Course - 2023 IDD-ICCF Middle Eastern Learning Lab & Community (Mini) Week
Reducing Cross-Cultural Tensions
- Sherifa M.B.E. Fayez, Annette Gisevius
- Sherifa M.B.E. Fayez, Annette Gisevius
This one-day, techniques-focused course is designed for those seeking to improve cooperation and performance when working with diverse stakeholders — especially in team or group settings.
You will active part in theory-grounded, highly engaging techniques that can be used in various settings (classrooms, departmental meetings, etc) to help cohorts made up of diverse members be more inclusive and, as a result, more effective … and with fewer misunderstandings.
Additionally, the instructors (based in Egypt and Germany respectively) will emphasize and demonstrate working across Arab and non-Arab cultures with these methods.
Establishing conditions for effective group dynamics is a key responsibility for many of us, yet we may default to doing so implicitly or even neglect to consider this crucial aspect of our roles.
And, identity differences among would-be team members may seem to add challenges rather than benefits when we think about building a sense of shared collegiality and collaboration…especially across cultures.
Participants in this course will learn how to reduce cultural tensions and more explicitly establish success-enabling space(s) in which groups or teams can operate by acknowledging and intentionally designing for the diversity —whether apparent or “hidden”— among them and how to do so using disarming, creative and “serious play” approaches.
Contact us at info@iddifferences.org if you have questions about the suitability of this course for your circumstances.
In this course, you will learn how to help yourself—and those you work with—so that you/they can better:
- Understand key underlying principles that allow for more effective team-building for heterogeneous groups (national cultures, ages, faiths, professional roles, backgrounds…) with an emphasis on groups that bring together individuals from Arab and non-Arab cultures
- Create a highly engaged, constructive team atmosphere and spirit as a base for trustful collaboration when working with groups with diverse members
- Adapt team-building activities to embrace team-member differences/diversity as a means of fostering inclusion and belonging and reducing cross-cultural tensions
- Experience very interactive, creative, and fun (as appropriate) learning techniques and approaches
Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive a Certificate of Participation listing 6 contact learning hours.
Contact us at info@iddifferences.org if you have questions about the suitability of this course for your circumstances.
This course uses a combined interactive and reflective approach in which you’ll both participate in sample activities of the methods shared, and then have meta-level discussions about the processes and pedagogies behind them in order to be able to adjust and apply them in your own work.
Contact us at info@iddifferences.org if you have questions about the suitability of this course for your circumstances.
This course is for you if you
- Support stakeholder groups with increasing levels of (hidden) diversity but have not yet intentionally designed team-building approaches that acknowledge and realize the benefits of intergroup differences
- Wish to incorporate nontraditional (playful, creative, innovative) methods as a means of reducing cultural miscommunications
- Work with teams that may need to form or shift rapidly yet perform at high levels
This course assumes that you already have at least a preliminary understanding of and experience with —either through your own work or participation in ‘training for trainers’ type programs— team-building, training and (adult) learning best practices.
Contact us at info@iddifferences.org if you have questions about the suitability of this course for your circumstances.
COURSE TYPE
Hands-on Tips & Insights
DURATION/DATES
1 day/4 Oct 2023
TARGET LEVEL(S)
New or Experienced Trainers, Educators & All Professionals focused on group interactions
TUITION FEE
US$575
includes certificate from IDD
Sherifa M.B.E. Fayez
Talented trainer and leader of Egypt’s longest-running nonprofit dedicated to intercultural learning for youth and adults, Sherifa Fayez’s work as an educator aims at lifting the veil of the pervasive reductionist perspectives on the Middle East and promoting active global citizenship as a practice in everyday settings.
Sherifa has led AFS Intercultural Programmes Egypt since 2004. She has served on faculty at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communications (US) and the Intercultural Trainer Academy (Germany). She directs initiatives throughout the Middle East, Africa and Europe with partners such as USAID and American University in Cairo. She has served on the AFS Global Board of Trustees and other international education taskforces and committees and is committed to “lifting the veil on reductionist perceptions of Arab cultures.”
Prof. Annette Gisevius
Annette Gisevius (Professor, Karlshochschule International University and Head of Training for InterCultur, gGmbH) is a master trainer, content designer, certified coach and professor who brings serious fun plus interactive learning methods and creative arts to intercultural competence development for adults and youth. She specializes in lively trainings that use everyday cultural artifacts in innovative ways to make abstract concepts tangible and engage learners in useful daily and lifelong practices.
Having pioneered programs in Germany, Brazil and Malaysia — plus designed and run 12 intercultural trainer certificate courses and collaborated with intercultural gamer Thiagi — Annette’s focus is on cultural awareness, cultural conflict styles and experiential learning in non-classroom settings, as well as civic engagement and service learning.

CONSIDERATIONS
Neuroscience is often considered a topic beyond the reach of daily practitioners, many of whom may not have a background in the hard sciences. While a general understanding of ?human biology and physiology? is helpful, and we will touch on the anatomy and chemistry involved, the core concepts we will address do not require a specialized understanding in this area.
PREQUALIFICATIONS
While this course is open to all practitioners, it is strongly recommended that you have:
- x
- y
- z
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HOW TO REGISTER
If you are a member of Qatar’s Education City, please do not register through the IDD website. Instead, contact us at info@iddifferences.org and we’ll put you in touch with your local representative.
For all other participants, simply visit our registration page and complete your enrollment application online.