YOCOMO - Displaying intercultural sensitivity attitudes

Displaying intercultural sensitivity

…is the ability to support successful communication and collaboration among people from different cultural contexts and backgrounds. Youth workers have to deal with diverse attitudes and behaviours in [international] training and youth work and tackle underlying values. They approach ‘culture’ from an identity perspective and understand ambiguity, human rights, solidarity, self-confidence, acceptance of one’s limits versus stretching beyond them, and how geopolitical conflicts influence one’s understanding of these aspects. Youth workers take these intercultural dimensions into account in their work. In the digital environment, this means paying particular attention to the issue of representation when producing and using media.

The single attitudes are summarised in different headlines that illustrate what “displaying intercultural sensitivity” means for youth workers attitude-wise. The “clusters” do not name attitudes as such; these can be found through clicking on the lists.

Ambiguity is part of intercultural experiences. + -

For youth workers the following attitudes can help:

openness towards the unexpected
openness towards ambiguity in the group
openness towards ambiguity in the learning process
awareness that culture is a dynamic and multifaceted process

The backgrounds of people influence how they express their identities and look at others. + -

Corresponding attitudes are:

willingness to look at identity and culture from different perspectives
readiness to support young people to express their identities, though being aware of the possible implications, especially online
readiness to reflect on one’s own in-/out-groups and how they impact feeling and acting in solidarity
readiness to go beyond stereotypes in people representation, especially when producing digital media
being aware that specific groups such as online communities have precise identities and behaviours to comprehend when reaching out and interacting

Aspects of identity and culture can lead to challenging power relations, discrimination and conflicts. + -

Therefore, important attitudes are:

readiness to confront others and be confronted in a respectful and constructive way
willingness to support and empower individuals and groups
empathy towards people who hold different values and worldviews – beyond in-groups, bubbles and circles
carefulness not to use methods which implicitly reinforce stereotypes and discrimination mechanisms
commitment to address and challenge the ‘them and us’ mindset in a group
perceiving solidarity as a fully inclusive concept that applies to all humans, as well as our planet

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