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08/01/2014 1 Final Conference Identifying the most important competencies of cultural mediators and their interrelationships Dermot Coughlan Morteza Rezaei-Zadeh University of Limerick Slide 2 08/01/2014 2 -Why is Cultural Mediation important? -What are the features of a Cultural Mediator? -Research Question? -Research Methodology -Findings -Conclusion Outline Final Conference Slide 3 08/01/2014 3 -Levels of migration both legal and illegal have increased significantly -Our countries have become multi-cultural but the focus now is how to make our society inter-cultural -If we do not address issues associated with integration levels of social unrest will increase -We need to stabilise our society Why is Cultural Mediation important? Final Conference Slide 4 08/01/2014 4 Ireland is the only territory whose population is smaller now than It was two centuries ago Following the famine of 1848/49 Irelands population went from 8million to 4 million According to the 2011 census one in eight or 12.5 % of those living in the country declared themselves not to be Irish 1990s most homegeneous nation and by 2011 we were the most heterogeneous with 199 nationalities recorded Why is Cultural Mediation important? Final Conference Slide 5 08/01/2014 5 Why is Cultural Mediation important? Final Conference Slide 6 08/01/2014 6 Text Final Conference Slide 7 08/01/2014 7 What are the features of a cultural mediator? Final Conference Slide 8 08/01/2014 8 What are the features of a cultural mediator? Final Conference Slide 9 08/01/2014 9 What are the features of a cultural mediator? Final Conference Slide 10 08/01/2014 10 -What are the most important competencies which should be possessed by cultural mediators in an European context? -What are the interrelationships between the identified competencies of Cultural Mediators? Research Question? Final Conference Slide 11 08/01/2014 11 Methodology: Interactive Management (IM) + Idea Writing Participants: Two groups of experts from a wide range of nationalities, including: Ireland, Iran, Brazil, Ghana, Spain, and Chili. Research Methodology Final Conference Slide 12 08/01/2014 12 Finding / The Enhancement Structure 1 Final Conference Slide 13 08/01/2014 13 An initial examination of the first enhancement structure (See Figure 1) suggests that Cultural Awareness is the critical driver of other competencies of cultural mediators and significantly enhances a package of competencies that are reciprocally interrelated: Empathy, Fairness, Openness, and Helpful Behaviour. Information Sharing is placed in the last cycle at stage 3 of the enhancement structure and thus, is viewed as interdependent competency of cultural mediators by the experts in the current study. Information Sharing is a characteristic of the cultural mediators that is driven by a Cultural Awareness, and the cluster of interdependent competencies: Empathy, Fairness, Openness, and Helpful Behaviour. Finding / The Enhancement Structure 1 Final Conference Slide 14 08/01/2014 14 Facilitative Being totally free of judgment Proactivity Sympathy Tolerance Comprehensibility Accommodating Analytical approach Willingness to help Cultural awareness Active listening Understanding differences Non-prejudice Continuous learning Finding / The generated competencies in the second IM session Final Conference Slide 15 08/01/2014 15 Finding / The Enhancement Structure 2 Final Conference Slide 16 08/01/2014 16 Looking more closely at Figure 2, it can be seen that similarily to the previous enhancement structure, Cultural Awareness is identified as one of the most important competencies of cultural mediators. It is seen as both a highly valued characteristic (with 5 votes) and a key driver of many other skills and dispositions. Both Cultural Awareness and Active Listening significantly enhance two packages of competencies that are reciprocally interrelated: Proactivity and Understanding differences are located in the second circle of the structure and Non prejudice, Tolerance, and Continuous learning are located in the last circle of the structure. It means that the latter interrelated package is driven by the previous competencies in the first and second circles. Finding / The Enhancement Structure 2 Final Conference Slide 17 08/01/2014 17 -The importance of exploring/identifying Cultural Mediators competencies in the different contexts -The importance of identifying the interrelationships between the competencies Conclusion Final Conference Slide 18