other cultures, foster intercultural awareness and sensitivity and encourage individual and community action to assist newcomers in their adjustment to the U.S. It contains activities for classrooms, families, and clubs, and useful Web sites, resource list and an annotated bibliography especially for teachers.
Intercultural Press: http://www.interculturalpress.com
Intercultural Management Institute: http://www.imi.american.edu/
February 2006
You hear the word 'icebreaker' and start sweating and think ... no, not again. But, many of us are Trainers and are supposed to be comfortable with "breaking the ice" – right?
OR
You're in the back of the room watching a guest presenter kill the session but you can't jump up to 'fix' it … so you start brainstorming to figure out an activity that can help you transition to the next session and still hold the training together.
Suddenly you have a flash back to the February SIETAR-DC meeting and the amazing session that (fill in name here) presented. Phew, perfect, disaster avoided!
All this is to say that the February meeting will be a time to share a favorite ice-breaker/transition activity (energizer, getting to know each other, etc). Let's start sharing some of the resources that we all have in our back pockets!
If you email your favorites to me prior to the meeting I will compile them and have them ready as handouts. I'll also post them to the website.
January 2006
Staff from Peace Corps will provide an introduction to the Peace Corps and the Cross-Cultural training used during a Staging Event. Staff will discuss the goals of the Staging event and a portrait of the audience. We will provide an overview of the training module and actively participate in some of the exercises Trainees currently experience to prepare them for their 2 year commitment to the Peace Corps. The activities will focus on crossing cultures and the process of learning about and adapting to a new culture.
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