Intercultural competence - Key qualification for the 21st century?

A recurring issue in promoting intercultural dialogue is the importance of intercultural skills for cooperation among people on a local and global level. Against this backdrop, the Bertelsmann Stiftung has initiated a discussion about intercultural competence.

The first step was a workshop on January 20, 2006, where experts from the United States and Germany discussed the latest findings by US researcher Dr. Darla Deardorff on what intercultural competence is, and how it can be communicated. These discussions and the study by Dr. Darla Deardorff are the starting point for the Bertelsmann Stiftung's thesis paper on the concept "Intercultural competence - Key qualification for the 21st century?" The Bertelsmann Stiftung believes that in the coming years dealing constructively with cultural diversity and different value systems on an interpersonal level will be considered one of the basic skills of managers in transnational companies, and will also become a general educational goal and factor for success. In order to "deal constructively," an individual must be able to interact effectively and reasonably in intercultural situations drawing on unique abilities to act and reflect (the definition of intercultural competence). The development of intercultural competence is complicated, multidimensional and-depending on the specific intercultural situation (age of the participants, place and context of the encounter)-can be highly diversified. Learning intercultural skills is a continual and dynamic process. For details please see the thesis paper.

The Bertelsmann Stiftung discussion paper and Dr. Darla Deardorff's policy paper are currently available for download at right in German and English. The discussion paper is meant to fuel debate and build a foundation for further project development on cultural dialogue and the challenges of a global education.