Speech On Cultural Awareness

Our day to day lives can typically involve umpteen interactions with individuals from across the life span whose identity comprises multiple layers. Culture can often be a significant element of identity; thus practicing cultural safety, which can be viewed as an environment where individuals’ cultural identities, rights, and experiences are not challenged or denied, rather they are respected and understood (Williams, 1999), within interactions is essential. Cultural awareness, sensitivity, and competence are intertwined in cultural safety, and a principle step in developing and understanding these concepts is examining our own cultural identities and how they shape our worldviews and attitudes. In this paper, I will reflect on my own cultural

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” (Mahatma). Our culture identifies who we are and how we behave in social environments and provides us with a foundation in which to live our lives and raise our families. Each individual culture has certain customs and courtesies that are important. Exposure to the cultures of others can be intimidating and can leave a person feeling confused and unsure about how they fit in (Schaefer 60). Culture shock can leave a person feeling out of place in an unfamiliar culture (Schaefer 60). Our diverse societies demand understanding and acceptance of other cultures. Learning and understanding these cultures before being

I will start my presentation with a depiction of what legal and illegal immigration encompass. After, I will talk about the impacts of immigration on America. I will finalize my presentation with the current government actions that are changing the immigration system.

Accepting the differences of others by expanding your own level of understanding begins with the awareness that your own culture

Therefore, the need to be culturally competent is paramount to fostering understanding. Cultural competency is about understanding another’s artifacts, beliefs, values and basic assumptions (Schein, 2010). Schein describes artifacts as the observable elements of a culture, such as ceremonies, non verbal cues, and language. He further describes, belief structures serve as guide posts and are useful in understanding a reason for a behavior. Finally, he states, assumptions are based on previous experience of what was and was not successful in the past for the individual or group. Recognizing and identifying these elements improves an outsider’s cultural

In our today’s society, we are faced with multiple cultures that affect our ways of thinking, acting, and leaving. Cultural competency reflects one’s culture. Culture reflects the way the children are raised, their way of communicating, what is acceptable or not acceptable, the way they overcome challenges, their clothes, and how we go about medical treatment and so on. I know because I come from a very strong cultural background where it is considered bad to look at older people straight in the eyes while talking to them. Culture can be defined as “the learned and shared beliefs, values and life ways of a designated or particular group that are generally transmitted intergenerational and influence one’s thinking and action modes” (Leininger, 2002).

Cultural Knowledge is obtaining a sound educational foundation concerning the various world views of different cultures (Berman, Frandsen, Snyder, p.280, 2016).

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa defines Cultural Awareness as “observing and being conscious of similarities and contrasts between cultural groups” (Ottawa, "Cultural Awareness or Sensitivity"). To me, I think the meaning of Cultural Awareness is to just be aware and respectful to others from different cultures who surround you. Rather than just ignoring all the different cultures and differences around you, you should be aware to gain more knowledge of your community or society. Cultural Sensitivity is similar to cultural awareness as Cultural Sensitivity builds upon the concept of Cultural Awareness. Cultural Sensitivity includes the awareness aspect and adds the concept of removing prejudice and assumptions, whether positive or negative. To me, I find that Cultural Sensitivity combines awareness with open-mindedness. When we are more respectful and open to learning about others around us we can become more Culturally Sensitive. In addition, Cultural Safety brings together both awareness and sensitivity by gaining and furthering knowledge, understanding, and respect for the other cultures surrounding you. Cultural Humility is the "ability to maintain an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented (or open to the other) in relation to aspects of cultural identity that are most important to the [person]" (Waters & Asbill, "CYF News | August 2013 Reflections on cultural humility", 2013). Put simply, cultural humility is the process of opening yourself up to develop partnerships with other groups or cultures and to maintain equilibrium of power between

Cultural diversity, or multiculturalism, is based on the idea that cultural identities should not be discarded or ignored, but rather maintained and valued. The foundation of this belief is that every culture and race has made a substantial contribution to American history. However, many people remain opposed to the idea of multiculturalism, or cultural diversity awareness, while others often support it and yet have no clear idea of how it should be taught. The diversity of the United States is truly astounding, as many different ethnic and racial groups have contributed to the social,

The United States is a country that is often referred to as a melting pot because it has a mixture of people of all different ages, religions, and cultures. With such a wide variety of people from different backgrounds, it seems essential that cultural awareness and sensitivity is incorporated

Cultural awareness: having an understanding and appreciation for different cultures as well as your own. Being culturally aware allows you gain more insight and increases your knowledge on the way of life in other countries. You get a different perspective and a better appreciation for other cultures thereby eliminating close-mindedness. (San Diego State University, n.d.)

Being able to understand how people from different cultures and religions communicate, interact, and perceive the environment around them allows for the formation of important guidelines and practices which help combat and avoid anxiety and uncertainty in government, business, and personal intercultural relationships for the purpose of efficient negotiations and merges different cultures into more tolerant cohesive existence.

Cultural self-awareness is strongly linked to development of a cultural intelligence for a number of reasons. Thus, this essay will critically reflect on what cultural self-awareness is and its importance on how it develops ones cultural intelligence. Before we discuss about cultural self-awareness and cultural intelligence, it is important to understand what culture is and how it impacts on our society. Culture is a complex subject that can be defined in various ways.

We live in a rapidly changing world, which is increasingly bringing people of various cultures in closer interaction with each other. This interaction can be positive or negative depending on the level of sensitivity and respect people have for other cultural groups. Negative attitudes towards other cultures and/or ethnic groups arise out of ethnocentrism, while positive attitudes are the result of a culturally relativist approach. If people are going to be successful in today's multicultural, informative society, they will need to develop a culturally sensitive frame of reference and mode of operation.

Power/Distance (PD), “refers to the degree of inequality that exists- and is accepted- among people with and without power. A high PD score indicates that society accepts an unequal distribution of power, and that people understand “their place” in the system. Low PD means that power is shared and well dispersed.” (www.mindtools.com) As an example from the article, Myers goes on to say, “there were basically four levels: VP, director, manager, and worker bee. You only talked to people at your level.” SK Telecom boasted that