Congress 2007 archive

Messages of thanks

Dear Colleagues,

Now that the Sofia Congress dust has settled and we are back to our normal lives, I would like to thank you all for your support before, during and after the congress.

Dear Congress Participants,

Thank you for coming to Sofia, it was great to see so many of you there. I hope that after your trip you will associate Bulgarians good people, rich history and culture, good food and wine and this charming “in-betweenness” – between east and west, old and new. Many thanks to those who presented, and to those who were the supportive and demanding audience. It is in the interaction between the two that the sparks of new thinking are often ignited. Let’s make sure that they start new fires.

This congress wouldn’t have happened if we had not had the best partners you can imagine – ELC - Vlado, Svetlana, Dimi, and their team. A small consultancy, with little experience in putting together big events, rose up to the challenge and delivered above and beyond anything that we hoped for. We are deeply indebted to them and would like to offer their organisation SIETAR institutional membership for 2007 and 2008. We are thrilled that we could experience the professionalism and camaraderie they offered in the process. Dear friends, SIETAR Europa will be your partner whenever you need us.

Our SIETAR volunteers are our greatest treasure. The committees worked like “Swiss clocks” and delivered inspiring results: the program, the pre-conference workshops, the parallel programme – the films, jazz, world café, tours, exhibitions, sponsorship, General Assembly, gala, awards, all came together in the end to offer a full, rich experience.

We were blessed with the amazing support of our CIAs - the Congress Information Assistants. Their energy and smiles during even the most stressful moments were so reassuring. We would like to offer them membership for 2007/2008 and hope that they will stay with us in the future.

Our honoured speakers – Professor Hofstede, Richard Lewis and Rob Gibson offered different perspectives on the work we do, stretching both our thinking and ability to hold sometimes conflicting views simultaneously under our ”intercultural hats”. Many thanks.

The “Humanitarian issues and the intercultural community” session brought out the breadth and depth of our field of knowledge and the many competencies we have to offer to humanitarian causes. The values of respect of diversity and dignity which bind us together as a community are vital to share with NGO’s, as Charaf Moulali expressed how intercultural thinking needs to be at the very core of the ethics of humanitarian work. Thank you all for participating in the session.

I would like to thank our sponsors who keep coming to our events, not because of the amazing buying power of SIETAR and its members, but mostly to show their support for a good organisation and good people. And on that note I would like to thank a special lady – the founder of the SIETAR Fan Club. When I asked Danielle Goddard why she came to congress the answer was: “I have nothing to do with the intercultural field, I just like the people”. Thank you, Danielle, I couldn’t agree more. It is the people who make SIETAR Europa what it is. I can’t wait to see you again in Granada.

If you would like to contribute to improvements of coming SIETAR events, or simply leave a message for the organisers, please, go through our questionnaire:

We appreciate your feedback on any issue that you were facing in Sofia!

Maria Jicheva
President, on behalf of the Board

Now that it is over, it is time to reflect on a fantastic event. I enjoyed myself tremendously in Sofia, both as part of the organising team and as a participant. It is difficult to pick out single highlights as the whole experience was rich and full of learning and fun encounters. I was impressed at the quality of the pre-congress workshops and the earnestness of the participants, and would particularly like to thank our visiting presenters who came all the way from the UK, Germany, the USA and Japan. I liked the way you could pick and choose what interested you the most, and I was privileged enough to hear some fascinating theoretical and practical views on our field. The social events were a great laugh because of the chance to chat with people from all over Europe and beyond. But perhaps the most exciting part of the congress for me was the morning we spent discussing collaboration with humanitarian organisations. Let's keep up the momentum and let the buds grow into a strong tree!

SIETAR Europa's decision to hold their congress apparently on the outer reaches of Europe was completely vindicated. Sofia may have a laid back atmosphere, but it has a vibrancy that tells us that the Bulgarian people are on the move and ready to play a full role in Europe. Thanks to SIETAR, I have made friends for life in Sofia!

Robert P.K. Johnson
President, SIETAR UK

Sofia was my third SE congress, which meant that it was first of all a "re-union" with other (European) SIETARians I mainly see once in 1,5 years! And because I got much more involved within (Young) SIETAR since Nice, Sofia was an opportunity to meet face to face over coffee, lunch or drinks with those I had only been in contact with through email. Sofia was also a chance to discover what other SIETARians think about the role of Young SIETAR within the SIETAR network and in which way we can improve our cooperation. We enjoyed it very much to talk to so many people during the breaks and to share their opinions with everybody through the cardboards all over the elevator-area!

Anne-Claire Frank
Amsterdam
President, Young SIETAR
Member, SIETAR Netherlands

This was my first experience with SIETAR-Europa congress. I was very impressed by this group of people switching with ease between multiple languages. I went to some very impressive sessions and was sorry that majority of the sessions was only 45 minutes long. Both opening reception and the closing Gala were real fun and provided a wonderful opportunity to meet people. As a person who comes from Eastern Europe I was deeply touched by the effort that SIETAR-Europa made to bring Eastern European interculturalist to the congress and to specifically emphasize their contribution. I was also very much impressed by your assembly – having people actively engaged in discussing a budget at the end of the long day can be quite a challenge.

It was unexpected and very touching for all of us from SIETAR-USA to see our own Heather Robinson among award recipients. Thank you for acknowledging and honoring her.

I hope to see a lot of European Sietarians in Kansas City this November for our conference and am looking forward to our gathering next year in Granada.

Tatyana Fertelmeyster
SIETAR-USA President

Reflections on the SIETAR Conference 2007 in Sofia.

What an exciting conference!
Excellently positioned in a country going through fundamental transition, where East meets West, where contrast and differences jump to your eyes.
In the hotel the new Europe presented differences in hard- and software. The rooms represented standards from old eastern up to modern high tech level. The service attitude stretched from warm and caring to command and control types.
Outside the contrast was all over the place, introvert versus outgoing, hope versus fear, old versus new, ruins versus state-of-the-art constructions, rich versus poor, market versus plan economy, etc.

Well, in such an environment of contrast, confrontation and ongoing development meeting other sietarians was refreshing and hart warming. As you may know, SIETAR Europa conferences are about more than ‘just’ workshops and papers. They are about seeing friends, connecting with soul mates, and sharing believes, dreams and missions. – Moreover, such events represent a critical look in the mirror. Attending a SE conference means professional benchmarking!
Indeed, conference sessions offer a variety of topics approached from quite different angles – with a wide range of quality levels. Choosing one session above another is challenging, and may result in disappointment, shock, fun – or paradigm shift. Yet, learning and professional development are guaranteed!
All it takes is to embark on the journey and enjoy the ride!

Once again I would like to thank the SIETAR Europa board and all others for another well organized and inspiring conference. You really have done great work! Incredible to see such a professional event being organized by volunteers. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Henning Zorn
President SIETAR Nederland

Message from Geert Hofstede.

Dear Mirka [SIETAR Europa's congress co-ordinator], enthusiastic young people like you have made the congress a success! Old SIETAR has rejuvenated, it has become more truly intercultural and polycentric, which should enable it to play a useful role in the world in the coming years. It was a pleasure to contribute!

Geert Hofstede