Tag: Minh Cao

CID is on Wikipedia

About CIDIn case there has been any doubt, the Center for Intercultural Dialogue definitely exists – and we know this because now there is a Wikipedia entry saying so!

CID Wikipedia entry

This was created as one response to the National Communication Association’s call for increased entries on communication-related topics by communication specialists. (Details may be found on the NCA Wikipedia Initiative page.) For those who have not yet created an article on Wikipedia, the official standards are quite stringent about what is sufficiently “notable” to merit an article. (Of course, that doesn’t mean all articles currently posted meet those standards.) And there is an elaborate formal system to learn in order to participate in the site. But in today’s world, there is a sense in which any serious endeavor should be represented there, so it seemed worthwhile creating an article.

Minh Cao gets credit for taking the time to first learn the guidelines, and post the first draft. For those who have not yet created articles, a warning: this took 3 drafts over 2 months, and help from 4 different editors at Wikipedia, before approval was granted for a substantially shorter article than originally envisioned. Apparently such delay and critique are common.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director
Center for Intercultural Dialogue

CID and Social Media

About CIDIn addition to the Facebook group page developed several years ago, the Center for Intercultural Dialogue now has a social media presence that includes LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Google+.

social media logos

Nearly all of this activity is due to the efforts of Minh Cao, Assistant to the Director.  Minh also learned the required format to post on Wikipedia – an entry on CID is currently under review and will be described in a post once it is public. [UPDATE: CID is now on Wikipedia as well!]

Several colleagues have asked why a broad social media presence is valuable (and whether it is worth the considerable time it takes). The short answer is that social media permit CID to meet interculturalists on whatever platform they choose to spend their time. A further question might be: are so many people really using social media today? The answer to that comes from the Pew Internet and American Life Project which just posted their Social Media Update for 2013. They conclude:

Some 73% of online adults now use a social networking site of some kind. Facebook is the dominant social networking platform in the number of users, but a striking number of users are now diversifying onto other platforms. Some 42% of online adults now use multiple social networking sites.

Substantial thanks are due to Minh for making the CID accessible across multiple platforms in 2013. The goal for 2014 will be to determine what content best fits each of these contexts, and to expand the impact of the CID as a result.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director
Center for Intercultural Dialogue

CID has Pinterest Account

About CIDPinterest-CIDThe Center for Intercultural Dialogue recently started a Pinterest account, thanks to the efforts of Minh Cao, Assistant to the Director.

For those who prefer to access information through visual rather than verbal content, this will be a place to go to see images related to intercultural dialogue that have originally been posted to this website, or on other similar sites (such as UNESCO, UNAOC or ACIDI). Current content includes photographs, images from our publications, and word clouds used on the site. It’s also a good way to see what websites we’ve been surfing.

CID has a New Home Page

About CIDThe Center for Intercultural Dialogue has been updating the website over the last few months, and a new home page has just been introduced, thanks to the efforts of Minh Cao, Assistant to the Director.

cid_homepage_snapshot

The photos on the home page were chosen to represent a variety of CID activities: talks, micro grants, contributions from readers. For more information about the people or locations mentioned, use the captions to help you find the relevant posts using the search bar. The gradual introduction over the past several months of visual material into the website has almost always been a result of Minh’s efforts: look for embedded videos, graphic designs,  word clouds, more photographs and logos. I am indebted to Minh for making the website user friendly.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director
Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Harron Chair talk: Intercultural Dialogue

Harron Lecture flyerOn November 11, 2013, I presented the Harron Family Endowed Chair Lecture entitled “Intercultural Dialogue: Who Needs It? Who Promotes It? Who Studies It?” This is the one public lecture expected of the Harron Chair at Villanova University, and this semester I serve in that position. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Jean Ann Linney provided a brief history of the Harron Family Endowed Chair for the audience, and Dr. Maurice Hall, Communication Department Chair, introduced me. There was a large crowd (more than expected, about 75 – sorry about the lack of chairs for the last dozen to come!) and good questions from not only faculty members but also students. Thanks to Chad Fahs for videotaping, and Minh Cao who set up a new YouTube channel for the Center (more about that in a separate post), you can see an excerpt of the talk (above).

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director
Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Save

CID Welcomes the New Assistant to the Director

CID has recently welcomed Minh Cao, a graduate student in Communication at Villanova University, as the Assistant to the Director of the Center. Minh is currently in the second year of her academic program, working on her Master’s dissertation while assisting the Director with website content management. She is excited to be part of the project, especially when her personal and academic backgrounds show great connections to the work of the Center.

Minh grew up in Hanoi, Vietnam, where she spent 18 years before embarking on her academic journeys in the U.S. Having vastly enjoyed her conversation with one of the Villanova’s ambassadors who was at a college fair in Vietnam, Minh decided to pursue her undergraduate degree at Villanova University. She chose Global Interdisciplinary Studies (GIS) as her major, the name of which often causes inquiring looks from others. One can simply understand GIS as the studies of a perspective that embodies interrelating disciplines in regarding, comprehending and accessing global matters. GIS has, in many ways, complimented Minh’s academic endeavor in Communication, as the latter turns out to have much of the same nature as her previous degree.

Minh looks forward to contributing to CID and hopes that she can provide additional help in fostering the mission of the Center.

%d bloggers like this: