What are the Online Forums?

The goal of the SIETAR Europa 2003 Online Conference Forum process is to take a powerful step forward for SIETAR as AN ONGOING WORLDWIDE SIETAR LEARNING COMMUNITY as we prepare for our 13th Annual Conference in Budapest in May. SIETAR is by definition already such a community, but we face a constant challenge in becoming an increasingly effective and productive "community of intercultural practice" in a world that is daily more demanding fresh forms of intercultural expertise. Both the face-to-face conference and the online forums focus on this critical rejuvenation of our work and our organization.

The challenge at hand is for us to master the tools of the information age for the purposes of our own professional betterment and in service to our many and diverse stakeholders.

There are already a number of valuable online initiatives underway by SIETARs and SIETAR members, for example the many SIETAR websites, electronic newsletters, the SE Documentation Center, The Delta Intercultural Academy, the Intercultural Insights Newsgroup, and most recently Y! Group sietar-germany. These and those to come, including the 2003 Online Forums, can put the SIETARs and their members in the forefront of the globalisation and localisation of intercultural expertise.

The objectives of the 2003 SE Forums include:

1. To raise the competence of the members of SIETAR Europa and its affiliates to deliver online presentation, facilitation, coaching and networking. We will meet this challenge by providing guided opportunities to organise, supervise, present, moderate e-learning, and manage knowledge in online learning experiences in a variety of platform settings, languages and themes.
2. To provide all participants (not just those who may be able to come to an annual conference) with a forum for papers and workshops and an opportunity to participate. The goal and objectives of the Forum process represent key steps for SIETAR in a wired world. These processes will continue to serve the the Budapest Conference follow-up, and enhance the quality of face-to-face presentations in future meetings.
3. To enable live participation in more presentations and events and in more languages than the several day conferences usually allow. Online exposure to and exchange of ideas and papers will let the "marketplace" decide on and improve the quality and variety of what will be presented at our conference, and at the same time enhance our democratic processes.
4. To master the skills of online information exchange and networking activity and explore its potential for ourselves and our stakeholders. This includes understanding the advantages and disadvantages and the culturally appropriate use of online tools and platforms in a hands-on way. It also means getting enough experience to choose and use the best tools for the work we want to do in the future. Many of the online resources currently used, have been chosen because of funding opportunities, or, in most cases, the lack of funding and lack of expertise and resources. They are often either slow or lacking in flexibility and have a poor knowledge ecology (they ability to sort, summarise and organise knowledge and make it easily accessible). Because we are a voluntary organisation need not imply that we are condemned to second-class tools. But, it will take knowledge and imagination and, above all, our synergy to change this.

How it will work?

Basic instructions and a map of the tracks and processses for the 2003 Forum are found on the pages you see linked in the left column of this page.

Who is involved?

Everyone who wants to be is the short answer. Here are some of the roles in detail. The Communications Committee of the SIETAR Europa Board, in close collaboration with the Budapest Conference Steering Committee, has taken on the responsibility of finding online working space and inviting interested individuals to participate as:

A. Forum supervisors who will serve to coordinate each of the five learning forums of the online conference: academic, media and arts, business, government and the voluntary sectors. It will be their role to:

• Invite and encourage potential presenters in the forum they supervise to make and facilitate presentation threads.
• Point presenters to information and give them help with the process of getting the initial presentation on line. The forum service team members (see below) will assist the supervisors with this.
• Assure follow-through and timely wrap-up of the individual threads by the stated deadline (one week before the Budapest Congress).
• Report on learnings and experience and potential next steps at the close of the conference.

B. Presenters and/or moderators are the persons who prepare and present online a paper or workshop. This is described as two roles, as a presenter who prepares the paper or discussion theme could ask one or more persons to moderate, hence sharing or splitting the role. The responsibilities of the presenter are to:

• Select a topic from his or her research, expertise, activity, etc., and prepare a presentation or workshop about it.
• Submit this topic to the Conference Forum. Instructions are on the Call for papers page.
• Work with the forum supervisor and to create a thread for this topic or process online.
• Start the discussion and invite others to join.

The presenter will also moderate or appoint a moderator to:

• Facilitate the discussion by encouraging questions, keeping the discussion on track, assisting participants, mediating disagreements, etc.
• Summarize the discussion weekly or as needed.
• Create a final summary online before the deadline previous to the Budapest Conference.

C. Participants-any and all who are interested in learning from and discussing any of the papers or workshops presented. This includes interested stakeholders from beyond the SIETAR communities. Papers will have no limit on participants who can join to ask questions or discuss. Presenters may, however, if needed by the nature of a workshop, limit participation to a certain number of individuals. Others interested may have given read-only access at the discretion of the presenter. Participants will be given specific instructions about how to join each of the forums when they are announced.

D. Forum Service Team Members are individuals who will be working with the Communications Committee to be up to date on all the platforms and presentations from a functional point of view. They are essentially younger SIETAR members and interns who are looking to learn as much as they can about the intercultural field through what takes place in the forum.

In return, they have volunteered to master the processes and the platform well enough to assist in the day-to-day success of the forums by being ready to read the material, perhaps participate, but above all know to assist the track supervisors as needed and support the presenters/facilitators, as well as participants.

Now is the time to choose the role or roles you wish to play in the Forums!

When and where will this all happen?

The process is currently underway. An official launch date of March 1 is set for full functioning of the Forum.

Online presentations will be hosted by Delta Intercultural Academy which has generously agreed to become an official sponsor of the forums and host us on their site at www.diaglogin.com. We highly recommend that presenters and participants get a head start on learning about this platform by joining one or more of the forums that already exist there.

Workshops may also occur on the SIETAR EU Workplace and other platforms and discussion resources may be employed at initiative of the presenters with the discretion of the Communications Committee.

Thank you for taking the time to acquaint yourselves with these new and challenging developments. Expect frequent updates. Send your, proposals, questions and feedback to forum@sietar-europa.org.