- New British Council Intercultural Fluency training to launch on September 29th in Qatar
- Training will help employees, managers and leaders manage cultural diversity in order to drive business success
- British Council report shows employers in 9 countries ranked intercultural skills more highly than technical skills
- In Qatar, more than 50 per cent of international staff and almost a quarter of local staff believe that cultural misunderstandings are a significant challenge in the workplace
Doha, Qatar, 18/10/2016. The British Council announced that it is launching a new programme for corporates and individuals, called the Intercultural Fluency Training, this September. The Intercultural Fluency training is specifically designed to give participants the knowledge, tools and techniques required to work, communicate and collaborate effectively in multicultural contexts.
‘The ability to communicate effectively across cultures is fast becoming a definitive global skill. In response to employers increasing calls for better soft skills, we realised that there was a window and seized the opportunity to create a product with a refreshingly new approach,” said Amelia Moreno, the British Council’s lead trainer in Intercultural Fluency.
She added, ‘Many other courses that aim to teach expats, migrants or new employees how to integrate and effective work in multicultural teams are often too broad or too specific. Our approach has been really successful so far because it mixes the latest academic research in this area, with practical tips that any employee can apply in any cultural setting.’
‘In addition to this, our courses are highly interactive, with a mix of participatory techniques and self-assessment tools which help people to develop nuanced interpretations of culture and better understand their colleagues’ behaviours, values and preferences.’
A suite of six different courses are available, which range from ‘beginning your intercultural journey’ to ‘leading across cultures’. Courses can be bought as flexible one-day packages or tailored to specific in-house requirements, in order to meet the needs of participants of all levels.
Frank Fitzpatrick, Country Director for the British Council in Qatar noted that ‘The British Council has been working in the field of cultural relations for 80 years. The training courses have been developed in collaboration with our expert staff around the world and we believe it has the potential to positively transform the working environment for corporations that take it, particularly in such multicultural environments like the Gulf. Immediate benefits some of our current clients have seen include improved customer service and internal communications, better productivity in multicultural teams, better staff integration, and enhanced workplace harmony and staff retention.’
‘The key thing for us’ says Amelia Moreno, who has been delivering the course to corporates across the Gulf for a year already, ‘is to witness our participants building stronger, better business relationships as a result of the course.’ To date, the training has been delivered to over 1300 people in a number of countries around the world. Our participants include employees of organisations such as Shell, Vodafone, Qatar Airways, Hilton Hotel and the British High Commission amongst others.
About Intercultural Fluency
Intercultural Fluency is the ability to operate and communicate effectively within different and changing cultural contexts. It is fast becoming the definitive global skill in today’s interconnected world.
A suite of six practical, face-to-face training courses from Foundation to Leadership level; available in flexible one+ day packages, they can be for a wide range of audiences.
Intercultural Fluency can help organisations deliver success and growth by:
- increasing the performance and productivity of multicultural departments and teams
- building better relationships and partnerships locally and internationally
- improving customer service, increasing impact and sales
- enhancing reputation
- strengthening integration, workplace harmony, worker satisfaction, and staff retention.
Intercultural Fluency helps individuals to:
- understand how cultural norms and preferences influence behaviour
- adapt their behaviour appropriately in different cultural contexts
- communicate effectively and confidently build rapport across cultures
- anticipate challenges and avoid pitfalls
- enhance their employability skills and career development in the 21st-century global workplace.
Our courses provide participants with the knowledge, tools and strategies that they can immediately apply in the workplace to become more effective in the way they work and communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds.
We also offer bespoke in-house training including coaching services.
Please refer to our training courses page for more details on the full suite of courses
About Amelia Moreno
Qualifications
- Cambridge DELTA (Merit)
- Degree in TEFL
- Cambridge CELTA (A)
- LSE Diploma in Development Studies
- CAM Diploma in Communications
Profile
Amelia’s background in business development and marketing in a number of countries has given her first-hand experience of the challenges that a commercial multicultural environment can face. Having worked with all levels of management, including board directors and executives, she is able to relate to potential intercultural issues and work with individuals and organisations to provide realistic solutions.
For the last six years she has been working as a teacher, trainer, and facilitator with an incredibly diverse mix of cultures. This experience enables her to connect with participants and potential partners to develop their awareness of intercultural fluency, analyse and reflect on their own behaviour and the impact it can have, and equip them with different techniques to overcome often sensitive situations.
Her core strength is communication and the ability to respond to the needs of the people she is working with. As the ICF project lead and Master Trainer, she is responsible for promoting Intercultural Fluency in Qatar and for developing a robust partnership programme. She works with partners to provide tailored programmes that respond directly to the organisation’s specific intercultural challenges and ensures their employees develop their own knowledge and practical working skills.
Amelia has worked extensively in Europe and the Americas in the commercial, education and not-for-profit sectors. She has collaborated with large multicultural organisations such as UNICEF, British Airways, Microsoft, Samsung and SKY. She has been working in Qatar both as a trainer and a teacher with a wide range of ages, cultures and people from different corporate backgrounds.
Amelia’s training approach is to create an open and friendly environment, where participants feel comfortable sharing and developing their own skills. She passionately believes in the need for intercultural fluency and the benefits it can bring to both individuals and organisations. This passion is reflected in the energy-driven workshops she delivers and the consistent dedication she invests in The British Council’s Intercultural Fluency programme.
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for education and culture. We have been sharing the UK’s language, education and culture in Qatar for nearly 40 years working across English, exams, education, science and the arts. Through our work we seek to create international opportunities for the people of the UK, Qatar and other countries and to build trust between them worldwide. We are a Royal Charter charity, HM Queen Elizabeth II is our patron.
Our 7000 staff in over 100 countries work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year. In Qatar, we have a diverse and talented team of more than 60 staff and reach thousands of students through our teaching centre and UK qualifications. We are committed to creating more opportunities for people in Qatar and the UK to learn from each other and work together in support of Qatar’s 2030 vision.
For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.qa. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through Facebook and our blog. On Twitter you can find us @qabritish.