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The Seven Dimensions of Culture
What distinguishes one culture from another? For the last few years, I have worked routinely with people from other cultures and backgrounds. Usually this has gone well, and the cultural differences my colleagues and I notice about ourselves are interesting and enriching. However, sometimes things have gone wrong; and it’s not always easy to work…
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Being frightfully English
I have dual nationality. My mum is Australian; my dad was British. I’m proud of both passports that I carry. But, as several of my acquaintances have pointed out, I am undoubtedly the most Anglo Australian that they know. Aside from the genetic code that ensures that I support Australia at cricket, everything else…
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Mosaic
Today, I spent the afternoon with this year’s participants in the Mosaic International Leadership Summit. This was part of a programme that aims to develop leadership skills, inspire thinking about global issues, and equip young people to become involved in their local communities. It lasts for 12 months, with 80 international delegates aged 25-35 taking…
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Culture shock
I’ve just spent the last week in Japan. It’s a country that I find fascinating and my Japanese friends are very patient with me as I try to circumnavigate their customs and practices – I will always be a “gaijin”, but they are very welcoming. One evening last week, as a few of us…
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Letter from Barbados
The Award in Barbados is fifty years old this year. Fifty years of giving young people the opportunity to give service to their communities, learn new skills, get fit and discover more about themselves as they work in small teams to undertake their adventurous journeys. Fifty years of equipping young people for life. So…
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Some quick travel tips…
It is true that I do spend quite a lot of time on the road. As many of my friends prepare to travel abroad over the summer, here are some top tips… Please do add your own at the bottom! 1. Roll your clothes rather than folding them. They crease less and take up less…
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Prizes, certificates and trophies.
It is the season of speech days and prize-givings in schools in England. Summer afternoons are punctuated by the sounds of parents’ applause as young people are called to the stage in their school’s assembly hall, shake hands with a guest speaker, receive a certificate, book or trophy and return, embarrassed but rather proud,…
