On April 10, 2025 in the framework of SDG 16: Peace and Strong Institutions the master class on “Improving intercultural competence skills using the Story Circles method” was conducted by faculty member PM Beisenova with the participation of 1st-year students of SPGZS-24-5 r, AZS-24-5 r, SZhD-24-2 r and SNS-24-2 r and the teaching staff members of department.
In brief: The growing diversity of cultures, which is fluid, dynamic and transformative, implies that individuals and societies have specific skills and opportunities to learn, relearn and lose skills in order to achieve personal fulfilment and social cohesion.
The ability to perceive other cultures in a fair and meaningful way is based not only on the facts of an open and pluralistic spirit, but also on one’s own cultural self-awareness.
In this regard, the Story Circles method provides an opportunity for people from different backgrounds to come together to learn from each other and explore cultural similarities and differences.
Through the exchange of life experiences situated in specific cultural contexts, participants come to learn more about themselves as well as their fellow human beings, and through this process, participants further develop key elements of intercultural competencies, including increased self-awareness, openness, respect, reflection, individuality skills, empathy, empathy, increased awareness of others, and ultimately greater cultural humility.
Key tasks of the event are following:
- Demonstrate respect for others.
- Practice listening for understanding (rather than judging or giving a typical response).
- Develop curiosity about similarities and differences with others.
- Increase cultural awareness.
- Developing empathy.
- Reflecting critically on one’s own intercultural competence development as well as one’s intercultural experiences.
- Developing relationships with other cultures.
The visual conceptualization of the session “Intercultural Competence Tree” (13-photos per slide) allowed participants to gain more clarity on the key concepts of the topic explored during the event.
