Dutch Intercultural (In)Competence

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Dutch Intercultural (In)Competence

In the context of the Dutch Kingdom

a (very) small inquiry

Willem de Vlaming

Full Paper LINK

I have a professional and personal curiousness regarding communication - especially dialogue aimed at ‘balancing inquiry and advocacy’ as presented by Rick Ross and Charlotte Roberts in The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. ‘When balancing advocacy and inquiry, we lay out our reasoning and thinking, and then encourage others to challenge us. “Here is my view and here is how I arrived at it. How does it sound to you? What makes sense to you and what doesn’t? Do you see any ways I can improve it?”’ This dialogue requires an unconditional and assumption free willingness to learn, understand and respect each other. The specific trigger to dig a bit deeper into intercultural aspects of dialogue, is due to my recent work in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Sabine McKinnon states that intercultural competence cannot be acquired in a short space of time, “it is not a naturally occurring phenomenon but a lifelong process which needs to be addressed explicitly in learning and teaching and staff development. Critical reflection becomes a “powerful tool” on the journey towards achieving it.”

This paper is a small inquiry and construction of a small toolbox — as part of my own learning journey and will probably get updates from time to time. I hope it will inspire and help others on their journey to reflect on their intercultural competence.

Aalsmeer January 2018

 

Vlaming, Willem de (2018). Dutch Intercultural (In)Competence. In the context of the Dutch Kingdom. A (very) small inquiry. Aalsmeer: WdV-Advies. [op: www.wdv-advies.com]

Full Paper LINK