Why the Globalization?

Globalization—what is it, is it real, and how does it affect us? Responses to these questions elicit fear and hope, praise and condemnation, benevolence and violence. Globalization is laden with  political, social, economic, ecological, ethical, moral and religious implications, whose cultural dynamics often fail to be recognized and discussed either academically or practically in the rush to seize opportunity, to act and react in the face of rapid change. Globalization is linked with both cooperation and wars, economic development and new forms of colonialism, planetary stewardship and wholesale destruction of irreplaceable resources, migration and forced displacement of peoples, retrenchment in local pride and traditional values and belief systems, withdrawal and resistance.

Globalization raises questions and points to paradoxes and challenges not only on the macro level but also for individuals, families and local groups:

• What is the culture that drives corporate globalization? How does it affect the cultures of the communities it meets?
• How do community cultures react, change, and resist in the face of corporate, economic and political expansion and homogenization?
• How can unique collective experiences, histories and traditions be respected and continue to nourish us, while building common ground in larger frameworks?
• How can people participate in global change processes? Who is included and who is not?
• Who wins and who loses when international-level changes occur in social, political, economic and ecological conditions? Who benefits and who is deprived?
• To what degree are the cultural values, paradigms and behaviors of “old” democracies linked to a growing disempowerment in the face of the larger, transnational context?
• How can national and group as well as personal boundaries and identity be negotiated in an increasingly global environment? Who is an insider, who an outsider in a specific setting, and why? How wide are our choices when it comes to being with, working with and living within other cultural values systems?
• What personal psychological, spiritual and cultural resources do people need to live, work and thrive in a shifting global environment?
• What is the role of fear and trust in the management of information and public opinion, in the creation of political and economic power? How are cultures of fear and trust created? How are they managed and manipulated? How can trust be built across cultures?
• What does it mean to be a “global citizen?”
• What is the culture of interculturalists? What heritage and costs are associated with our current management of culture and cultural learning? What can we offer to the next generation of those who manage the culture and cultures resulting from globalization?
• How compelling and absorbing are the virtual worlds in which many of us spend increasing time and energy at work and at play? What is their culture and their impact on us? How do we manage culture in virtual space?

Throughout the Congress, you will have opportunities to engage these issues and connect them to your professional contexts in business, government, NGOs, art, research and education, peacemaking and peacekeeping, culture building and preservation. 

Why Granada?

Granada has a special history as a place of centuries-long peaceful cohabitation and cultural development for Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities. This city is both exemplary as well as challenged in its relationships with today’s new immigrants. Throughout the Congress, you will have many opportunities to draw inspiration from the history, beauty and present environment and people of this venue and at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, once described as “the ornament of the world.” A broad range of interactions with the local community in Granada will be integrated into the Congress activities. It is a place that invites you to come early and to stay on after the conference.

This is a conference for both seasoned professionals and newcomers working with the issues of culture.

Globalization Paradox:
The Power of Place, Customs, and Tradition

Granada, our Congress venue, will be the starting point to explore the power of place, customs and tradition at the meeting points of different ethnic and religious communities. Through keynote sessions, panel discussions, and workshops, you will have the opportunity to inquire into the paradoxes of globalism and community, as well as tradition and change around the world within your area of practice, be it business, politics, government, art, media, or education.

Professional depth and new developments

Professionals from the many fields that address cultural dynamics will present their latest research, new developments, insights, experiences and techniques in the many workshops, parallel sessions, poster sessions, exhibitions that will make up the everyday fare of the conference. Granada will be a place to renew and update old connections as well as make new ones as we deepen our knowledge of our work and our professional communities. We will gather both resources and inspiration from each other.

The congress will offer numerous professional development opportunities including certification in the use of proprietary intercultural tools and instruments INCLUDE EXAMPLES HERE, skills-focused workshops, negotiating training in cross-cultural communication as well as a job fair for young professionals, a place to both offer and find new opportunities..

The collective proceedings will be published by SIETAR.

Interaction and debate will be documented through visual recording.

Globalization Trends Impacting HR and General Management

As globalization moves businesses and organizations into greater degrees of international competition, sourcing, and collaboration, line managers and human resources professionals alike are increasingly expected to be global in their outlook and practice. The Congress provides rich and practical development opportunities to expand your effectiveness as an internationally-oriented management professional. Keynote speakers, panel discussions, workshops and certification programs will address strategic and operational issues in dealing with an internationally mobile, multi-country, multi-cultural workforce. Exhibitors will display and explain a wide variety of resources for your work.

Global Citizenship

Civil society on a global scale is challenged by geographical distance, values conflicts, local and national agendas, socio-economic disparities, to name but a few issues. The Congress will provide an opportunity, for members of the social, governmental and NGO sectors to come together to share many backgrounds, explore views and share projects on global citizenship, develop leadership and intercultural skills, and be a strong voice in the conversation about the world’s future. Presentations, workshops, community interaction in Granada, discussions and other activities will be part of your experience in Granada..

Newcomers and Young Professionals in the Intercultural Field

The Congress will present an opportunity to explore a range of subjects, issues and perspectives in the intercultural world. Newcomers and young professionals in the cross-cultural field will have an opportunity to establish and understand competencies, careers and services that are key aspects of the profession. Specifically, they can engage one on one with seasoned experts who are prepared to answer their questions regarding their new career, provide them with vital career advice and help them establish a network within the international business professionals’ community 

The World’s Future: Youth and Global Citizenship

SIETAR is actively soliciting sponsors to provide scholarships to enable youth and students from around the world to participate in this comprehensive and experiential learning experience. Additional sessions for youth and students will be available, and the participants will have opportunities to step into leadership at different points during the congress.

Cultures in Search of Harmony

The congress will offer presentations and resources that will help fine tune intercultural negotiating and communication skills as well as provide a network of intercultural trainers and coaches who specialize in communicating across borders. Front line workers such as peacekeepers, refugee workers, diplomats, those who do cross cultural policing, etc., will find opportunities to improve essential verbal and mental skills for interacting with diverse populations and factions in order to advance multicultural relations.  Receive certifications and expand your competencies through panel discussions, presentations, workshops and one-on-one interaction with world renowned intercultural researchers and practitioners.

Emerging Realities and Trends in Globalization

Senior leaders in governments, public and private organizations, education in particular, need to understand emerging realities and trends, in order to craft effective responses to shifts in the environment. Through keynote speakers, panel discussions, workshops, and interaction, you will have the opportunity to explore selected key issues, and their effects on business, politics, health care, ecology, migration, and other areas.

I. Virtual Worlds

II. New Science / New Views of the World

III. Shifting Geopolitics and Economics

IV. Cultures in Conflict, Cultures of Conflict

V. Social Forums/ Civil Society