As part of an effort to help immigrants settle into life in Norway, cultural awareness courses have been made compulsory.

Watching some of the footage of the content in a short video piece on The Guardian website left me cringing - it really exposed a rather shallow approach to cultural understanding in many senses.

Culture-Geeks Will Love This!

I’ve recently come across a totally awesome database – it’s a treasure trove of statistical information about cultures, societies, language, places and environments; something I thought I had to share with my fellow culture vultures.

As bridge-builders, interculturalists have a lot of work to do.

I’m going to be honest with you. I have written this blog once already – I fully expressed my views and vented my frustrations as to the recent events in the UK. I am now taking all those words back and starting again.

Working with people from different cultures is becoming increasingly more common; however it can also give rise to challenges.

Thankfully, Erin Meyer has recently published a book that provides a framework on how different cultures across the globe view communication at work.

Being surrounded by other cultures can bring a great deal of benefits.

New research has shown that living in a culturally diverse community can even make you smarter!

If you work cross-culturally, whether abroad or at home, chances are you have found yourself in a situation whereby you find yourself a little lost with the way people work and/or behave.

Sometimes, this comes down to culture - i.e. differences in values and how this translates into the way someone carries themselves at work.

According to new research, the cultural divide between the West and the East can be explained by the type of farming methods used between the regions.

As rice requires more human labour, researchers say it’s no wonder that people in the East are more interdependent.

In 2001, the UN General Assembly declared May 21st to the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development due to UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity in the same year.

This day is dedicated to enhance our understanding of values of cultural divergence and raise awareness for cultural differences for a better collaboration around the world.

Recent studies on facial expressions have destroyed any suggestions that facial expressions convey the same emotions or meanings all over the world.

In an article on Al Jazeera America, Matthew Hutson states that when it comes to facial expressions, the general assumption is that people all over the world express the same emotion with the same facial expression.

However, according to Hutson, a number of psychologists have recently refuted this view.

Chances are you have been to an airport at least once in your life: thus, the fact that airports can be characterised as culturally diverse places is probably nothing new to you.

Of course, airport staff should be prepared to cope with people from all over the world. But how should they handle all these different cultures?

Conflicts are never beneficial for a working environment – cultural conflicts are one of many challenges that need to be avoided at all costs.

A recent study, however, revealed that avoiding cultural clashes in the workplace does not only result in a more peaceful environment, but can aid the creative process within companies as well.

As a team manager leading a multicultural team, you go through the stages of team development perhaps a bit longer than when working with most monocultural teams.

When you feel you’ve had enough of battling the cultural differences, and that you just want to call it a day, don’t despair – keep in mind that due to the diversity, the ups and downs feel extreme however in the end, there is simply much more to gain.

We focus a lot on this website about cultural differences in business; however for us it's all about culture and understanding that culture influences who we are and what we do.

Only when you understand your own "self" and the cultural programming your have received, can you move towards understanding the "other".

A new report from Ipsos finds that businesses need and want people with intercultual skills.

John Worne agrees, stressing the importance of knowing your foreign languages and being culturally aware as a company.

From companies to government institutions, managers are now realising that innovation and creativity is the way to make money and positively evolve.

Soren Peterson has investigated what creative professionals believe are the ingredients for a booming creative economy.

You might think cultural training is only useful for people and businesses that are associated with global business - for example, international sales teams or global managers.

You would be wrong! Raising cultural awareness is useful for everyone and anyone. 

By overlooking the importance of intercultural training, companies do not get the most out of their employees.

David Livmore is here to make us aware of the significance of knowing a bit more about  your co-workers’ cultures.