Tag: education

Legal Cannabis: Triumph or Tragedy? +++ Decriminalisation +++ Intoxication +++ Passive Smoking +++ Absolutely Intercultural 297

Hello dear listeners, and welcome to episode 297 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural.” Today, let’s dive into another cultural topic that many of you might have strong feelings about: the legalization of cannabis. Germany has partly decriminalised marijuana use as of 1 April 2024. So, have we experienced a cultural change as a result? Does legalisation mean that in the evenings, we Germans now smoke weed on our sofas in front of television instead of drinking our traditional beer? I’m afraid personally I’m a little old-school and still stick to my red wine, but then some of my friends claim that alcohol is worse than weed, so perhaps I should join one of the new Cannabis clubs?

Using drugs touches on cultural values and societal norms, but also on personal beliefs shaped by our own experiences. Our aim today is clearly not to endorse one viewpoint over another but to create a space where different people can share their diverse experiences and personal opinions.

absolutely economic

In our first story, we will listen to Nika. Currently, Nika is an international lecturer from Georgia at RheinAhrCampus, and he speculates on how the future legalisation of weed could impact the economic development of his home country.

absolutely intoxicated

In our second story, we will listen to Ani, who is an international exchange student. Ani does not give us a clear yes or no for legalization but she shares with us what happened to her and her teenage friends in Georgia where cannabis is not legalized.

absolutely disrespectful

In our last story, we will listen to Sebastian, a German Student at RheinAhrCampus. Sebastian will be sharing with us one of his biggest concerns regarding the legalization of cannabis, especially the connection with smoking and passive smoking. Have cannabis smokers ever heard about the human right to clean air? Well, we found one of the best advocates for keeping the air we breathe clean.

What about you? Do you see the legalisation of cannabis like a triumph or a tragedy? Have you or someone you know ever smoked weed and faced unexpected consequences? Or do you use it reasonably like others consume alcohol? Get in touch, feel free to share your unique story with us here on this podcast.

Write a comment or mail us, we could do a follow-up interview with you in one of our next shows. On our web page, absolutely-intercultural.com, you can get more information about this show and previous episodes, and you can leave comments. And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too. 

By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes, Apple Podcasts and Spotify? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

Our next show will be coming to you from Anne Fox in Denmark on 6^th September.

Until then – find out what you think are the pros and the cons of legalizing weed und

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Sebastian Berg

Assistant Editors: Oljana Haskja, Fikret Küey , Diogo Vital Maia and Xavier Sutton

Abortion +++ Freedom of Choice +++ Ethical Dilemma +++ Absolutely Intercultural 295 +++

Hello dear listeners and welcome to show 295 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today, we are going to talk about “Abortion”, which is a subject that touches deeply personal beliefs, cultural values, and societal norms. It is a topic that produces strong feelings and controversies, informed by very diverse factors from personal experiences to religious beliefs, legal aspects, and more. Our goal today is definitely not to favour one perspective over another, but to offer a platform for a range of very different voices to share diverse thoughts and perceptions.

absolutely my choice

In our first interview, a Moroccan student will share her friend’s story who faced severe challenges after marrying and becoming pregnant. Her friend’s husband was an alcoholic, and his addiction created a very unstable and toxic environment, affecting her friend both, emotionally and physically. Diogo asked her how abortion is generally perceived in her home country, Morocco.

absolutely personal

In our second category, Ada supports pro-choice policies and thinks that women should have control over their bodies. However, personally, she would never have an abortion. Oljana asked her to explain to us the context of her home country Albania, where abortion has been legal since the dictatorship ended in 1990.

absolutely pro-life

In our last story, we will listen to Edmond who is generally against abortion, believing it should only be considered when the woman’s life is in danger. This belief is rooted in his personal values and his own experiences. He will share a personal story from his own life where his pregnant wife was in serious danger.

What about you? What are your personal beliefs or values and how do cultural, religious, or societal influences shape the way you perceive abortion? Have you or someone you know ever faced a decision like that? We would actually love to hear from people who completely reject the whole idea of abortion but could not find anyone in our bubble! Get in touch, feel free to share your unique story with us here on this podcast.

By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes, Apple Podcasts and Spotify? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

Our next show will be coming to you from Anne Fox in Denmark on 5th July.

Until then – try to imagine how you would decide in the situations which were described by our guests today. And –

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Sebastian Berg

Assistant Editors: Oljana Haskja, Fikret Küey and Diogo Vital Maia

Paradox of Freedom +++ Freedom vs. Safety +++ Artistic Freedom +++ Absolutely Intercultural 293 +++

Hello, dear listeners, and welcome to episode 293 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today, we’re exploring the “Culture of Freedom.” We’re asking a big question: Is there such a thing as too much freedom in some cultures? We’ll look at how freedom affects our own cultures but also how our own cultures have an influence on the freedom we are granted. We will focus on aspects of safety, creativity and even romantic relationships. This is the Absolutely Intercultural Podcast –my name is Laurent Borgmann, and I’m here to guide you through this journey around different aspects of freedom.

Is true freedom about choosing whatever we want, or is it simply about creating a good life within agreed limits? What is the role of freedom during a war, an outbreak of repeated terrorism in a country or a world-wide pandemic? Will total freedom really spark our creativity, or is it the boundaries and limitations that actually fuel our most innovative ideas? Is choosing your own life partners the ultimate freedom, or do arranged marriages offer a kind of family safety net, deeply valued in many cultures?

absolutely safe

In our first story, we will listen to Xavier from Australia. He shares with us how he thought a lot about the paradox of Freedom vs. Safety during the Corona Crisis down-under where the freedom of movement was much more rigorously restricted than in most parts of Europe. When faced with extreme challenges, Xavier noticed in himself that he actually preferred lockdowns over predicted anarchy, no matter how strict and unprecedented the new Corona regulations were

absolutely independent

In our second story, we will listen to Raghavan from India. He talks about his niece in the United Kingdom who, like many young Indians abroad, is now enjoying an unexpected window of freedom to build a career and find a life partner by herself. These young expats often have the opportunity to choose someone they love, a freedom they would perhaps not have in their own country. However,if they can’t find someone quickly, their parents will jump in and help by arranging their marriage, even from a distance of 8.000 kms.

absolutely creative

In our last story, we will listen to Figo from Turkey who does not feel free to express his artistic freedom. He feels that social biases and narrow-mindedness discourage him from sharing his music, particularly on social media.

What are your thoughts on freedom? Do you think we have all gone too far with personal freedom? Or do you think more freedom would make your country a better place? We’re eager to hear your perspective.

Share your story with us via comment or email, and you can feature in one of our upcoming shows. For more information and previous episodes, visit our website at absolutely-intercultural.com. If you enjoyed the show, please give us a thumbs-up on Facebook.

And did you know we’re also on iTunes, Apple Podcasts and Spotify? You can subscribe for free, leave a rating, and drop a comment there.

Our next show, hosted by Anne Fox in Denmark, will be out on 3rd May.

Until then – find out whether there can be TOO much freedom in a culture! and

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Natalia Obikhod

Assistant Editors: Sebastian Berg

Online learning+++ NILE +++Absolutely Intercultural 292+++

Norwich Institute of Learning Education — Norwich Institute for Language Education

Welcome to Absolutely Intercultural show number 292 on World Futures Day. My name’s Anne Fox and this show is coming to you from Denmark, but when you’re online, does it matter where I am? In this show we’ll be looking at some of the issues that can happen in online courses. Yes, believe it or not, online learning existed long before the Covid 19 pandemic and for this show I decided to ask some of my colleagues at NILE in Norwich about some of the things that can happen when you are teaching online.
We’ll hear from Robert about a joke gone wrong, from Eva about how to organise a mixed gender group so that the genders are never mixed and what happened in Neil’s Zoom session that so upset the rest of the group?

absolutely separate

So let’s start with Eva and go absolutely separate about how to organise a mixed gender group so that the genders are never mixed.

absolutely funny

In our next segment we’ll be talking to Robert about something that he experienced when he was facilitating a very diverse group from around the world. Is it absolutely funny?

absolutely real

And in our final segment, we’ll meet Neil who lives in Spain and works for NILE teaching aviation English where we’ll learn how online learning can be absolutely real. But first the dilemma of adjusting meetings to meet other cultural norms.

Neil’s story about his student in Kiev reminds me that this week on several TV stations simultaneously, a new series called “In her Car” tells the story of a Ukrainian woman who volunteers to drive people in Ukraine during the current conflict.

If you have any stories about intercultural challenges with online learning then let us know here on the blog in a comment.

And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too.

By the way, did you know we are also on Apple Podcasts and now Spotify? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

The next show will be coming to you from Germany with Laurent Borgmann on the 5^th of April.

Until then – stay tuned!

The host of this show is: Anne Fox

Futures Studies +++ Georgia +++ India +++ Absolutely Intercultural 291 +++

Image of hiker in misty mountains from Pixabay — Stereotypical image of future

Imagine the future. What do you see? I think I could safely bet a lot of money that what you’re seeing now in your mind involves high tech, humanoid robots, and metallic high-rise cities! Can we be more imaginative about the future? And how do you see your personal future? Welcome to show 291 of Absolutely Intercultural coming to you from Denmark. My name’s Anne Fox and in this show we’re going to talk about the future, or rather, futures. Futures?

absolutely plausible

We’ll start with finding out more about what Futures Studies is, or are, by talking to Thor Svanholm Gustavson of the Copenhagen Futures Studies Institute and no, it’s not about predicting the future but about the possible, the preferred and the absolutely plausible. So what are Futures Studies?

absolutely specific

Thinking about the future is good for societies but let’s explore the personal level. Now let’s be absolutely specific and find out what Viktoria from Georgia told Mariam about her views of her future.

absolutely educational

In our next segment we hear again from Thor in Copenhagen. Let’s go absolutely educational and find out why Futures Studies should be on the school timetable. Thor’s final point makes me want to run a competition to draw a vision of the future that doesn’t include high tech, robots and flying cars. But maybe that’s for the future…

absolutely predictable

Now we’ll hear from Raj, from India, about the role of parents in writing their children’s future. There’s a clear example of the present influencing the future when Raj goes back to India and aims to promote sustainability.

So who’s writing the story about your future? You? Your parents? Society? Do you feel limited by the number of futures that are presented to you or do you, on the other hand have too many possible futures and you need to start thinking about your preferred future? What pictures of the future do you have? Are they all high tech? You can let us know here on the blog at absolutely-intercultural.com where we have links from the organisations mentioned in the show.

And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too.

Thanks to Mariam for interviewing our two RheinAhr Campus students.

By the way, did you know we are also on Apple Podcasts and now Spotify? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

And talking about predicting the future it is very likely that the next show will be coming to you from me in Denmark on March 1 which by sheer coincidence is World Futures Day!

Until then – stay tuned!

The host of this show is: Anne Fox

Co-host: Mariam Bilge

Links mentioned in the show:

UNESCO https://www.unesco.org/en/futures-literacy

Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies https://cifs.dk/

Teach the Future https://www.teachthefuture.org/

Image: Pixabay

Media Consumption +++ Infotainment +++ Fake News +++ Absolutely Intercultural 290 +++

Hello dear listenersand welcome to show 290 of our podcast“Absolutely Intercultural”. Today’s topic is all about the impact of our media consumption. I am Laurent Borgmann, your host, and as I am over sixty years old, I feel obliged to start with a bit of media nostalgia. Back in the good old times, yes, in fact,more than 50 years ago, every house in our street got a newspaper on their doorstep before 5 am every morning. Subscription was the rule. People would read it during breakfast, and this seemed as essential as the first cup of coffee in the day. In our city, we had two papers to pick from, but honestly, although one was slightly more left and the other slightly more right-wing they were like twins separated at birth. They sometimes even shamelessly used the same pictures on the front page. At school I learned that they were actually produced in the same printing house. And the effect? In the 1960s, when you caught up with the neighbours over the garden fence, it was like a big gossip party. All neighbours knew the same news stories and were ready to outraged by the same scandals. The update in the evenings was also the same–at 8 o’clock, families all over Germany tuned in for the TV news, and you could bet most people were watching the same news show–Die Tagesschau! Of course,even then people had different takes on the same news, depending on their political affiliations or demographic backgrounds. But we could all still join the chat because everyone had the same input. Those were the good old days.

absolutely informed

In our opening story, “absolutely informed”, we’ll tune in to Emanuel from Germany. As a young adult in Germany, Emanuel is interested in what is happening around the world. However, finding out which news reports can be trusted and which are only an opinion for the bubble they are meant for, seems a constant challenge for us nowadays.

absolutely independent

In our next part “absolutely independent”, we’ll hear from Rozana, who is from Albania and now she works as a guest lecturer in Germany. Rozana shares with us her concerns about potential government influence on the contents of the news.

absolutely positive

In our final story, “absolutely positive”, we’ll hear from Krishna, originally from India and now an exchange student in Germany. Krishna does not like to follow the news as he prefers to keep his surroundings positive.

Now, we’re curious about your own experiences with Media, are you a keen news reader like Emanuel or do you keep negative information out of your life like Krishna? Are you good at detecting fake news and do you ever report any?

And did you know we’re also on iTunes and Apple Podcasts? You can subscribe for free, leave a rating, and drop a comment there.

Our next show, hosted by Anne Fox in Denmark, will be out on 2 February.

Until then – look out for fake news! and

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Natalia Obikhod

Assistant Editors: Mariam Bilge, Sebastian Berg

Hidden history +++ Our Story +++ Absolutely Intercultural 289 +++

Fatima Al-Fihri – founder of the first university in the world in Morocco

Welcome to show 289 of Absolutely Intercultural.

Did you know that the richest man who ever lived was an African from Mali in the fourteenth century whose wealth exceeded that of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates put together?

Did you know that the first university in the world was not in Milan, Italy but in Morocco started by a female refugee, Fatima Al-Fihri?

In this show we’re going to find out more about a publishing company called Our Story aimed at young children and their teachers, and why this might help intercultural understanding.

My name’s Anne Fox and I’m based in Denmark and for this show I’m working with Mariam in Germany.

In this show we are going to meet Fahad Siddiqui, a Londoner, living in Brazil, who thinks that we should all know more these people who have faded from history.

absolutely historical

Let’s go absolutely historical and meet Fahad Siddiqui who created the Our Story company to share these stories with children.

absolutely multicultural

As well as being interesting in their own right, one of the aims of the Our Story materials is to introduce children to different cultures so let’s find out more about that and go absolutely multicultural with Mariam.

absolutely charitable

One of the features of the Our Story books is that every time you buy one of the books, the company makes a donation to the charity, CAMFED, which supports the education of girls in a selection of African countries. Let’s go absolutely charitable to find out how and why.

I loved finding out more about the many facets of the Our Story books and I know that our conversation left Mariam thinking hard about her home country of Georgia and whether there would be a candidate for one of the books from her cultural history. And maybe you know of one from your culture too?

Share your story with us via comment or email, and you might feature in one of our upcoming shows. For more information and previous episodes, visit our website at absolutely-intercultural.com. And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too. 

By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes or Apple Podcasts? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

Our next show will be coming to you on 5th January from Laurent Borgmann in Germany

Until then – stay tuned!

The host of this show is: Anne Fox

Co-host: Mariam Bilge

Why Denmark? +++ Iceland +++ South Africa +++ Masters +++ PhD +++ Absolutely Intercultural 287 +++

Welcome to Show 287 of Absolutely Intercultural coming to you from Denmark. My name’s Anne Fox and Denmark is where I have lived for almost thirty years. It is a small country of nearly 6 million people which has 8 universities. Compared to Germany’s 380, or the USA’s seemingly too many to count, but let’s settle for over 4000, eight Danish universities seems like a very small pool to choose from. So why would anybody come to Denmark for their university studies? This is what we’re going to find out in this show. We will be talking to Peter from South Africa who has a complex family history that is reflected in the languages spoken at home and Úlfar from Iceland who’s noticed something about Denmark.

absolutely uncertain

In our first segment, “absolutely uncertain”, let’s find out how Peter came to Denmark, to study in Danish, after being brought up in South Africa and having done his schooling in German.

absolutely engineered

In our next segment, “absolutely engineered”, let’s hear from Úlfar, an Icelander who had limited options for his Masters back in Iceland and chose Denmark.

So maybe small is beautiful after all. Family history and colonial ties seem to count greatly in addition to any global ranking that Danish universities may also have. Just for information DTU is number 165 globally or, when we’re talking specifically engineering and technology, 3rd after Stanford and MIT, while Copenhagen is 107 globally. And Iceland has seven universities which is only one less than Denmark, but it’s something to do with size! What about you? Did you ever consider studying in a small country like Denmark? Get in touch, feel free to share your unique story with us here on the podcast.

By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes or Apple Podcasts? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

Our next show will be coming to you on 3 November from Laurent Borgmann in Germany.

Until then, stay tuned!

The host of this show is: Anne Fox