What does the term “Intercultural competence” mean?
Intercultural competence means being able to reflect on one's own and others' behaviour and thus develop and apply adequate strategies for action and conflict resolution. It includes skills and abilities as well as knowledge. These should be promoted in training courses on intercultural competence. This includes, for example, teaching discrimination-sensitive language and discrimination-avoiding behaviour. In this way, the manifestations and effects of discrimination are highlighted. Situations from everyday professional life are discussed and solution strategies are developed.
A central concern of the training courses is to cultivate an appreciative attitude towards diversity among the participants. The aim is for participants to gain more confidence in professional situations. The training is intended to increase the individual's ability to communicate, act and deal with conflict. At the same time, equal opportunities and participation for all should be made possible by recognising exclusion mechanisms and raising awareness of discrimination.
Training for the acquisition of intercultural competence can be a measure of diversity management of the company or the institution.