Tag: intercultural

Switzerland +++ EU unemployment support +++ job hunting +++ Absolutely Intercultural 308 +++

A battered Danish postbox — One of the 1500 remaining dilapidated Danish postboxes waiting to be removed by the end of 2025.

Welcome to Absolutely Intercultural, the podcast about all things intercultural, even unexpectedly scented toilet paper! My name’s Anne Fox and this show is coming to you from Denmark, where Mia, who we’ll be hearing more from, also originates. We’ll be talking to Mia about how she was able to get some financial support to go to Switzerland to look for a job, what it’s like looking for a job when you don’t speak the local language and finally some of the little differences that she noticed between Denmark and Switzerland, like scented toilet paper.

absolutely transferable
So we’ll start by talking about a scheme that has been going for decades but which I have a feeling very few people know about and which may not even have an official name. And that is the EU scheme that allows you to transfer three months worth of unemployment benefit, if you are entitled to it in your home country, to another EU country. But how does it work in practice? It is clear that it is not easy dealing with the bureaucratic rules in two different countries at the same time. You may have spotted that Switzerland is not in the EU, but since it is in the European Economic Area, the scheme also applies there.

absolutely job hunting
Having worked out the administrative challenges to be part of the transfer scheme, Mia’s next challenge was actually finding a job. So how did that go? That point when Mia started networking in addition to sending in job applications was key and she is now working for a global company where the working language is English.

absolutely intercultural
We’ll end by asking Mia about the little differences she’s noticed between Denmark and Switzerland. The iconic Danish post boxes are disappearing at the end of 2025 so the digital way of life is totally embedded.

Have you tried job hunting in a new country? Maybe you have some tips? If you have a story to tell on this or any related topic then don’t hesitate to get in touch or leave a comment on our website where you can also listen to all our previous shows. We are also on Apple podcasts and Spotify where you can give us a rating. And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too. 

Our next show will be coming to you, as usual, on the first Friday of next month.

Until then, stay tuned!

Produced by Anne Fox

Cultural celebrations +++ Misunderstood traditions +++ Different holidays +++ Disappointing experiences +++ Absolutely Intercultural 307

Hello dear listeners and welcome to show 307 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”.

Do you feel that the New Year celebration is too “boring” for you? Have you ever asked yourself if there’s a more vibrant holiday to celebrate instead of Halloween? Do you feel that something like Woman’s Day is “too political”? Then today’s episode is for you! Imagine spending a holiday in a foreign country and realizing that they celebrate it in a completely different way, and suddenly a familiar celebration is not so familiar anymore. It can be surprising discovering different celebrations in the world, and while some people like the alternative, that’s not always the case. People can also find the new festivals to be boring. In today’s episode, we explore how the same holidays and celebrations can be experienced in very different ways depending on the cultural context. What makes these shared events feel so unique from one country to another? Why do some people find a particular celebration meaningful and festive, while others might find it uneventful or even strange? Our interviewees will share personal stories and perspectives on how they celebrate their holidays in unfamiliar ways here in Germany.

absolutely misunderstood

In our first story, we will listen to Alvaro, who talks about “Dia de los Muertos”, a Southern-American celebration where people commemorate the dead around the same time as Halloween. He used to celebrate Halloween in Germany when he was a child, and he thinks that people who say that “Dia de los Muertos” is sad or morbid are just wrong.

absolutely disappointing

In our second story, we will listen to Nahidur, who talks about “Bengali New Year”, a new year celebration based on the Bengali calendar, a solar calendar used in the Indian subcontinent. Bengali New Year is celebrated in April, and he mentions how the western new year is boring compared to the Bengali one.

absolutely changing

In our last story, we will listen to Rozana, talking about Albanian Woman’s Day. In Albania, Woman’s Day is actually celebrated with parties, where women get their day to shine. Only recently it started to become more dedicated to gender parity and to promote women’s rights, due to global influence, and Rozana herself was surprised when she first discovered how different it was outside of her home country.

What about you? Do you also celebrate the same occasions differently? Do you think you do it better? We’d love to hear your stories! Feel free to share your opinion with us here on the podcast. You can leave a comment, send us an email, or even reach out for a follow-up interview in one of our next shows.

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 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 from Anne Fox in Denmark on 4th July.

Until then – Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Michele Varvara (Italian)

Assistant Editor: Era Meço (Albanian)

Power in language +++ Critical pedagogy +++ Spectators +++ Taboo Topics +++ Absolutely Intercultural 306

Rose Aylett

Welcome to absolutely intercultural show 306. My name’s Anne Fox, and this show is coming to you from Denmark.

Today’s show may make you look back at conversations that you’ve had, interactions that you’ve witnessed, and materials you may have used in the classroom. I’ll be talking to Rose Aylitt, who supports teachers all over the world, both face to face and online, to help them help their students to become global citizens.

absolutely powerful

Rose Aylitt is a teacher trainer who works internationally, and recently she developed a new course for the Norwich Institute of Language Education on helping teachers support their students to become global citizens. We’ll be talking about how you can use language to project or not power.

absolutely just

We’ll also hear about how art forms such as theatre can be used to help people recognize the many ways that a conversation could go. Rose talks about Auguste Boal and his theater of the oppressed.

absolutely taboo

And then we’ll ask the question about whether there are any topics that we should not discuss in the classroom.

Thanks to Rose for sharing some of her strategies and thanks to you for listening. If you have a story to tell on this or any related topic then don’t hesitate to get in touch or leave a comment on our website where you can also listen to all our previous shows. We are also on Apple podcasts and Spotify where you can give us a rating.

Our next show will be coming to you from Laurent Borgmann in Germany on 6th June.

Until then, stay tuned!

Culture Wars +++ Food Cultures +++ Vegetarianism +++ Food Choices +++ Absolutely Intercultural 305

Hello dear listeners and welcome to show 305 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today’s topic is “culture wars” and more specifically “fights between different food cultures”! There are those who decide to not eat a specific category of food perhaps because of health reasons or for ethical reasons, and things can escalate pretty quickly when food is the main topic at the table. Words like “vegan” or “vegetarian” are used to categorize some of those people who may be different from us: a “vegan”, for example, is someone who refuses to eat anything related to animals: meat, fish, eggs, milk, even honey. Today the focus will be around this life-changing decision, how choosing to limit yourself to not eat a certain kind of food can drastically change your usual interactions with friends and family.

absolutely vegetarian

In our first story, we will listen to Natalia, a dedicated vegetarian. A vegetarian doesn’t eat meat, or seafood like grilled fish, but does eat animal products like milk or eggs. Today Natalia is sharing with us her journey and the challenges she faces in a world that often prioritizes meat-based diets. Natalia used to eat meat when she was younger, but she has changed the way she feels about animal food.

absolutely traditional

In our second story, we will listen to Camilla, who eats meat on a daily basis and buys it from the supermarket. She is aware of all the problems around the meat industry, but that doesn’t stop her from following her traditional diet.

absolutely pescatarian

In our last story, we will listen to Jakob, who tried to be vegetarian for some time but then switched to a “pescatarian” lifestyle. A pescatarian does not eat meat, a bit like a vegetarian, but does eat seafood like fish or mussels. Jakob tells us how he feels about his new fish-based diet after years of sticking to only vegetarian food.

What about you? Do you have a strong opinion on your food? Have you ever changed your diet to accommodate certain needs? We’d love to hear your stories! Feel free to share your opinion with us here on the podcast. You can leave a comment, send us an email, or even reach out for a follow-up interview in one of our next shows.

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 from Anne Fox in Denmark on 2 May

Until then – bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Michele Varvara (Italian)

Assistant Editor: Era Meço (Albanian)

AI +++ Fidutam +++ Influencing lawmakers +++ Absolutely Intercultural 304

We’re going to be talking about responsible technology. That may sound a bit vague, so I’ll share a few more hints about where we ‘re going. This is about an initiative by, and for, young people. We’ll be talking to the president of Fidutam , a small but global civil society organisation which started by using secure tech to enable small loans to young people. But there’s more, they have also developed technology to enable anyone, but especially young people, to be able to learn almost anything using generative AI tools for free, a sort of study buddy if you like.

Fidutam have also worked out how to influence policy makers and have contributed to consultations in the USA and Europe. To me, this is an intriguing mix of activities for a global organisation that is focused on, and run by, young people.

absolutely AI

And just so you know, we recorded this in December 2024 so the AI and political landscape may have changed a great deal by the time you’re listening to this. Maestro should be up and running now that we are in 2025 so that you could try it out yourself. If you do, let us know how it went. I first found out about Fidutam from an article in the New Scientist magazine from 2023 and I am really amazed at the influence they seem to have built up with the politicians. What about you? What do you think the politicians should be doing to ensure AI develops in a good way over your lifetime?

Thanks for listening and if you have a story to tell then don’t hesitate to get in touch or leave a comment. We are also on Apple podcasts and Spotify where you can give us a rating.

Our next show will be coming to you from Laurent Borgmann in Germany on 4th April.

Until then, stay tuned!

National Borders +++ Immigration +++ Travel +++ Security +++ Absolutely Intercultural 303

Hello dear listeners and welcome to show 303 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today, we are going to talk about the cultural aspects of “national borders”, human-made geographical lines separating two countries or regions. Some see borders as the ugly scars on the face of the earth – when others say “Where there is a border, there is a story.” I am speaking these words to you from South Africa where I am on a teaching assignment and on my flight here I probably crossed a dozen such boundaries, a bit like a migrating bird blissfully ignoring the national borders on the ground.

Thank you for tuning in and I hope you bring with you your own culturally diverse opinions on borders. This is the Absolutely Intercultural Podcast – and we appreciate diversity and different views on the same subject – and absolutely everyone is welcome to think absolutely everything about this contentious topic!

National borders are causing most conflicts all over the world. From our guests, we will learn how borders can be viewed very differently, depending on your cultural and political background. In the cultural context of holidays, borders can be cute instagrammable opportunities for a selfie, in others they present an impenetrable barrier and keep inhabitants imprisoned in a confined area.

By the way, today, we are transgressing a border ourselves, for the first time in the history of this podcast. We are hosting a very unusual guest here today. Anne Fox one of the makers of this podcast, will be joining us today on the other side of the microphone as our interviewee.

absolutely human

In our first story, we will listen to Ilja, a travel agent who regularly finds himself crossing borders somewhere in Europe. Ilja seems to have thought a lot about borders and has come to the conclusion that borders are not natural, but are rather abstract lines that humans have drawn to organize their cultures and communities.

absolutely secure

In our second story, we will listen to Serhii. He believes that unrestricted freedom of movement could lead to increased immigration and possibly a rise in crime. He also believes that going to another country shouldn’t be as easy as it is in Europe nowadays but instead, every traveler should be “trusted but also properly checked” in order to protect our distinct cultures.

absolutely privileged

In our last story, we will listen to Anne Fox, who is one of the regular moderators of this podcast. Anne thinks that her home country, Britain, has lost a lot of its former privileges and travel freedoms by leaving the European Union five years ago.

What about you? What is your take on this? Do you think we should tighten border security, or do you think we should remove borders between countries wherever possible? Could getting rid of the borders in fact destroy some unique cultural identities and reduce cultural diversity? We would love to hear your stories! Get in touch, feel free to share your opinion with us here on this 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 from Anne Fox in Denmark on 7 March

Until then – listen to stories from the other side of the border and

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann (German)

Chief Editor: Iryna Krupa (Ukrainian)
Technical Editor: Michele Varvara (Italian)
Assistant Editor: Xavier Sutton (Australian)

101 Culture Hacks +++ Americans +++ Lisa La Valle +++ Absolutely Intercultural 302 +++

Picture the scene: You and your companion have stopped at a cafe, chosen a table and drawn up your chairs. Why did you do this? In this show Lisa La Valle will explain cafe culture as part of her culture hacks for Americans.
Welcome to 2025 and show 302 of Absolutely Intercultural which takes a closer look at the new book by Lisa La Valle, 101 Culture Hacks for Americans living abroad (and other digital nomads): One unwritten rule at a time.
My name’s Anne Fox and this show is coming to you from Denmark. Back in 2018 we spoke to Lisa La Valle in her role as an intercultural trainer and in this show we are going to learn more about the book Lisa is writing billed as a primer for Americans venturing outside their borders. Why did she write it?

We’ll explore one or two of the hacks in the taster version of the book that is already available on Amazon. For example, did you ever think about what happens in cafes and restaurants?

And finally we’ll find out more about how much Lisa relies on the cultural frameworks which we hear so much about, such as Hofstede and the Culture Connector, compared to Lisa’s own observations on, for example, the effect of space on how loudly you speak.

absolutely hacked

So let’s go absolutely hacked and find out why Lisa, an American now living in Italy, started writing 101 Culture Hacks for Americans living abroad

absolutely café culture

Next I wanted to explore one or two of the examples from the taster version that is available right now on Amazon so let’s go absolutely cafe culture.

absolutely frameworked

Lisa La Valle has used the Culture Connector framework in her work as an intercultural facilitator so I wondered whether she’d used that or any of the other popular frameworks, many of which we have talked about on this podcast in the past, as part of her 101 Culture hacks book so let’s go absolutely frameworked.

It was very interesting to hear how Lisa makes use of the various cultural frameworks in such a pragmatic way. It sometimes seems as though these frameworks are presented as THE way to look at cultural differences, Hofstede’s dimensions, tight and loose cultures, the Four Cs and so on whereas Lisa draws on several of these frameworks as appropriate. The taster version of Lisa’s book is available on Amazon now and the full version will be coming out later this spring. What about you? Have you made some useful observations about cultural hacks relating to your own culture? We’d love to hear them.

Thanks for listening and if you have a story to tell then don’t hesitate to get in touch or leave a comment. We are also on Apple podcasts and Spotify where you can give us a rating.

Our next show will be coming to you from Laurent Borgmann in Germany on 7th February.

Until then, stay tuned!

The host of this show is: Anne Fox

IncluKIT+++ Opole +++ diversophy +++ SIETAR +++ Absolutely Intercultural 300

Welcome to show 300 of Absolutely Intercultural. My name’s Anne Fox and this show is coming to you from Denmark. In this show I find out more about a very interesting EU-supported collaboration between a group of universities, intercultural practitioners recruited from SIETAR, the Society for Intercultural Education and Research and the culture game diversophy, as they developed a conversation game aimed at helping both sides understand more about each other in various common intercultural situations. The tool is called IncluKIT as it is aimed at fostering inclusion and in this case the focus was on migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. You play the game in small groups of 4 to 6 people who discuss the issues they are presented with. The strategy of IncluKIT is to start with finding out what the groups think of a particular situation in general and then the job of the facilitator is to gradually feed more and more specific information about the situation with the group talking about how they react to the developing story which is built on an incident which happened to a real life asylum centre employee.

absolutely inclusive
When I sat down to talk to Michal, David and Catherine, I asked them to take me through one of their conversation cases, called Eva’s Day about a worker in a reception centre for asylum seekers. Let’s hear more about how this scenario was built and how the conversation around it is guided as we go absolutely inclusive, firstly with Michal and then David and Catherine.

Thank you to Catherine, Michal and David for taking the time to explain the in depth process they went through to come up with these IncluKit conversation exercises. The first version of the kit is now available in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish and you can download the facilitator guide and three case studies to try out for yourself by going to the project website hosted by the University of Opole .

Do you see a role for this type of exercise in your context? Looking at the three scenarios already built up, can you think of additional ones that you would like to build? Do you see yourself as a facilitator for this type of exercise? Have you tried it? Let us know in the comments, and if you want to share how it went in a future show then do get in touch.

So yes, that was the 300^th show, since we started way back in 2006 and you can browse through them all on this website. Thank for still listening and if you have a story to tell then don’t hesitate to get in touch or leave a comment. We are also on Apple podcasts and Spotify where you can give us a rating. And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too. 

Our next show will be coming to you from Laurent Borgmann in Germany on 6th December.

Until then, stay tuned!

The host of this show is: Anne Fox

Sustainable mindset +++ Sys Mind +++ spirituality +++ Absolutely Intercultural 298 +++

Sample from Sus Mind Expert certification

I think we all know by now that we have to live more sustainably to avoid the worst effects of climate change and biodiversity loss. We probably know of several changes that we ought to be making, laws that should be passed and businesses that ought to behave better. If we know all this then why does it not happen? Because knowledge is not enough, we have to pay attention also to values, beliefs and attitudes.

Welcome to Absolutely Intercultural, show number 298, the podcast about all things intercultural. My name’s Anne Fox and this show is coming to you from Denmark. In this show I am going to be examining a European project, called SysMind which aimed to focus on the building of sustainable values. The SysMind project, based in Austria and with partners in Latvia, Turkey, Spain, Ukraine and North Macedonia, aimed to help teachers embrace diversity and explore the spiritual side of sustainability. One major outcome of their work was a free online course which you could join.

What could happen after you have done this course? Hear what Liidia, a teacher in a Ukranian forestry college, has to say.

But how do you grade students on their sustainability mindset? Our last segment will present one option which was developed by the high school students themselves: Let’s hear from their teacher, Piotr.

absolutely cooperative
So let’s go absolutely cooperativec by hearing why one of the partners, Ernestine, running a sustainable rural development organisation in southern Spain joined the SysMind project.

I must say that as I listened to Ernestine talk about her organisation, Fundacion Monte Mediterraneo, and had a look around their website I had a strong urge to visit myself in their holiday accommodation.

absolutely transformative
The SysMind project ran a blended course for teachers on how to promote a sustainable mindset in their students with an emphasis on values and spirituality partly through inclusion and embracing diversity. One of the course participants was Liidia who is a teacher at a forestry college in Ukraine. Let’s hear how this course was absolutely transformative.

And you could also start this journey from being uncertain what sustainability means to becoming your organisation’s go-to person on the topic, by taking the free online course that the SysMind project developed and which you can do in your own time.

absolutely mindful
How essential is the mindset to achieving sustainability? Ernestine in Spain had a radical opinion about this which I must say I could entirely sympathise with. Let’s see if you agree as we go absolutely mindful.

absolutely certificated
If we agree about the importance of a sustainable mindset, then how do we teachers know if our students have achieved that? In the SysMind project they used a method called Sus Mind Expert which was developed by the Pilgrim School network. In order to convince your teacher of your sustainable mindset you have 14 topic areas to choose from, that loosely reflect the 17 UN sustainable development goals, and for each of these topic areas, there is a video you can watch, a prompt activity that helps you consider the spiritual aspect of the topic area and then about ten mini projects from which you choose five, to display your sustainable mindset. These could include picking up litter, an art project, a zero waste week and so on. Show your teacher evidence that you have completed these mini projects and you can collect your Sus Mind Expert certificate. But how did this start? Let’s go absolutely certificated as we talk to Piotr, a religion teacher in a Pilgrim school who was witness to this.

Although it is a certificate, it is the experience of working up to the award of the certificate that is key here. You can see the whole document by following the link on our website. As a teacher, I can see that this could easily be tweaked to meet many learning contexts.

So what do you think? Should we stop climate change research and focus on implementation? Could Liidia’s transformative experience also happen to you? And what do you think about getting a certificate for your sustainable mindset? Thank you to the members of the Sys Mind project who shared their experiences with us for this show.

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 you can get more information about this show and previous episodes, and leave comments. 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 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 Laurent Borgmann in Germany on 4th October.

Until then, stay tuned!

The host of this show is: Anne Fox