Individual work - International and Multicultural Competence

International and Multicultural Competence

Individual work:
Write about your international/multicultural experiences to your blog. What have you learned (educational impact & work related findings). Also consider what is “internationalism” and what is “multiculturalism”? How do they differ?

Although i come from a multicultural country, Mauritius, multicultural experiences in another country is always a different feeling. Since childhood, i have been traveling to different countries as my family is in tourism business. However, i must say that visiting a country as a tourist and staying in a foreign country as a citizen differ greatly especially when experiencing different cultures. My first real experience of international culture was around 10 years back when i moved to London to study Accounting. I made many friends of different cultures in the university and even the lecturers were from different cultures. I could clearly see the different teaching methods my lecturers were using. The most hectic class was taught in a very relaxing environment. The Taxation class was the funniest class where the teacher taught us how to understand real cases and how to deal with difficult situation as an accountant and by complying with our ethics.

There were often parties on Fridays such as Indian night, British night, African night etc. I was rarely attending the parties as i was staying quite far. One Friday, my class lasted longer and we could hear songs in another class. It was Punjabi nights that day and to my surprise, i could see my British lecturers dancing punjabi songs with some punjabi tutors. The tutors were dressed in their traditional clothes and there were traditional snacks. It was a very pleasant and multicultural atmosphere. I was very impressed with this initiative of the university to cooperate all communities together. The lecturers participation made the parties more vibrant.

I was working part-time in a UK cinema by selling tickets in south London. It was one of my best job although at that time i was not earning much with no working experience. The atmosphere was friendly and my British managers were very comprehensive. One of the manager that was rude and racist with an African guy, was ultimately fired by the boss to avoid this negative attitude in the working place. 

Internationalism is the cooperation between nations whereas multiculturalism is the cooperation between cultures. From Mauritius to study in England, it refers to internationalism but interacting with people from different cultures in England brought me into multicultural environment.

Internationalism

(Source: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/brexit-versus-global-thinking-new-internationalism-marketing/1409794)

Multiculturalism

(Source: https://www.conservatives.org.au/multiculturalism_is_a_flawed_and_failing_doctrine_bernardi)