IWIC'07 Proceedings of the 1st international conference on Intercultural collaboration
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In Beyond Culture, anthropologist Edward T. Hall indicated that "culture is the total communication framework" comprised of words, actions, nonverbal behaviors, the handling of time, space, and materials, world view, beliefs, and attitudes passed over time from generation to generation. Culture often serves as a perceptual filter with which we determine that which is important to us, and that which is not. In many ways, it is necessary to unlearn the lessons of culture in order to effectively communicate with others whom we perceive to be different from ourselves. Some readers might recall the 'golden rule' which states--treat others the way you would like to be treated. In fact, when engaging in an intercultural interaction, this rule is precisely what one wants to avoid. It is more useful to consider the following as a rule of thumb--treat others as they would have you treat them, not as you would like to be treated. To this end, effective intercultural communication cannot successfully occur without collaboration, the co-creation of meaning, and negotiation. I define intercultural communication as the exchange, and co-creation, of information and meanings by individuals or groups when at least one party perceives itself to be different from others. Collaborative virtual environments (CVE) offer unique opportunities to begin anew--and experiment with unlearning the lessons, or biases, of culture to ultimately foster more equitable communication.