Congress 2007 archive

SIETAR Awards

It has become customary that SIETAR Europa recognizes achievements of certain individuals for significant contributions to Intercultural Education, Training and Research. This year Dr George Simons and Mieke Janssen-Matthes, the recipients of the SIETAR Awards 2005 presented the following awards to the distinctive members of the SIETAR community:

INNOVATION AWARD - RICHARD FARKAS

Our Innovation award is given for the development of content and/or processes that have helped to propel SIETAR and the intercultural field forward.

This year’s innovation award goes to SIETAR’s webmaster, owner of Power of Learning, and developer of ArgonautOnline RICHARD FARKAS.

Richard has been responsible for SIETAR’s recent make-over that has improved the look and feel and professionalism of SIETAR as an organization. He has created and updated a number of SIETAR websites, set-up new features such as the online payment sytems and membersclicks - a new database and contact management software that allows the SIETAR office to work more efficiently, and is the technology driver behind the newsflashes, newsletters and online magazines for SIETARs.

Richard has been recognized not only for the work he has done, but for the way in which he does this work. The recipient of this year’s Innovation award is someone who—though an expert in e-learning and technology—understands the intercultural field and SIETAR members AND who has an unparalleled commitment to helping SIETAR and the intercultural field move forward. He is known among SIETAR colleagues for his taking on more and more responsibility without complaint and for producing high quality images.

As Richard was not present, he greeted the SIETAR Audience with this message

I'm honoured of course, to receive this award, but it's easy to be the King Nerd in a population of SIETARians who rightly put people before technology. These days, the internet and other communication technologies are the lifeblood of SIETAR and it has been my pleasure for the last few years to be doing open-heart surgery on the various organs of SIETAR. I never worked alone, and would especially like to thank Christine Longé in the SIETAR Europa office, George Simons (who is everywhere) and Karina Holm Gabrielyan who edits the online magazine. I hope that this award can also recognise the SIETAR volunteers and members who have integrated new technologies into their work. They are the real innovators. Thank you all for your generous award, and please keep your eyes on all the sietar.org sites. There are plenty more innovations to come.

BRIDGE BUILDING AWARD – Dr. FRANCIEN WIERINGA

Our Bridge Building award is given to an individual that operates on the edges of the intercultural field, working with other organizations, disciplines, and areas to build bridges and create greater visibility and reach for SIETARs and the intercultural field.

Dr. Francien Wieringa has been a long-standing SIETAR member who led the board for two years. She headed a task force that changed SIETAR Europa to its present structure with its current statutes and has continually served as a bridge between national SIETAR groups. Our recipient this year is infamous for having created the analogy and image of SIETAR as a pizza, with SE as the whole dough and cheese, and national SIETAR groups as the salami toppings.

Francien has been building bridges as well to help train, teach and educate other on intercultural principles for decades. She is a senior trainer and consultant at a prominent University in the Netherlands who has presented and consulted all over the world.

DEDICATION AWARD - HEATHER ROBINSON

	Heather Robinson (left) with Maria Jicheva, SIETAR Europa President

Our DEDICATION award is given to an individual who demonstrating outstanding levels of passion for and dedication to the intercultural field and the network of SIETAR associations, and who consistently carries out their work and responsibilities with deep intercultural competence.

Heather Robinson has been all over the world carrying out her excellent work and expanding the SIETAR network as she goes. She was instrumental in creating the SIETAR India Movement and was fundamental to the organization of the SIETAR India Conference last fall.

Moreover, Heather is known by many in this field as being someone who operates with the utmost dedication, passion and commitment to intercultural work.

We are not the first to recognize the contributions of this individual. Our recipient of the Dedication award has been honored with the Making a Difference Award, the Red Cross Unsung Heroine Award, a Presidential Point of Light, and a trusteeship of the Nobel prize-winning Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.