The Center for Intercultural Dialogue (CID) facilitates intercultural dialogues through helping scholars learn about the work of international peers, locate researchers with similar interests in other countries, or collaborate for research purposes. Definitely read About CID and What is CID?, and you may wish to skim through the CID mission, history, even read our brochure, or the site FAQ. CID’s legal residence is Washington, D.C., the home of the Council of Communication Associations, our parent organization, but email is always the fastest way to connect.
Specific activities include the following:
Clearinghouse
CID serves as a clearinghouse for Communication scholars interested in a variety of topics supporting research into intercultural dialogue as well as intercultural research and collaboration more generally, and so maintains a series of resources. In order to facilitate connections between scholars who share interests but do not yet know each other, CID posts profiles for both scholars and practitioners involved in topics related to intercultural dialogue around the world, and maintains lists of centers and organizations sharing common goals around the world. CID encourages international travel (including international teaching opportunities, and study abroad opportunities for students). There are additional lists of potentially relevant readings in intercultural dialogue, as well as blogs, podcasts, and videotapes.
Publications
CID currently publishes Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue, Constructing Intercultural Dialogues, In Dialogue: CID Occasional Papers, and Intercultural Dialogue Exercises, as well as translations, as scholars fluent in various languages (over 3 dozen to date) make time to create them (these have mostly been of Key Concepts, but there is one of a case study). We also publish CID Posters, which can be downloaded and printed, as a way to show important content visually. If you see a concept that’s important to you missing from our list, or if you have a case study of a time that intercultural dialogue was attempted (whether or not it was successful), if you have a favorite exercise designed to help encourage intercultural dialogue, or if you want to write up a longer analysis of intercultural dialogue for the occasional papers series, send an email with details. If you are fluent in a language other than English, and see that something of interest to you has not yet been translated into that language, send an email. If you have graphic design experience, and/or have a quote that would work well as a poster, again, send an email.
In addition to original publications, we maintain a basic bibliography of readings on intercultural dialogue and related topics, as well as publishing occasional book notes, quotes, and even poetry. If you have published something relevant, please send in the citation and we will consider adding it in the appropriate category. Publication opportunities are also often described, as well as various sorts of collaborative opportunities.
Grants
One of the Center’s activities has been to obtain funding and distribute micro-grants for cultural research to Communication scholars so they can travel in order to develop, or take advantage of existing, international research connections. Two sets of micro-grants have been awarded to date: the first was funded by the National Communication Association, and the second by the Association for Business Communication (both groups were members of the Council of Communication Associations, the parent organization of CID, at the time). If and when additional funding is available, information will be posted to the site.
In the meantime, a list of many likely sources of grant funding is maintained, and individual posts on specific grant opportunities appear frequently. Documentation for the Fulbright International Exchange Program, an obvious source of funding for international collaborative research, is available, including multiple examples of specific scholars describing their own experiences. If you have been a Fulbright scholar in Communication or a cognate discipline yourself, send an email with details so we can share your experience more widely, providing additional models for those potentially interested in that program.
Profiles
CID posts profiles of researchers and practitioners with interests in intercultural dialogue and related matters, organized by geographic location. If you are traveling or need a collaborator, review these profiles. If you wish to be added, please email a profile for review. You’ll be asked in what activity you would like to participate: writing or translating for CID are the most common. We also have profiles posted for a variety of additional people affiliated with CID: the Director, Associate Director, Advisory Board members, and interns.
Guest Posts
CID occasionally publishes guest posts with insights on intercultural dialogue issues by a variety of people. Many of these focus on direct observation of interactions between members of different cultural groups, but others are more abstract reflections. If you have a brief discussion you would like to see appear on the site, please submit it for review. (Guest posts are usually 1-2 pages. If you have a longer example, 3-4 pages, consider submitting it for consideration to be published as one of the case studies in the Constructing Intercultural Dialogues series.)
CID Video Competitions
In 2018, CID organized its first ever video competition, open to students enrolled in any college or university. The goal was to answer the question What does intercultural dialogue look like? After evaluations by a wonderful set of judges, the top entries in 2018 were posted to the CID YouTube channel, and shared across all the social media on which CID has a presence. In 2019, the second iteration of the competition asked students to answer a different question: How do social media influence intercultural dialogue? Again videos were evaluated by an international set of judges, and the top entries in 2019 were posted to the CID YouTube channel, and shared across all the social media on which CID has a presence. In 2020, the competition asked students to focus on listening, as listening is how intercultural dialogue starts. As before, we owe a debt of thanks to the international panel of judges, and again top entries in 2020 were posted to the CID YouTube channel.
Social Media
CID has a substantial social media presence including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, as well as an entry in Wikipedia. As of March 2022, there are 1900+ members of the Facebook group, 700+ followers on Twitter, 550+ members of the LinkedIn group, and 1300+ people who follow the site directly through WordPress (either through their own blogs, or through email notifications). NOTE: CID does not have a listserve, and does not send out routine emails. If you get daily or weekly emails from us, that means you signed up through WordPress. You can cancel your subscription at any time: just click on the ‘unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of the next email you receive.
Conferences and other Events
CID only very occasionally co-sponsors events, such as the Roundtable on Intercultural Dialogue in Asia, held at the University of Macau in March 2014. (A short video documenting that event was posted to the CID YouTube channel.) More often, we post information about events organized by others, in order to help them get the word out. CID strongly encourages scholars to travel internationally in order to meet professional colleagues around the world, and conferences are one of the most obvious ways to begin. There is an ever-expanding and nearly infinite list of interesting conferences, so the conferences posted to this website will only include international conferences, or topics relating to intercultural dialogue or other intercultural subjects. Please contact the conference organizers if you wish to attend, not CID – there should always be a link in the post to more complete information!
Professional Opportunities
Since many of those who contact CID are looking for new positions, job ads (either for faculty or administrative positions outside the US or those specifically related to intercultural dialogue within or outside the US) are frequently posted. For similar reasons, information describing opportunities for fellowships, studentships, and postdocs are also described. Please do NOT apply directly to CID for any of these opportunities – there should always be a link in the post to more complete information.
Center for Intercultural Dialogue 