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Interculturalism
Interculturalism
Content
In this activity, you will explore assumptions, difference, and intercultural competence in everyday encounters. Here you will reflect on how you respond to difference, how norms are shaped, and how staying curious, critical, and open can support more thoughtful, ethical, and responsive ways of relating. To engage with this activity and earn your badge, please complete the following tasks. To begin, click "Get this badge."
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By completing this activity badge through reflective tasks, the badge earner has recognised, rationalised, and valued cultural differences.
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Tasks
Task no.1
Evidence verified by: self-approved
Challenging Universalism
How have people assumed you are the same?
In this task, you will explore intercultural sensitivity as a way of engaging with difference more thoughtfully. When you encounter people from different cultural backgrounds, what assumptions do you bring? Do you tend to notice difference, or to smooth it over by focusing on similarity?
You will reflect on how ethnocentrism can appear in subtle ways. When have you heard phrases like “we’re all the same”? What might be gained—and what might be lost—by thinking this way? How might minimising difference shape the way we interpret misunderstandings or communication challenges?
This task also invites you to consider how ideas about “universal” human behaviour are formed. Whose perspective defines what is seen as normal? When might these assumptions overlook or silence other ways of living and understanding the world? As you engage with these ideas, think about interculturalism as an alternative. What might it mean to stay with difference, to explore it with curiosity and care, and to reflect on your own position within these encounters?
To complete this task, first explore the activity options above. Then, when you are ready, click Add Evidence and enter/upload a reflection on what you have learnt. We recommend 100-200 words: only you will be able to see this evidence.
Task no.2
Evidence verified by: self-approved
Recognising Difference
Do you see the cultures around you as better, worse, or just different?
In this task, you will explore difference not just as something to notice, but as something to value. When you encounter people who think, act, or communicate differently from you, how do you respond? Do you feel curious, uncomfortable, or drawn to find common ground?
You will reflect on how difference shapes communities. Where do you see expectations about “normal” ways of behaving in your environment? Who fits easily within these expectations—and who might feel excluded? What changes when difference is welcomed rather than managed or ignored?
This task also invites you to think about difference as dynamic and evolving. When have you experienced your own identity shifting in response to others or new contexts? How might seeing identities as fluid change the way you relate to people? As you engage with these ideas, consider the ethical and political dimensions of difference. Who gets to set the norms, and whose voices are amplified or overlooked? What might it mean to actively create spaces where difference is recognised, valued, and able to shape shared life?
To complete this task, first explore the activity options above. Then, when you are ready, click Add Evidence and enter/upload a reflection on what you have learnt. We recommend 100-200 words: only you will be able to see this evidence.
Task no.3
Evidence verified by: self-approved
Intercultural Competence
How could you contextualise, rationalise, and represent cultural differences?
In this task, you will explore intercultural competence as an ongoing, relational practice rather than a fixed skill. When you interact with people from different cultural backgrounds, what do you rely on—knowledge, language, instinct, or reflection? How do your own assumptions shape what you notice or misunderstand?
You will reflect on different ways of understanding intercultural competence. Is it mainly about communication, or does it also involve values, ethics, and awareness of power? When have you experienced an interaction where something deeper than language was at play?
This task also invites you to question whether intercultural competence can ever be fully measured. Can qualities like empathy or curiosity be captured in a score? What might be lost when complex human interactions are simplified in this way? As you engage with these ideas, consider intercultural competence as something you practise over time. How might staying reflective, open, and attentive change the way you navigate difference in your everyday life?
To complete this task, first explore the activity options above. Then, when you are ready, click Add Evidence and enter/upload a reflection on what you have learnt. We recommend 100-200 words: only you will be able to see this evidence.
Skills
ESCO
#demonstrate intercultural awareness
ESCO
#support diversity of cultures
Organisers
INTRACOMP
Awero not-for-profit organisation manages this platform and develops it together with leading educational organisations. The European Union's programme Erasmus+ granted co-funding for building the first version of this platform. Contact [email protected].
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