Category: Resources in ICD

Using Social Virtual Reality in Teaching Intercultural Communication

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Knutzen, K., Rothenberger, L., Tribusean, I., & Xu, Y. (2025). Using social virtual reality in teaching intercultural communication. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 30: 1167-87.

“In this study, we investigated whether intercultural communication can be learned as effectively through desktop-based social virtual reality (social VR) as it can through online study, and if social VR improves the motivation to gain cultural intelligence in distance learning. Two groups of international students attended a seminar called “Intercultural Communication”—one online via social VR rooms and videoconferencing, and one via videoconferencing only. The students then completed an online questionnaire and qualitative interviews regarding their experiences of learning intercultural encounters and development of intercultural communication skills through social VR. Based on our findings, social VR is an engaging complement to online study for learning intercultural communication competence. However, students claimed that it could not replace online or face-to-face study, and the quality of students’ experiences depended on their technical equipment. The rapid development of virtual teaching methods, virtual reality hardware, and international Internet connectivity offers the hope that learning intercultural communication via social VR will become easier in the future.”

Interdisciplinary Contributions to Interreligious and Intercultural Teacher Education

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Pruchniewicz, S., & Sarιkaya, Y. (Eds.). (2025). Interdisciplinary contributions to interreligious and intercultural teacher education: The impact of IMPACCT. Germany: Karl Alber.

Internationalisation, interculturality and interreligiosity are buzzwords that have also been pervading the field of education for years. But what happens and what moves when they are realised within the framework of a transnational academic project? This volume provides multi-perspective insights into the IMPACCT (International Mobility with Partners Abroad for Culturally Competent Teachers) project from an organisational, student and teaching perspective. The experiences, topics and future prospects of internationalised teacher education are also addressed in a reflective manner. In its various contributions, the volume shows the opportunities, challenges and levels of international co-operation between study locations in Sweden, Austria, Germany, Turkey and Switzerland. Insights that encourage us to cross borders.

UNESCO: Dialogue for Social Cohesion

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UNESCO. (2025). Dialogue for social cohesion. Paris, France: UNESCO.

At a time where division threatens the fabric of societies, dialogue offers a path forward. The Dialogue for Social Cohesion brief, developed by UNESCO in collaboration with the Berghof Foundation and Search for Common Ground, blends real-world case studies with practical recommendations, offering policymakers, practitioners, and civil society essential guidance to harness intercultural dialogue — an approach championed by UNESCO — to build resilient, cohesive societies. From theatre in South Sudan to classrooms in Germany, discover how communities are using dialogue as an adaptable, creative, and culturally rooted approach to mend fractured relationships, rebuild trust, and strengthen social bonds.

Steven Vertovec: In the Era of Superdiversity

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In the era of superdiversity: Modern migration is more complex than ever by Steven Vertovec, published by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, 28 May 2024.

The Center has previously posted about the concept of superdiversity (specifically, as one of the Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue, in English, French, and German). This discussion by the Vertovec may be relevant to others. He begins:

“In today’s interconnected world, migration is more complex than ever. Superdiversity reflects the profound diversification of processes, social and legal categories, and resultant societal configurations comprising contemporary global migration. Current human mobility patterns are complicated by an array of factors including political instability, insecurity, violence, economic opportunities, family reunification, educational aspirations, and increasingly, climate change. Understanding these multiple stimuli and their linkage is crucial as we navigate this new era of human movement.”

Robyn Penman: What If…? New Ideas for Better Social Worlds

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What if…? new ideas for better social worlds by Robyn Penman, on Substack.

Robyn Penman, longtime contributor to the Center for Intercultural Dialogue, has just started publishing a series of essays on Substack. Her focus will be on how to improve our social world.

Offering new ways for making sense of and acting into our social world so that we can collectively make a more just and more democratic society—one that we actually want to live in.

Her focus is not intercultural dialogue explicitly, but her discussion has implications for it. For example: “Our storehouse of stories is our storehouse for meaning-making. This cultural and personal storehouse of meaning provides the rationale for how we act across the economic, political, legal, and personal spheres of our social world.”

Read, and enjoy.

International & Comparative Bi/Multilingual Education Research Group (ICBERG)

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International & Comparative Bi/Multilingual Education Research Group (ICBERG).

A message from Cristian R. Aquino-Sterling, Founder and Co-Director, ICBERG:

“As bi-/multilingual education continues to gain momentum as a dynamic field of research, practice, and advocacy globally, there is a growing need for a unified, strategic vision to guide its systematic internationalization. As scholars dedicated to advancing bi-/multilingual education within and beyond our national contexts, we are excited and honored to introduce you to the work of the International and Comparative Bi-/Multilingual Education Research Group (ICBERG).

At ICBERG, we envision a global movement and a vibrant community of interculturally aware, open-minded, and engaged scholar-practitioners. Together, we are committed to forging innovative, transnational pathways for research, practice, professional development, and advocacy in bi-/multilingual education. Drawing from diverse conceptual, theoretical, and research traditions across the world, ICBERG aims to be a steadfast force for fostering international partnerships, nurturing collaborations, and driving globally-informed innovations that make a meaningful impact within, across, and beyond national borders.

We warmly invite members of the Center for Intercultural Dialogue with an interest in bi-/multilingual education research to participate in our EduTalk Series. Join our international community to engage in thought-provoking discussions on cutting-edge research aimed at advancing bi-/multilingual education.

For more information about the program and to register (all ICBERG activities are free of charge!), please visit our website.

We look forward to your participation!”

ICBERG – Program of Activities – January – May 2025

SALTO-Youth: Value the Difference Resource Pack

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Value the Difference Resource Pack, SALTO-Youth, ERASMUS+ Youth.

Value the Difference Resource Pack has been prepared by SALTO-Youth (Support, Advanced Learning and Training Opportunities for Youth), with funding from ERASMUS+ Youth. Value the Difference is intended for youth workers, containing information and tools to engage young people across many topics relating to cultural diversity. This resource pack explores the topic of cultural diversity and many of the related and complex issues people in Europe face today, so together we can embrace and celebrate each one of those differences.

It is designed as a starting point for exploration of cultural diversity by youth workers (or anyone who works with young people).

The resource pack contains nine chapters, each offering background information, case studies and practical examples of how to engage young people with the topics:

  • Media
  • Migration and Cultural Diversity
  • Asylum Seekers and Refugees
  • Mediation
  • Cross Community
  • Identity
  • Youth Subcultures
  • Citizenship
  • Intercultural Competence

Crossing Borders: The Power of Discovering the ‘Other’ film

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Crossing Borders: The Power of Discovering the ‘Other’, Crossing Borders Education, UK.

Crossing Borders, a 70 minute documentary by Crossing Borders Films, follows four Moroccan and four American university students as they travel together through Morocco and, in the process of discovering The Other, discover themselves. With group travels and frank discussions, the students confront the complex implications of the supposed clash of civilizations between Islam and the West. At a time when public figures spout xenophobic prose that rejects religious and national groups in their entirety, this hopeful film demonstrates the power of curiosity and empathy to triumph over fear and judgment when people are willing to open their hearts and minds to new ways of seeing each Other and the world. The relationships formed through shared experiences contrast sharply with the media-shaped views Americans and Muslims have of each other. Humor, honesty and a willingness to be challenged all bring individuals closer to each other and the relationships that develop disarm hidden stereotypes.

Crossing Borders Education creates resources that are designed to serve society by strengthening vital skills and character through engaging media and peer-led intergroup dialogues. Crossing Borders Education is an international non-profit organization and charity registered in the UK.

Cultural Dialogue at Home – Austrian Hosts and Syrian Refugees

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Cultural dialogue at home – Austrian hosts and Syrian refugees: An autoethnographic narrative by by Corina Ahlers (printed version, 2019; Taos Institute Publications WorldShare Books version, 2024). The ebook version is free to download.

This book is filled with tender, funny and frustrating scenes, as Viennese and Syrian cultures meet and mingle, and sometimes clash. Much can be learned about multicultural relations by reading this book.

In 2015 a great influx of Syrian refugees flooded Europe. Vienna was one of the cities that had a large group of people with no place to be. Many citizens who were sympathetic to these people became involved in charitable projects, including providing food, money, and other forms of care. Few went so far as to open up their homes so that refugees could live with them. This book describes the experience of Corina Ahlers, a family therapist and teacher, who opened up the apartment on the ground floor of her home, in a lovely suburb of Vienna to several refugees. Inter-cultural experiences of a great variety are described, as Corina, her husband, Reinhard, and their dog, invite their new residents to share in the Austrian lifestyle, as they open themselves to share in theirs. In the first month they hosted two men (Tarek, age 45 and Can, age 33). One month later, the second wife of Tarek, a widow with a little girl (Samira, age 25 and Leyla, age 6), arrived. Tarek’s first wife arrived in Vienna with 5 children (aged 18, 17, 14, 10, and 9) six months later. Previously his first family had lived in a big Jordanian refugee camp. From the moment his first family arrived, he switched between Corina’s house, where his second wife and her daughter lived, and the new home of his first family in another district of Vienna. Can had no relatives in Austria, and he stayed until May 2016. Tarek, Samira and Leyla moved out at the end of 2017. They found a one-room apartment on the other side of the city, very near to Tarek’s first family’s flat.

Related publication: Key Concept #1: Intercultural dialogue by Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz.

DiLCo Video Reader: A YouTube-based Collection of Lectures on Digital Language & Communication Research

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DiLCo Video Reader: A YouTube-based Collection of Lectures on Digital Language and Communication Research, DiLCo Network (“Digital Language Variation in Context”, University of Hamburg), Germany.

The DiLCo Video Reader is a dedicated YouTube channel with 36 video-recorded presentations that were commissioned and produced by the DiLCo Network (“Digital Language Variation in Context”, University of Hamburg) from 2021-2024.

Authored and delivered by expert researchers from all over the world, these videos represent state of-the art scholarship covering qualitative (interactional, ethnographic), quantitative (variationist, computational), and mixed-methods approaches to digital language and communication research in linguistics.

The DiLCo Video Reader is arranged in 12 Playlists grouped by topic or methodology:

[01] Digital language variation and change
[02] Digitally mediated interaction
[03] Digital discourse and narrative
[04] Semiotic features and communicative practices
[05] Enregisterment on social media
[06] Perceptions and ideologies of digital language
[07] Researching TikTok
[08] Multilingual practices across methods
[09] Approaches to multimodal and transmodal analysis
[10] Digital methods: Research ethics
[11] Digital methods: Natural Language Processing
[12] Digital methods: Multi-sited fieldwork and on/offline nexus analysis

All video content is also available in a chronological listing. And full details are available in a citeable Information file (DOI: https://doi.org/10.25592/uhhfdm.14786). Organizers hope the DiLCo Video Reader will be useful to scholars worldwide as a resource for research and teaching. (If interested in further discussion, connect directly with the DiLCo Team at the University of Hamburg.)

Links:
YouTube channel
Information file
Network website