Communication Tools for Understanding Cultural Differences


Here are several comments on cross cultural communication. African-American mediator S.Y. Bowland talks about cultural stereotypes and cultural competency, as does white scholar and mediator Kevin Avruch. Both of them relate their comments to U.S. race relations, while Louise Diamond talks about cross cultural communication between Greeks and Turks in Cyprus.


S.Y. Bowland discusses third party cultural competency.

Kevin Avruch talks about ways intervenors can raise their cultural competency.

S.Y. Bowland on cultural stereotypes.

Louise Diamond talks about her work with dialogue groups in Cyprus.

Silke Hansen discusses a situation in which language was a significant hindrance to the mediation process.

Will Reed recounts a cultural misunderstanding that he had with a group of Native American leaders.

Civil rights mediator Efrain Martinez explains how cultural misunderstandings between Vietnamese and local fisherman in Texas caused tensions and eventually a killing (though the killing isn't described here).
This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).


Beyond Intractability Version II
Copyright © 2003-2006 The Beyond Intractability Project
Beyond Intractability is a Registered Trademark of the University of Colorado
Project Acknowledgements

The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project
Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess, Co-Directors and Editors
c/o Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado
Campus Box 580, Boulder, CO 80309
Phone: (303)492-1635; Fax: (303)492-2154; Contact