Report of a student:
It was very interesting for me to find out what “culture” actually is, since this term is used very frequently against the background that our society is becoming more and more colorful and mixed, and before that I had no clear picture of what a culture really is matters. Through the intercultural training, I learned, for example, how many and which diverse factors can play a role in identifying with a culture and how people are influenced by their cultural affiliation in their everyday lives.
It was particularly instructive for me that not only the obvious characteristics such as language, external features such as clothing or skin color or eating habits, but also the inner attitude, value orientations or the prevailing image of the human being are shaped by the respective culture. (see model: “Iceberg of Culture”)
What I also really like about the project is the many interactive group activities and games on the subject. The speakers were able to initiate an exchange between my classmates and me about the different cultures and on the topic of “cultural identification” on the basis of some tasks in the group association, and in this way we were able to convey the knowledge and the theoretical content in a lively, clear and with a high fun factor to mediate.
What I found particularly exciting was the work assignment “A new beginning”, in which we were to select eight people from a diverse selection of individuals who belonged to very different professional groups or cultures who are suitable for a scientific experiment in which they alone to live together on a deserted island for the next fifty years.
I felt it was a beautiful and creative way to end the project, using Lego building blocks to create a communal building that symbolizes our culture. So we had great fun recreating a small Oktoberfest with roller coaster, beer tent, bumper cars and chain carousel in miniature format in our group.
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