Provided by YS Research Coordinator, Comi Nguyen.

As we bid farewell to 2024, it is inspiring to see how far we have come in deepening intercultural understanding. Around the world shaped by VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity), and the fast-paced rise of AI, trainers, coaches, and intercultural enthusiasts have worked to bridge divides and nurture connections. This year brought exciting developments in intercultural communication, fresh ideas and renewed energy for the tools we use to connect across cultures.

Here are a few highlights:

TRIPS Toolkit by Dr. Helen Spencer-Oatey

TRIPS is an acronym that represents the key factors involved in managing rapport. These include the Triggers (six key aspects people value in working relationships) that can lead to Reactions if not managed properly during Interactions (what is said and done). All of these are influenced by the People involved and the Settings or situational contexts in which the interactions take place. Focusing on cultural adaptability, building trust, and managing cultural synergy in diverse settings, reflective practice is central to the TRIPS Toolkit. Participants are encouraged to think critically about their own cultural assumptions and behavior, as well as those of others.

Source: Spencer-Oatey, H., & Lazidou, D. (2024). The TRIPS rapport management framework: Making working relationships work (p. 11)

Although the TRIPS Toolkit is based on decades of research in intercultural communication, much of which has been led by Dr. Spencer-Oatey, she began promoting these ideas and resources as early as the mid-2000s. In 2024, with the publication of Making Working Relationships Work, a book co-authored with Domna Lazidou, the toolkit is now presented as part of the book. It offers a powerful set of tools and concepts not only for leaders, managers, and employees at all levels but also for educators, trainers, and individuals in diverse professional and educational settings to effectively address relationship challenges in the workplace and beyond.

Discover more here. 

“The TOPOI Model: Cultures Don’t Meet, People Do” by Dr. Edwin Hoffman
In the early 2000s, Dr. Hoffman developed the TOPOI Model to address the complexities of managing intercultural communication. It outlines five key factors for managing intercultural communication: Topics (the content and what is appropriate to discuss across cultures), Objectives (the communication goals, which may differ between cultures), Participants (the roles, statuses, and relationships of those involved), Organization (how the communication is structured, including direct or indirect styles), Input (the verbal and non-verbal exchange of information), and Impact (the outcomes and reception of the communication). Understanding these factors helps navigate cultural differences and improves communication effectiveness.

In the current 2020s, the ongoing impact of the TOPOI model provides practical guidelines for understanding and improving communication in cross-cultural interactions, particularly in the context of international business, diplomacy, and education.

Find one of Edwin’s books here.

AI-Enhanced Intercultural Tools
As AI technology advances, its role in teaching and learning intercultural skills is becoming more significant. However, AI systems are often influenced by cultural biases embedded in their training data, which can lead to the stereotypes and misunderstandings in intercultural contexts. Ongoing research around the world is focused on detecting and mitigating these biases by diversifying training data, improving cultural inclusivity, and developing more culturally aware algorithms. 

Emerging initiatives include bias audits, the development of inclusive language models to ensure AI systems align with ethical and cultural sensitivities. However, challenges remain, such as the the need for diverse data, and the establishment of global standards for ethical AI use. As research continues, the goal is to create AI tools that enhance cross-cultural understanding and collaboration and prepare us for an interconnected future.

Looking ahead to 2025

This year’s progress reminds us why intercultural work matters more than ever. The mentioned tools and models are not just helping us tackle today’s challenges, they are laying the foundation for a kinder and more inclusive world. They remind us of the wisdom at the heart of intercultural work: that empathy, dialogue, and shared humanity remain our most powerful guides. As we reflect on 2024 and move into 2025, may we find inspiration in the small yet profound steps that bring cultures closer, envisioning a future defined by connection, curiosity, and mutual respect.

If you enjoyed this reflection and would like to investigate any of the models mentioned in this article, or have your own research ideas or inspiration, contact Comi here: research@youngsietar.org

For those interested, here is a small curated video selection to help dive deeper into the world of both the narrative story of Pachinko and its author, Min Jin Lee. 

"History has failed us, but no matter" Pachinko and Min Jin Lee, a KBS docu-insight

『Pachinko』, a novel that captivated the world with the story of four generations of a Korean Japanese family. What is the power of the novel 『Pachinko』 and what does Min Jin Lee want to say? All copyrights to this video belong to KBS. KBS is a public broadcasting service in South Korea. Air date : August, 2023

Pachinko limited television series, produced by Apple TV

Based on the New York Times bestseller, Pachinko is a sweeping saga that chronicles the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations. Starring Academy Award-winner Yuh-Jung Youn, Lee Minho, Jin Ha, and Minha Kim, Pachinko now streaming, only on Apple TV+ https://apple.co/_Pachinko

"Are Koreans Human" a lecture provided by the Radcliffe Institute and Harvard University

The author Min Jin Lee RI ’19 asks, “Who are the modern Koreans, and what do they care about?”

To answer this enormously complex question, Lee explores the will of Koreans to survive and flourish as global citizens, their enduring faith in education, and the costs of such a quest and what it may mean to the larger world they seek to engage. She explains that when she’s writing, she isn’t just writing about Koreans, education, or the diaspora—she’s writing about humans.

Min Jin Lee (7:21), 2018–2019 Catherine A. and Mary C. Gellert Fellow, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and New York Times best-selling author, Pachinko (Grand Central Publishing, 2017) and Free Food for Millionaires (Grand Central Publishing, 2007)

Introduced by Tomiko Brown-Nagin, dean, Radcliffe Institute; Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School; professor of history, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Twenty-five years after the 1994 human disaster, I arrived at the Kigali Genocide Memorial on a cold and rainy day. The first image that caught my eye was a circular icon with a crimson crisscrossed heart inside.

Coming to Rwanda, I was struck by how green and clean this small nation is, especially considering that just two decades ago it endured a genocide that took nearly a million lives in three months. Reflecting on my visit, I realized that my initial impressions were heavily influenced by confirmation bias—the tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information that aligns with our preexisting beliefs and opinions. A few weeks of staying in the "Land of a Thousand Hills" were enough for me to grasp what has contributed to the revival of this devastated landlocked country: the spirit of Ubumuntu – the symbol I encountered at the Kigali Genocide Memorial. 

Rwanda became the first country to ban plastic bags in 2008 and is now considered one of the cleanest countries in the world. Since 1998, it has been a tradition for Rwandans across both rural and urban areas to participate in Umuganda, a nationwide day of community service held on the last Saturday of each month. The painful legacy of its history drives the people to find ways to heal and rebuild, using collective efforts like these to mend the wounds of the past.

Ubuntu is known by various names across different African regions, such as Ubumuntu in Rwanda and Utu in Tanzania and Kenya. Despite these variations, the spirit of community is deeply ingrained in daily life. In Tanzania, where I spent my youthful years, the essence of Ubuntu is reflected in the policy of Ujamaa (meaning "familyhood" or "socialism"), introduced by President Julius Nyerere. Ujamaa helped unify 126 ethnic groups through the widespread use of Swahili as a common language. From a young age, Tanzanian children are taught to “be proud to be Tanzanians and children of Mother Africa,” fostering national unity over tribal divisions.

Ubuntu, a term originating from a Bantu phrase in South Africa, can be understood as a concept of humanity and interconnectedness, often expressed as “I am because we are” or “I in you and you in me.” While the idea of Ubuntu appeared in the 19th century, it gained widespread recognition in the 1960s during the national liberation movements across sub-Saharan Africa, where it came to symbolize African humanism. Under Nelson Mandela's leadership, after the end of the Apartheid regime in South Africa in 1994, the spirit of Ubuntu began to spread beyond the continent.

This diffusion was furthered by Bishop Desmond Tutu, who, having received the Nobel Peace Prize, played a key role in promoting Ubuntu's principles internationally. Instead of seeking revenge, Mandela advocated for peaceful coexistence and reconciliation, choosing forgiveness over hatred. His commitment to Ubuntu was reflected in the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which sought to heal the nation's deep divisions by prioritizing forgiveness and understanding rather than retribution.

As someone from an Asian background, where close family and community ties are deeply valued, I was still often in awe when I arrived on the African continent. The harsh realities of life, the shared history of hardship and oppression under colonialism and slavery, and the misrepresentation by international media have all contributed to a heightened sense of solidarity and pride among the people of African countries. The philosophy of Ubuntu, humanity and togetherness, permeates every aspect of life here.

Ubuntu is deeply ingrained in various African traditions and practices. In early 2020, the viral "coffin dance" from Ghana exemplified how African funerals celebrate death as the beginning of a new journey, reinforcing connections between the living and the deceased. This perspective aligns with the belief that the soul of the departed protects the living, illustrating Ubuntu's enduring presence. Similarly, in Madagascar, the Famadihana burial ritual, where descendants dance with the bodies of their ancestors, mirrors the Toraja people’s "living with the dead" tradition from Indonesia. This celebration of life and death highlights the importance of spiritual beliefs, music, and communal support.

In the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the Gacaca courts were established as a community-based justice system embodying Ubuntu by prioritizing reconciliation over punishment. Furthermore, the West African principle that "it takes a village to raise a child" and the Gadaa system of the Oromo people in Ethiopia, which focuses on conflict resolution through dialogue and reconciliation, are living examples of Ubuntu’s application. Across Africa, Ubuntu's essence continues to guide and support communities through both daily challenges and profound historical events.

The richness of culture and nature on the African continent has provided me with many invaluable experiences. For instance, I learned that elephants hold behaviours akin to funeral ceremonies, reflecting their deep emotional bonds. In arid regions, an Acacia bush, though solitary in the savanna, has a remarkable defense mechanism: its leaves release tannins and emit scents and pheromones to warn other plants when grazed by animals.

Additionally, a well and shade in these dry areas often become crucial gathering spots for entire villages. Once standing under the shade of a majestic baobab tree during the fiery African sunset, I recalled the words of a friend’s father who once said: "This human life is just like a baobab tree, my daughter. No one is strong enough to hold it all by themselves. All things need to rely on each other to live and die." His saying perfectly captures the essence of Ubuntu: the profound interconnectedness and mutual support that bind us all together, both in nature and in our communities.

By Comi Nguyen, Research Coordinator for Young SIETAR

This short film, "Less Walls: A Brussels love story" was presented at the SIETAR Europa Congress in Lille in June 2024 

The film, created by First Move Productions, shows how Silvia and Nanouk focus on urban-community building through mural painting. They are filmed working with local residents to break down invisible barriers in Brussels. 

They do this by examining clichés and intercultualism. 

What does this mean?

It means we all have limiting ideas about the place(s) we call home, or otherwise think we know. Yet, through the bubbles of our own lives, busy with whatever each of us is busy and preoccupied with, only allow us to see a portion of the whole. 

Here, First Move Productions takes us along with the residents featured in the film on a deeper journey and understanding of Brussels. This might begin with the stereotypical understanding of Brussels: fries, waffles, beer, Atomium, the Grand Place, Mannekenpis (and Jannekenpis), and the European Institutions. However, collectively we come to learn through raw data that the reality of this beautiful city is much more complex.

Before you watch: 

1. Either in your mind or on a piece of paper - imagine what 'home' means to you. What is the first image or thing that comes to mind? 

What does this image or thing mean to you? How is it connected to the location or idea of 'home' to you? 

2. What ideas or stereotypes do you have of Brussels? How have you come to have these ideas? Through visiting the city or through media (films, tv, news reports, or other people's stories)? 

Watch it here: Less Walls: A Brussels love story

Post-viewing reflection:

1. How has your idea of 'home' changed since watching the film? 

2. How has your understanding of Brussels changed since watching the film? 

3. What ideas or feelings does this bring up for you both about Brussels and your own 'home'?

4. Do you need to explore the data around one or both of these places for yourself? Why or why not? 

Alternatively, if you have explore the data for one or both of these places (your 'home' and / or Brussels) what have you learned? How has this shaped your understanding of this (or these) location(s)? 

What to dig deeper into this topic with our community? Jump over to our members-only forum to add your own answers (and / or questions). 

Article by Jinu Jayapalan, General Manager South India at ICUnet.AG

This article was previously published in Copenhagen post, June 2019, under the name "Why are there no mountains in Denmark?"

If you are from a highly hierarchical society and you have relocated to work in Denmark or Sweden, one of the ‘Scandinavian Shocks’ you are going to experience is to understand and adapt to their ‘Flat structure’ system. For example, in a work environment, you might observe a lot of arguments taking place for an extensive period of time. Consequently, you may ask yourself: “Is there anyone here who is going to take some control?” It appears that the Boss is trying to reach a consensus within the team rather than exhibiting his power and put things under his control.

One expat asked a Dane why there are no mountains in Denmark. “We don’t have any”, the Dane replied with a smile and continued ‘because we have a flat structure at work and in nature’. One Chinese guy working in a small recruitment organization in Zealand, a large island part of Denmark, shared his experience. When he joined the company, he was surprised to see that his colleagues called their boss by his first name. He also witnessed many times the employees questioning the boss on certain team decisions. ‘You call this coziness?” he exclaimed, ‘but If I took this approach back to my country it would be a disaster for my professional life”

When I was in Copenhagen I used to visit my friend working as a sales assistant in the Swedish cloth shop Gudrun Sjoeden. Once she introduced me to one of her colleagues who was knitting something next to her. She told me that it was her boss. I was surprised to hear that because I had seen her many times there working as a cashier, occasionally as a sales assistant and, sometimes just cleaning up or arranging the clothes. I originally assumed that she was just a colleague because she was doing all the other jobs a normal employee does.

This ‘egalitarian way’ of working in Denmark and Sweden is a key element to the concept of ‘Hygge in the workplace’. In the United States, generally speaking, the boss has a firm but friendly approach to his or her employees, and ‘individuality’ is prioritized more than ‘group harmony’. First names are used as a common practice. In contrast, an American team who visited their Indian counterparts in Chennai found it hard to understand the strict borders that existed between their Indian managers and team members. When the Americans send emails with some requests, their Indian managers reply by cc’ing a lot of people. When the Americans asked about this, their Indian counterparts replied by stating that it was important that their managers were informed about any correspondence they had received and that managers should also be involved in any discussions concerning the request made via email from their American colleagues.

Another interesting challenge for the Americans was the pronunciation of the Indian names which led them to find a creative solution. They quickly made some nicknames. So Rajesh Ravindran became ‘Rocky’, Mahesh Bhatia was named ‘Mac’, Padmanabhan Krishnamoorthy was called ‘paddy’, Santhosh George became ‘Sandy’ etc. However, some other cultures do not like the idea of getting called by a nickname. For example, the same Indian company had a major German client visit and when she introduced herself as Dr. Hilde Mueller, one of the team members asked her ‘Shall we call you Hildy?” From the look on her face, it was noticeable that she wasn’t happy about it and she politely said no to the request.

Therefore, in Germany, it is very important to use their titles when necessary and the use of nicknames is not much appreciated.

I was discussing the Danish ‘flat structure’ in the workplace with one manager who works for a leading Indian IT outsourcing company. During our conversation, he shared his experience on how he tried to implement a more egalitarian style within his team. He began by removing the necessity of his employees to address him as ‘Sir’. With this objective in mind, he called a team meeting and told them that everyone should call him ‘Manu’ from that moment on. After saying that there was a silence, some people murmured but didn’t speak anything back to him. “And the result was”, he continued with a smile, “they now started to call me by adding ‘Ji’ at the end of my name, like Manuji. In Hindi, the suffix ‘ji’ will automatically make the name respected. Some other team members feel a bit friendlier and called him “Manu bhai”. The Hindi word ‘Bhai’ is used as a suffix to the name to form an affectionate form of address to an older person. So even if he tried to implement the new form of address, the team members still managed to find a way to maintain respect for the hierarchy.

Nevertheless, it is very noticeable that many multinational Indian companies are changing slowly and open to trying new practices. The need for intercultural training as well as an understanding with regards to the differences in leadership styles, appropriate work behaviors, and etiquettes has become more relevant than ever before.

Reflection on why cross-cultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes are essential to successfully communicate and navigate the surrounding diversity.

You and I are witnessing ever-increasing diversity, connectedness, and interdependence of world cultures and economies. Despite political borders, the world became a rather small place. The rise of the internet and digital communication technologies like Zoom, WhatsApp, and Skype obliterated the political borders, literally.

Just think about your experience: did you have foreign students at university? Did you share an accommodation with international students? Do you work with someone from a different culture at work? Do you socialise with people from various different cultural backgrounds? Are there any immigrants in the country you live in?

If you ask me, the answer will be YES to all of these questions.

But how can we successfully deal with this cultural diversity if very frequently we all speak different languages and are seemingly so different? One of the immediate answers that comes to my mind is we need a common language. This solution (lingua franca) has probably been around since the Babel tower incident, if you believe this story. Indeed, a common language, very frequently English, allows us to talk to each other, exchange ideas, and pass messages. In other words, we are made understood. The business gets done. What else do we need?

This solution may seem so simple as, irrespective of cultural background, all of us engage in the same mundane activities: teamwork, leadership, negotiation, communication to name the few. So as long as we can speak the same language and are made understood, it will be sufficient.

However, from my experience of working, studying and living across three different countries, it became apparent that language skills and the fluency are simply not enough to gain success in international encounters. The reason is that what we do massively depends on our cultural background. Our judgments, preferred communication and decision making styles, ouractions are largely affected by hidden cultural codes embedded in the system of values, norms and beliefs that go way beyond linguistic abilities.

Let me share a couple of examples from my own experience. ⁣When I came to the UK for the first time, it was a real challenge to reprogram myself and obey untold social, cultural and linguistic norms that govern a big part of the British society. For illustrative purposes I’ll talk about smiling and cultural codes that surround this seemingly simple activity. What can go wrong here?

In reality, the meaning of a smile varies across cultures. To be honest with you, I had to learn to smile at strangers in the UK: at people I know nothing about during street encounters, in the University corridors, to shop assistants and so on. This is one of the norms where smiling is considered to be a sign of politeness, an untold social ritual so to say.

It is quite different to the cultural norm in Russia, where smiling at strangers is not a common practice, especially in larger cities. Rather, a smile is considered a sign of familiarity, an authentic expression of positive emotions. Happiness, most of the time. Hence, smiling at a stranger in a British way can raise a genuine question: “Do we know each other?”, “Is something wrong with me?”, “What’s so funny?”, or “Are you crazy”? In fact, we have a saying that can be translated from Russian as “smiling without a reason is a sign of foolishness”.

Another difference I would like to highlight concerns the practice of feedback giving. In my home country Russia, as well as in India, where I lived for two years, feedback (positive or negative) was given pretty much directly – politely, without offending, but more or less directly. I didn’t have to read between the lines, or guess what I needed to improve at university or at the workplace.

After I started working in the UK, one of the biggest challenges was a different approach to communication and, in particular to feedback giving. In general, communication in the UK is indirect in its nature, especially with regard to saying negative things. In fact, finding out what was wrong or what needs to be improved has usually felt like a treasure hunt because the majority of the feedback given by my British colleagues was cushioned by positive language and understatements.

Looking for subtle cues indicating what needs to be improved took me a while to decipher, and despite living in the UK for almost 9 years I am still learning. Some of the cues suggesting that something is not right could be as follows: “I only have a few minor suggestions”, “that’s not bad”, “quite good”, and my favourite of them all “interesting”. In Russian context I would probably take all those comments at face value.

Cultures also can affect things such as tolerance to change, emotional expressivity, body language, humour, attitudes to personal space, approaches to teamwork, decision making, interruptions, silence, relationships and many more. These subtle and frequently hidden differences hold a potential for cross-cultural misunderstandings, and serious conflicts.

Clearly, despite being an essential condition of working across cultures, having a common language is just not enough. Understanding how language is used in social context, and the ability to navigate hidden cultural influences is no less important. In fact, cross-cultural competence is listed as one of the 21st century skills that employees consider extremely valuable.

So developing socio-cultural understanding through acquiring intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes is essential to successfully communicate and navigate surrounding us diversity. Finally, this is my strong belief that successful communication without cultural knowledge is simply not possible.

What do you think?

The article is published as part of my participation in Young SIETAR Mentoring Program.

Kristina Ganchenko |kristina.intercultural@gmail.com

linkedin.com/krisganchenko|instagram.com/kristina_intercultural

Dear Young Sietarians,

On behalf of Young SIETAR Communication Team I am thrilled to announce a new feature on our website: an intercultural blog. 

We added this page to the website to connect with our community by speaking about different issues and various happenings within the intercultural field. 

This blog is a space where you will be able to find opinions, reflections, stories, reviews on various topics related to intercultural research, education, training, diversity and inclusion, languages, multiculturalism and many more. 

For me this will be a wonderful opportunity to share my personal cross-cultural stories of living, studying and working in three different cultures - Russia, India and the UK. In addition, I would love to reflect upon my learning as a Young SIETAR member, my aspirations and the journey towards becoming an intercultural professional.

The content will be participant driven, so we would love you to contribute and share a story that matters to you! 

• Would you like to share your experiences of working, living or studying abroad?
• Are you researching an intercultural issue?
• Have you read an interesting book or article?
• Is there a movie that sparked your interest?
• Have you attended a cultural event?

Do you have any other intercultural topic you would like to discuss?

If so, we would love to hear from you! This is your invitation to connect with other members when you post an article and be part of this exciting virtual community of interculturalists.

Please submit your blog contributions with a short paragraph about yourself at kristina.intercultural@gmail.com. We will manage the posting process for you. Additionally if you have any questions please email to the same email or drop a comment below.

Stay tuned for more stories!

Kristina Ganchenko

Young SIETAR Communications team