Multicultural Diplomacy

In this interactive workshop I firstly explore the concept of multiculturalism in its many facets. Participants’ own understanding, interpretations and views of the term multiculturalism will be gathered. These personal experiences and views will then be contrasted with scholarly explorations of the term, starting with the origins in the human rights movements. Theoretical analyses of the idea(l) of multiculturalism will then be presented, including misleading and current conceptualizations. The second part of the workshop focuses on the applied side or (multi)-cultural competences necessary to navigate today’s multicultural world. What are the key competences lying at the heart of multicultural diplomacy, ensuring sustainable development? Guided by developmental psychological theory, the diversity model applied by the German Academy for International Cooperation and the Council of Europe deliberations on cultural competences we will interactively develop and discuss a catalogue of competences conducive to living as equals in culturally diverse societies