MAY 11, 2022 @ 11:30 am (Eastern)

Sensing Culture, Embodying Race:
A Sensorial Approach to Intercultural Communication   

Your Presenters:
Christopher Brown, Ph.D., & Sachi Sekimoto, Ph.D.

Numerous social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic brought to us the onslaught of sensory deprivation – no more live music, friendly hugs and kisses, live audiences in sports, dining at a restaurant, and socializing without a facemask and appropriate social distance. The pandemic has reminded us of the vulnerability of our biological bodies and the sensorial richness of our social bodies. In this session, we explore what it means to understand race and culture from sensorial perspectives. We focus on everyday experiences of felt sensations such as tactility (skin sensation) and kinesthetics (movements, rhythmic attunements) to expand our understanding of race and culture.

11-May-2022: Still want to register? Contact admin@sietarusa.org

April  2022

The Interculturalist’s Role in the Refugee’s Journey

The plight of refugees is spotlighted by recent events in Ukraine as well as the pull-out from Afghanistan. Interculturalists have been working with refugees throughout the past decades. What have they learned from their research and front-line experience? What can we expect going forward? How can we help? A panel of interculturalists who have studied and worked with refugee issues  present lessons learned from their experience with time for questions and discussion.

March 2022

Culture and the Dual Career Dilemma

How does culture affect dual career dilemmas and decisions?  Join Yvonne Quahe, author of Whose Career -Yours, Mine or Ours, as she unpacks the impact of culture on careers, and more particularly women’s careers.  She will share how the CARE Code can help better decision making. The book is based on both her personal experience of being a  globally mobile dual career couple as well as more than 15 years of experience working with a multicultural clients.

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

February 2022

Mission Everest: A Platform to Encourage Intercultural Collaboration

In this webinar, you'll learn about: 

• What's the story behind the making of the Simulation?
• Climbing Everest virtually - How does it happen?
• Learning insights - How do they emerge?
• How does the process encourage intercultural collaboration?
  

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

January 2022

Connect & Reflect: Roll Into 2022!

Got goals for 2022? It's not too late! In the first installment of SIETAR USA's webinar series for 2022, attendees connected on Zoom with fellow Sietarians and explored their direction for 2022. In small breakout groups, you’ll roll the dice and follow the prompts. This session provides the opportunity to reflect on personal growth from your experiences in 2021, or share who you draw inspiration from or what direction you want for your intercultural/DEI career in 2022, or even make up your own prompt. Together,  inspire each other and gather momentum with insights for 2022!

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

2021 SIETAR USA Webinars

All recordings of webinars from the 2021 series shown below are available to SIETAR USA members at no charge; non-members may purchase a recording by following the link at the end of each webinar description. Note: No webinars were held in August or December 2021.

NOVEMBER

The Intercultural Praxis Model: Advancing a
Vision & Practice of Healing & Justice

Presenter: Kathryn Sorrells,
Professor of Communication Studies
Cal State University - Northridge

We are living in challenging, divisive, and potentially transformative times. Today, intercultural issues such as the realities and awareness of disparities, environmental devastation, and state-sanctioned violence are heightened locally, nationally and globally. So too, awareness of historic and current systemic inequities, efforts to build multiracial/intercultural coalitions, and goals of tangible equitable outcomes are on the rise. Thus, amidst the complexities and paradoxes, central questions emerge: What is our role? How can we, as educators, trainers, and researchers, leverage our spheres of influence for accountability, repair and transformative justice? Using an intercultural praxis approach, Kathryn Sorrells addresses the possibilities and challenges of advancing a vision and practice of healing and justice.

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

Best Practices for Writing an Intercultural Book

A Panel Discussion featuring Dr. Darla K. Deardorff, Shannon Murphy,
Dr. Patricia Cassiday, and Sandra Fowler

Moderated by Julia Gaspar-Bates

Have you ever wanted to write an intercultural book but didn't know where to begin? Many interculturalists carry extensive knowledge that they already share with their clients and students, that could also reach a much wider audience. In this panel discussion, several authors share their experience of writing and publishing an intercultural book. Learn key insights into proposal writing, tips on the research and writing process, the pros and cons of self-publishing versus working with a publishing house, and best practices for co-writing and marketing your book.

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

SEPTEMBER

Mindfulness in Intercultural Teaching and Learning

Presenter: Tara Harvey, Ph.D., Founder, True North Intercultural

Intercultural training has advanced significantly over the years, from focusing primarily on teaching about cultural differences to helping participants develop the skills needed to act in interculturally competent ways. While mindfulness has been recognized as an important concept in intercultural communication for some time, until recently few educators incorporated mindfulness practices into their work.  However, as mindfulness programs become more prevalent—from Google to the military to K-12 schools—and research heralds their impact, more intercultural educators are recognizing the value of both practicing and teaching mindfulness to enhance their own and others’ intercultural competence.

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

JULY

Storytelling: How it Fosters Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

Presenter: Joanna Sell, Certified Intercultural Coach & Trainer

As intercultural trainers, cross-cultural coaches and/or D&I facilitators, how can
we use storytelling to enhance and strengthen the effectiveness of our work?

In this webinar, Intercultural Coach and Trainer Joanna Sell shares with us her wealth of experience and her expertise in applying a storytelling approach to her intercultural and D&I work.

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

JUNE
On the Art and Nature of Friendship
Presenter: Daniel Cantor Yalowitz, Ed.D.

Executive Director/Principal/Creativity Maven, DCY Consulting

Daniel Yalowitz explores the multifaceted, endlessly fascinating, and delightfully complex experience of human friendship.  Just as no two people are alike, neither are any two friendships.   He leads participants through an examination of some of the many universal considerations of friendship based on his years of intercultural research and the recent publication of his book, Reflections on the Nature of Friendship. 

MAY

Silk Road Rising: Art, Activism, and Why Representation Matters

Presenter: Jamil Khoury, Award-Winning Theater Producer, Playwright, Essayist and Filmmaker

Representation matters: it molds perceptions, informs conversations, and influences policies. In this webinar, Silk Road Rising Co-Founder and Co-Executive Artistic Director Jamil Khoury uses the artistic works of this organization to demonstrate how storytelling serves as a catalyst for expanding representation, creating change, and building community. Based in Chicago, Silk Road Rising is a community-centered art-making and arts service organization founded in 2002 by Khoury and his husband Malik Gillani as a response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

APRIL

Psychology of Cultural Humility: An Emotion Critical for Intercultural Development

Presenter: Andrej Juriga,  Founder & Managing Director, Cultural Bridge

The globalized and interconnected world has made the case for the development of intercultural skills stronger than ever before. The intersection of cultural anthropology, sociology, history, psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience is helping us to develop methods, concepts, and tools to enhance one’s ability to work effectively across differences. We aspire to understand the world around us mainly at the cognitive level, reflect on how to bridge the differences, and eventually step out of our comfort zones flexing our own behaviors.

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

MARCH

This past year has motivated many interculturalists and DEI professionals to “up” their virtual game, with much time and energy devoted to learning and practicing new tools and strategies for engaging online amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. While many in the field have been facilitating uncertainty management and adaptation skill development for years, the current pandemic presents new challenges and opportunities. 

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

FEBRUARY

Evolution of Change: From Revolutionary
to DEI Interculturalist

Presenter: Elmer Dixon, Community Activist and President, Executive Diversity Services

Longtime community activist Elmer Dixon traces his activist beginning to Stokely Carmichael, a leader in the Black Power movement: “Stokely’s message of racial pride and unity made us realize that Black is beautiful.” The goals of the Black Power movement went beyond civil rights to human rights—by any means available. From Black Panthers to Black Lives Matter, Dixon says knowing who you are and choosing your own labels is of utmost importance.  

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

JANUARY

Creating Inclusive Multicultural Teams Remotely

Presenter: Gigi de Groot, Leadership Specialist (FAB), and Virtual Classroom Facilitator

Our working life changed dramatically with the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead of the occasional Skype meeting or possibly weekly update via Teams, we now spend several hours daily on a variety of online platforms—collaborating on projects, planning strategy, checking in and getting updates, etc.  Whether you are managing a team or work as an independent consultant, the need for effective and inclusive virtual working environments is clear.

Purchase the recording of this webinar.

2020 SIETAR USA Webinar Series

All recordings of webinars from the 2020 series shown below are available to SIETAR USA members at no charge; non-members may purchase a recording by following the link at the end of each webinar description. Note: No webinars were held in August or October 2020.

DECEMBER

The Power of Art to Promote Intercultural Understanding

Art is powerful—it offers the potential to delight, inspire, and educate and also to confuse and even repulse. It can open us up orclose us down. In other words, art is a perfect platform for cultural exploration and for developing self-awareness and skill-building in intercultural communication. In her recently published book, Art inSight: Understanding Art and Why It Matters, Fanchon Silberstein explains where art's power comes from and how interculturalists can use it creatively to build observation skills that are critical for success in multicultural environments.  To purchase a recording of this webinar, click here.

NOVEMBER

Using Cultural Assets to Shift Paradigms: A Case Study in Ensley
Presenter: Bettina Byrd-Giles, Interculturalist, Health Equity Expert, and Community Change Agent

Bettina Byrd-Giles brings us her real-world application of interculturalism and DEI concepts and principles to an innovative project she initiated to transform the culture of Ensley, a local community in the Birmingham (Alabama) area.  As CEO of the local health care center and co-founder of “Ensley Alive”, Bettina partnered with artists and businesspeople to re-brand and rejuvenate the community using intercultural techniques and storytelling, especially highlighting the local jazz heritage. Additionally, as a fellow of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation “Culture of Health Leaders” program, she launched “Branding Ensley” to further bring about paradigm shifts.

SEPTEMBER

Critical Lessons on Developing Global Leaders

Presenter: Dr. Joyce Osland, Co-Founder of GLLab & Senior Partner, The Kozai Group

This session focuses on research findings and practical lessons learned from the Global Leadership Lab (GLLab), which was established in 2008 to identify and test best practices in global leadership development--“crucible” experiences that produce transformational development. The GLLab, which has trained over 1300 participants, combines an assessment center approach with experiential learning designed to accelerate the development of global leadership expertise. Attendees will learn how to design effective training programs and avoid pitfalls. 

JULY

Presenter: Dr. Justin Sitron, Associate Dean in the College of Health and Human Services, Widener University

Interculturalists work at the intersection of relationships and societies.  We help folks to prepare to work with others who are different and similar, navigate challenges they have with one another, and to teach people how to leverage generalizations, avoid stereotypes, and manage our biases.  Sexuality around the globe is one of the most taboo aspects of culture, and one of the most important aspects of people’s lives.  Dr. Sitron will explore these intersections, recommend strategies, and discuss some of the nuances of language that can be challenging when we are trying to affirm people’s lived experiences.

To purchase the recording of this webinar, click here.

JUNE

Tight versus Loose: A Key to Unlocking Our Cultural Divides

Presenter: Michele Gelfand, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of Maryland

Over the past century, we have explored the solar system, split the atom, and wired the earth, but somehow, despite all of our technical prowess, we have struggled to understand something far more important: our own cultural differences. Observing the wide variety of cultural permutations, people assumed for centuries that there were as many explanations for these permutations and rifts as there were examples of them.

To purchase the recording of this webinar, click here.

MAY

Becoming American: How Prominent Immigrant Women Cracked the US-American Culture Code 

Presenter: Dr. Fiona Citkin, award-winning author of “How They Made It in America” and “Transformational Diversity”

It took 4 years to research and write her new book about the immigrant women becoming American success stories—and in 60 minutes she will clarify how to use this book to the best advantage, for yourself and your students/clients. This webinar is about cultural awareness, women’s courage, inspiration, and application.   

To purchase the recording of this webinar, click here.

APRIL

Change Management with Insight from Brain Science

Presenter: Dr. Mai Nguyen-Phuong-Mai, Associate Professor at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

In the modern era of international business, the ability of individuals and corporations to adjust and change is critical. But we can’t turn away from the fact that change has a low rate of success. Only 25% of corporate change initiatives are successful over the long term. Old habits die hard. 

To purchase the recording of this webinar, click here.

Understanding Misunderstandings in the Era of Globalization

Presenter: Joe Lurie, Executive Director Emeritus, UC-Berkley International House

FEBRUARY

Intercultural Frameworks for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Work

Presenter: Dr. Amer F. Ahmed, Founder/CEO, AFA Diversity Consulting, LLC

In this webinar, Dr. Ahmed talks about this dichotomy between the intercultural approaches used in international and global efforts and the DE & I approach used in U.S. contexts, the fact that many opportunities are missed due to the lack of synthesis of the two approaches. and how it often prevents us from understanding the relationship between local and global factors that impact our ability to engage constituencies holistically. This webinar was held February 4, 2020.

To purchase the recording of this webinar, click here.

JANUARY

Style Switching for Success with Multicultural Groups

Presenter: Julia Gaspar-Bates, President, Intercultural Alliances, LLC

This interactive webinar features anecdotal stories as well as practical tips and skills learned from over three decades of working and training across cultures to remind intercultural practitioners of the need to walk the talk in their work to overcome a “one size fits all” approach to training and teaching widely diverse audiences. This webinar was held January 14, 2020.

To purchase the recording of this webinar, click here.