Page 12 - Diversity in Action

Martina Irsara

the term culture is used, it seems important to continue to stimulate reflec-
tion and promote understanding of what people mean by it. Awareness of its
variousdefinitionsandusescanencouragecriticalself-reflectionanddeepen
understanding of how others interpret it. Overall, most contemporary schol-
ars seem to adhere to a notion of culture that emphasises ‘the dynamism,
diversity, interconnectedness and permeability of human life approaches in
the twenty-first century’ (Delanoy, 2020, p. 29). Cultures can be viewed as
‘sharedandcontestedsetsofsignifyingpracticesresultingfromhumaninter-
action with the complex environments in which people live’ (Delanoy, 2020,
p. 30). Cultures are ‘treated as multidimensional, open-ended and dynamic
entities’ (Delanoy, 2020, p. 30). They are no longer seen as stable and conven-
tional ways of communicating and behaving within homogeneous language
communities, but as the historical and subjective experiences of individuals
in multilingual and multicultural societies (Kramsch, 2009; 2023). Contempo-
rary societies are ideally characterised not only by the recognition and accep-
tanceofculturaldifferencesbut also bythepromotion ofattitudesandmind-
sets that embrace and celebrate these differences. Cultural diversity is as es-
sential to humanity as biodiversity is to the natural world, as a vital source of
exchange, innovation, and creativity (UNESCO, 2002).
Individuals who navigate culturally diverse contexts with ease are often
described as effective interculturalists, demonstrating high levels of intercul-
tural competence (IC) and intercultural communicative competence (ICC), two
concepts that are further explored in the next section.

Intercultural Communicative Competence
The concept of intercultural competence (IC) has been explained through nu-
merous definitions proposed over the years to provide greater clarity. IC has
been recognised as a complex construct, encompassing multiple dimen-
sions and a range of abilities that are essential for interacting effectively
and appropriately with people from different cultures. These multiple di-
mensions include ‘self-knowledge, social interaction, and synergy creation’
(Chen, 2022, p. 1). In a broad sense, the concept of IC emphasises the inter-
play between affective, cognitive, and behavioural aspects in intercultural
interactions (Liu, 2012). Zhang and Zhou (2019, p. 32) adopt a tripartite con-
ceptualisation, defining IC as

the competence to function flexibly and comfortably in culturally dif-
ferent circumstances on the strength of one’s knowledge and under-
standing of one’s own culture and that of others (cognitive facet), at-

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