Creating an Intercultural City
As an interculturalist, I’ve spent most of my adult career teaching others about the importance of diversity and intercultural exchange. Most of my colleagues have devoted their lives to the education and training of individuals and corporations on the need for cultural understanding and communication. But what if we could teach entire cities?
That is what the Intercultural City program attempts to do. The program is one of many initiatives at the Council of Europe, an international organization devoted to European human rights and democracy. The idea began in 2004 when the British think tank, Comedia, created a research program entitled “The Intercultural City: Making the Most of Diversity.” Their goal was to examine the benefits of cultural diversity and how a combination of cultural skills can lead to innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. From there, the Intercultural City program grew.
The program works with culturally diverse cities and helps them develop intercultural strategies to manage diversity positively. Too many cities ignore diversity or simply don’t know how to manage it.
Some of the positive outcomes of the program include:
Improved trust between groups from different cultural backgrounds
Improved openness and tolerance among the city population
Improved urban safety
Positive public image of diversity
Decreased intensity of conflicts
The Intercultural Cities program is a great example of what intercultural training should be about — a focus on the advantages of working with other cultures and how diversity can be an opportunity for self-improvement, innovation, and community growth.
Rochester, Minnesota recently became the first US city to join this initiative. Will your city be next?
Contact me at hello@nicolebarile.com if you’d like to learn more or visit me here. #futureofglobalwork