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HUMBER CONTINUES IN BRINGING INTERCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES TO STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF

3 students sitting outside wearing masks

Students participate in the intercultural workshops with their peers internationally in a virtual setting.

November 25, 2021

In an increasingly globalized world, there is undeniable importance in learning, expanding perspectives, and exploring the diversity of human experience. With the Humber International Centre’s ongoing Intercultural Development Series, participants develop intercultural skills and further their understanding through global connection.

Why is this significant? On top of the personal development that it fosters, the series also encourages inclusivity, platforms diverse perspectives, and promotes more equitable futures for communities both in Canada and globally.

the Language Learning Team

Our Language Learning Team organized a Netflix style language exchange for particpants.

female dancing

Anna Aplin and the Global Family Fun team brought BTS Choreo to the screen for a dance workshop.

INTERSECTIONAL APPROACH

The Intercultural Development Series is cross-disciplinary. It is run through Humber International, in collaboration and connection with Humber’s various departments, student groups, community leaders, and international partner institutions, such as the Office of Sustainability, First Year Experience, BASE and more.

Different workshops are designed for different participants to accommodate a wide selection of the Humber and international communities. With the expansion of the series since its inception, there will be more emphasis on opportunities for faculty and staff in Winter 2022 and beyond.

Hobby Hangs Team

Annick Read and the Hobby Hangs team introduce themselves in an event for global participants. 

THREE STREAMS

There are three main streams of the Intercultural Development Series this year: Intercultural Development, Professional Development, and Cultural Activities.

The Cultural Activities Stream is run by the Cultural Connectors, an initiative created in collaboration with Humber student, Ella Sabourin, that is led by Humber students. It features creative, engaging events that pertain to deeper cultural understandings from customs to cuisine and more.

The Cultural Connectors events are emblematic of Internationalisation at Home and Bringing the World to Humber, two key pillars within Humber International’s Internationalization Strategy.

"Participating in the Cultural Connectors team not only provided exciting opportunities for learning, from facilitating events to planning and developing engaging activities - it also has been an amazing and inclusive way to connect with students of different cultural backgrounds. I’m so grateful to have worked alongside Humber International in developing the Cultural Connectors teams, to have taken part in its very first series last Winter, and now to be supporting the new crew of Cultural Connectors leading the program this year! When I was working with my team members last semester, each of us contributing our own skill sets and expertise, we had such a fun time collaborating, sharing our diversity of perspectives, and running the events. I’m glad to have been a small part in the fantastic team that has put together this program at Humber and looking forward to its growth!” -Ella Sabourin

Earlier this month, the Cultural Connectors hosted a dance tutorial that engaged participants in being active and learning the exciting choreography of Korean Pop group BTS virtually. Upcoming events include a global hangout and a family games night with everything from charades to Among Us! These virtual events allow for networking and community building with global academic partners alongside our Humber community.

The other streams of the Intercultural Development Series offer education on areas including unconscious bias, the spectrum of identity, and how to meaningfully engage with communities through a globally-aware mindset. Each event offers potential networking opportunities across Humber departments and faculties, and including local community organizers.

According to Humber Student Annick Read, from the Early Childhood Education program, the series “It really opened my eyes to many cultures other than my own which I am unfamiliar with. I gained a new perspective on understanding and respect. With the field I am in, Early Childhood Education, I am constantly working with people from different backgrounds. These workshops taught me to connect in new ways and create a space of inclusion with those I work with”

BUILDING GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP AT HUMBER

The series is a part of several opportunities at Humber intended to build global citizenship through engagement, learning, and connection.

The Manager of Global Learning and Engagement at Humber, Rebecca Trautwein, explains, “Every interaction is intercultural! We all have our own understandings of the world and the key to competence for anyone interacting in a diverse environment, whether at home or abroad, is ongoing exposure and development. This series is an opportunity to increase intercultural capacity through theoretically grounded, professionally relevant, and interactive programming.”

Learn more about the series and find workshop registration at: www.humber.ca/global-opportunities/humber-intercultural-development-series.html