Marzieh Kouhi-Esfahani
Ms. Kouhi-Esfahani holds an MA in Library and Information Science from Loughborough University in UK. She currently works as the International Communication Officer for the International Center for Dialogue Among Civilizations. She has taught literature at the secondary school level, and has worked as a librarian in a number of schools.
One of the most important concepts and key elements in the theory of Dialogue among Civilizations' is knowledge as it is the starting point for dialogue. In many cases wars and clashes are the result of lack of knowledge and stereotypes based on misleading assumptions. For moving towards a war and violence free world it is necessary to find ways of overcoming the stereotypes. Knowing each other helps in mutual understanding. In this process clash and war would be reduced day by day. The first step in knowing a nation is to get familiar with their culture, understand their differences, and recognise the fact that being different is not always a deficiency, but often is a privilege.
This paper is based on the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, which has been introduced by Bennett (1986, 1993) as a framework to explain the reactions of people to cultural difference. The underlying assumption is that "as one's experience of cultural difference becomes more complex and sophisticated, one's competence in intercultural relations increases"[1]. The model is used by many international organisations for improving their staff ability to have successful communications with international clients.
This paper discusses ways of applying this model in creating mutual understanding among people from different cultural backgrounds in order to achieve peaceful global coexistence.