Glossary

Successful collaboration begins with a shared language, hence the need for a glossary. This joint effort of contributors from several teams ensures, on the one hand, terminological and conceptual coherence across not only our theoretical approaches, but also the qualitative case studies and quantitative research conducted in OPPORTUNITIES. On the other hand, our glossary facilitates communication between the academic side of the project and the fieldwork conducted by NGOs, uniting our teams working from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Mauritania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Senegal.

For more information about the Structure and Objectives of the Glossary, click here...)

Intercultural understanding

Intercultural understanding is a philosophical concept grounded in hermeneutics. It refers to a person’s ability and willingness to acknowledge, appreciate, and overcome cultural differences in cross-cultural encounters. The prerequisite for intercultural understanding is an “‘intercultural mind” (Sommer 2013), i.e., a mindset which challenges racism, ethnocentric worldviews, and stereotypical representations. Based on the principles of empathy, perspective taking, and recognition, intercultural understanding advocates intercultural dialogue and multiperspectivity in contact zones, multicultural contexts, or other cross-cultural encounters.

⇢ see also: Empathy, Multiperspectivity, Perspective taking, Recognition

References and further reading:

European Commission. 2020. "Intercultural Dialogue." European Migration Network Glossary. URL: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/networks/european-migration-network-emn/emn-asylum-and-migration-glossary/glossary/intercultural-dialogue_en.

Sommer, Roy. 2013. “Other Stories, Other Minds: The Intercultural Potential of Cognitive Approaches to Narrative.” In Stories and Minds: Cognitive Approaches to Literary Narrative, edited by Lars Bernaerts, Dirk De Geest, Luc Herman, and Bart Vervaeck, 155–174. Lincoln, NE and London: University of Nebraska Press.

Category: A

Work Package: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

[CG / RS]

 

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