Gifts for 2016

Another of my 2016 highlights has been to travel to Papua New Guinea a number of times catching up with clients, colleagues and friends on their home ground.  It is an amazing country with some amazing people, and some unique challenges, so this year for our gift-giving we are donating money to support the following projects in PNG.

One of my favourite organisations is Buk Bilong Pikinini an organization promoting literacy in PNG.  Their mission is to ‘provide learning opportunities for the most vulnerable children in society who miss out on formal education’.  They also support ‘those who are fortunate enough to go to school but who lack the most essential tools for literacy; books.’ 

I love books and was excited to be able to contribute to book drives organised by some of the PNG expats I’ve worked with.  They knew how much their isolated villages would benefit from books and through Buk Bilong Pikinini were able to secure funding for transporting the books they had collected during their time working in Australia, back to libraries at home. 

Another major challenge for isolated communities in Papua New Guinea is healthcare.  In Papua New Guinea, one in 17 mothers will die giving birth – a figure so high that almost every family will eventually lose a mother, sister, or daughter. (In Australia that figure is less that 1 in 20,000.)

An organisation called Send Hope not Flowers brought my attention to those facts, which I read soon after celebrating the birth of new members of my own extended family.  Send hope supports some great projects including training local midwives in East Sepik Province and the work of Dr Barry Kirby in the Milne Bay Province.  Dr Kirby’s work encouraging mothers to give birth where help is available,` has seen the death rate drop 78%.  It’s an inspiring story and one we are proud to support through Send Hope.

 As I write this we are only a few sleeps away from Christmas.  In my family Christmas has always meant a time to give gifts, to think of others, and to give thanks for gifts we have been given.  So I’m giving thanks for you – my colleagues and friends – and for the gifts of new life and new learning.

International Mobility and Learning

One of my 2016 highlights has been meeting, and now working with, Jane Barron. Jane is an Intercultural Transitions Specialist and Culturally Responsive Educator.  In cultural training sessions I have observed her facilitating real insights for globally mobile students and their parents.

We all know the research - that families are crucial to the success of a global assignment - so we address their needs in our cultural training sessions delivered through Trans Cultural Careers and supported by membership of the CICollective. It has been great to have Jane on board to work alongside.

In her blog below (originally published in the International Teacher Magazine) Jane writes about the impact of international mobility on learning and what can be done to support students through the challenges of international transitions.  

It’s a fact: international mobility impacts learning.

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Mindfulness - a building block for cultural intelligence

Last month I wrote about mindfulness – how it can help us in a volatile, uncertain, ambiguous and changing world.

 Mindfulness is also a critical component of cultural intelligence.  If you are living or working in a different culture or working with people from different cultural backgrounds it will be helpful for you.  So let’s look at what mindfulness is and consider how it relates to cultural intelligence.

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Saved Webinar: CQ and Mentoring

What are the important things to consider in setting up a mentoring program?  

What are some of the potential stumbling blocks in mentoring relationships?

How should mentors be trained or supported?

Can Cultural Intelligence help a mentor to be more effective in situations of diversity?  

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Donald Trump, leadership and mindfulness

Many in Australia have been watching the US Presidential election race with bemusement.  Some have been watching with anxiety and fear. 

As a potential future leader of America, Donald Trump adds to many people’s increasing feelings of uncertainty.  News of Brexit, terrorism and the refugee crisis presents a world that appears more volatile and chaotic.   

Add in a changing job market (increasing use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, greater diversity in gender, age and ethnic background), and the constant demands that the 24/7 connected world brings - its no wonder the uncertainty increases. 

Volatility, uncertainty, chaos and ambiguity – the acronym VUCA describes what many people are experiencing.

There are excellent business models that help plan for business continuity through VUCA but what are the personal skills that can help take the focus from the apparently growing craziness, the constant overwhelm of tasks, or the complexities of managing in a diverse global world?

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