Students to focus on intercultural aspects

An Intercultural Symposium held this Monday will help enrich students’ ability to work with people coming from different backgrounds.

The Symposium will take place at the University Center’s Shiloh Room between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. University of Tennessee’s School of Information Sciences, which is setting up the event, will hand out free editions of Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communications to 50 preselected undergraduate students. The book will give students tools to better cope in today’s intercultural environment.

Students will take part in three focus groups entitled: “Leadership,” Diversity and Democracy” and “Information on Communication Resources,” helping utilize their knowledge to help create a tool kit.

“We want to engage undergraduates in designing a tool kit of attitudes and skills to lead others in our increasingly global world,” said Jinx Stapleton Watson, associate professor of management of information organization.

The information age enhances ways to associate with people rapidly and across the world, but there is a difficulty in getting past the different cultural standards, she said.

“We hope to begin a dialogue, a conversation and some study with students who care about these ideas for future leaders,” Watson said.

Various questions will be raised during the symposium.

“We’ll be asking them what are your experiences in knowing people from different ethical backgrounds,” said Joel Southern, communication specialist at the information school.

Students are expected to take away a new comprehension of the influence of their own roles as prospective leaders in this multi-faceted globe.

Watson said she hopes everyone works together to “select and design a set of tools that examine our own personal values and skills to help build the bridges across cultures and through cyberspace.”

But professors will benefit too.

“Professors will take what they learned from students and will publish their findings to use as a learning module for individuals interested in becoming leaders,” Southern said.

Thus a tool kit will be created from a series of questions and activities that seek to take a closer look at students’ personal attitudes, skills and values for a self-assessment. These activities will, according to Watson, lay the groundwork for embracing diversity as an influential part of leadership.

The Symposium’s keynote speaker will be Jose Aponte. Aponte was a city manager and one of Laura Bush’s White House nominees.

“He is a fantastic, gregarious and enlightened speaker, who understands the struggles minorities have in having a voice,” Southern said.

Information school faculty encouraged students and the public to attend Aponte’s speech. For more information contact Simon Aristequieta at saristeg@utk.edu.