Dr. Elmar-Laurent Borgmann – Page 9 – absolutely intercultural!

Brexit +++ EU referendum +++ citizenship test +++ Absolutely Intercultural 208 +++

In this show we will be talking about the UK referendum to leave the EU and some of the consequences it has had.

Many of the people that the referendum result would affect most did not have a vote and we talked to two of those. Once the result was announced there were reports about immigrants being abused and attacked. This made Ania, a Pole living in Scotland, a bit more careful when phoning home. And what about Britons who have moved to other EU countries. Will their status be safe? Gwen is a Briton who has lived her whole life in Denmark. Two years ago Denmark changed its law to allow dual nationality so Gwen decided she would like a Danish passport alongside her British passport.
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Palestine +++ EAST Project +++ Glasgow +++ Gaza +++ refugees in Denmark +++ Absolutely Intercultural 207 +++

The theme of this show is Palestine from two very different perspectives. We’ll be talking about the challenges faced by a stateless Palestinian, Nizar, who, while already a refugee in Syria, was forced to flee the war and ended up once again as a refugee in Denmark. We’ll also be hearing about a joint project called EAST which involved the University of Glasgow in Scotland and the University of Gaza in Palestine.
Continue reading “Palestine +++ EAST Project +++ Glasgow +++ Gaza +++ refugees in Denmark +++ Absolutely Intercultural 207 +++”

Absolutely Intercultural 206 +++ Stereotypes +++ German hurry +++ Belgian Beer +++

Filip-giving-a-beer-seminar In today’s podcast we hear from people who are comparing their life styles in Germany with that in their home countries. However, we will also discuss different beer traditions with a Belgian who gives beer seminars in Germany.
We hear from Ru´a and Francisco, exchange students from Jordan and Spain who tell us how some everyday experiences in a new culture can be a little overwhelming at the beginning.
Then we listen to Filip, the “beer seminarist” from Belgium. He will explain the main differences in beer brewing to us.
In our last part Issa tells about his ideas about Germany before he arrived. He held many stereotypes before coming to Germany and he will admit that some of them were disproved right on arrival.

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Diversophy +++ George Simons +++ Cultural Infusion +++ Joko’s World +++ Absolutely Intercultural 205 +++

Let’s play and learn. In this show we’ll be playing games and music and I’ll be announcing a new course if you are a teacher of adults in a diverse classroom and there’s news of an additional podcast episode coming in September, off-plan and in Danish.

Thank you to all those of you who have been following us on Facebook where we add links to interesting intercultural stuff and alert you when a new show comes out. Shoutout to Imad Zazi who gave us our 600th page like. Thanks Imad!

In today’s show we’ll be hearing how music can help children learn about global cultures.

We’ll also be talking to George Simons about an exciting new twist to his well-established Diversophy game.
Continue reading “Diversophy +++ George Simons +++ Cultural Infusion +++ Joko’s World +++ Absolutely Intercultural 205 +++”

Absolutely Intercultural 204 +++ Ramadan Special +++ “Two-way exchange” project +++

"Two way exchange" project In today’s podcast we have special topic: the Muslim Ramadan. The reason for choosing this topic is the great number of refugees in Germany which comes with a great number of intercultural learning opportunities. At RheinAhrCampus we have embraced this opportunity and have reached out to those refugees who are interested in university life, have integrated them in our daily routines and they, in turn, have readily shared their new lives with us.

Recently we organized an international cooking event followed by Iftar (إفطار‎‎ – the joint breaking of the Ramadan fast) together with some international students, German students, ordinary Remagen citizens and our new international friends, the refugees. The success of the event and the incredible Ramadan spirit that reigned in the two kitchens gave us the inspiration for our Ramadan Special today.

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Absolutely Intercultural 203 +++ Traveling +++ Diversity +++ Time Management +++ Culture and Traditions +++

In today’s podcast we hear from people who have traveled and are sharing their interesting and diverse experiences. We listen to Michael, a French student in Germany, telling us a story of how he was welcomed in Germany.
Then we listen to Audrey, she tells us how surprised she was after attending a German wedding and experiencing the customs and traditions of a typical German wedding. In the last part of the podcast we listen to Maris from Latvia who tells us the tale of “5 minutes”, information that every tourist should learn before traveling to Egypt. Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 203 +++ Traveling +++ Diversity +++ Time Management +++ Culture and Traditions +++”

Refugee journey +++ Global Educator +++ UK referendum on EU +++ Julie Lindsay +++ Absolutely Intercultural 202 +++

If you have ever wondered about the journeys of those thousands of refugees from Syria then you will want to hear Radwan Abdullah’s story of how he got to Denmark with his cousin and disabled daughter. We will also be hearing from Julie Lindsay about her new book on how to become a Global Educator.

What else? Well we’ve been nominated in the Podcast Awards and are waiting to hear if we will get in the final selection on May 22nd. If we do, we will let you know and ask for your vote. So keep an eye on our Facebook page and here on our webiste.

And you may have noticed that there is a referendum coming up in the UK on whether or not to stay in the EU. Continue reading “Refugee journey +++ Global Educator +++ UK referendum on EU +++ Julie Lindsay +++ Absolutely Intercultural 202 +++”

Absolutely Intercultural 201 +++ power of language+++ biculturalism+++ life coach+++

In today’s podcast we focus on people who speak more than one language and on how these languages have an impact on our daily lives and even on our thinking. We will hear Issa Assaf from Jordan who tells us how he learned first Arabic, then English and now German and which new worlds these languages have opened up for him. Issa tells us stories and mentions some books which could potentially change your life, so – beware! Also we will listen to Thomas, who grew up with an Austrian mother and an English father. Is there really an advantage in growing up in a bilingual environment?

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10 years! +++ Lithuania +++ Lebanon +++ Absolutely Intercultural 200 +++

We started in 2006 exactly ten years ago. We started in March 2006 and this… is our 200th show.
Along the way we have collected a few awards such as the Edublog award for best educational podcast in 2006 and the European Podcast Award for Denmark in the non-profit category in 2010.

So how to celebrate?

We thought it might be fun to get in touch with some of the people from our first year.

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Absolutely Intercultural 199 +++ Culture +++ Software of the Mind +++ Updates +++

blog-picture-software Absolutely Intercultural Show 199

Have you ever tried to explain something, and in the middle of it, you figured out that the best option would probably be to compare it to something else?

Hofstede did the same thing with culture and software, showing their similarities in his book “Cultures and Organizations – Software of the Mind“.

The metaphor of culture as the software of the mind works really well when we compare them in terms of installing, uninstalling and updating cultural software, for example.

In this episode, we listen to two interviews about Hofstede’s idea, on how you can easily see his theory present in your daily lives.

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