Name: SIETAR USA 2024 Virtual Conference
Start: 22/02/2024 09:00 PM +00:00
End: 24/02/2024 08:30 PM +00:00

We provide training and support for our clients to build intercultural competence within educational institutions, government agencies, non-profit organizations, corporations, and other organizations through implementation of the Intercultural Development Inventory&reg;.

Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) | IDI, LLC

The mission of SIETAR USA is to provide an interdisciplinary community of educators, trainers, and researchers that nurtures and supports transformational growth, intercultural understanding, and professional interchange with a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and social justice.

SIETAR USA 

Sirva Worldwide, Inc. provides HR and mobility professionals with the resources, guidance, and support they need to achieve the best possible relocation for talent, and for the companies that move them. As a leading global relocation management and moving services company, we bring together personalized program solutions, expansive global reach, innovative technology, and an unmatched supply chain to transform businesses of any size and empower talent moving to their next opportunity. From corporate relocation and household goods to home sale and commercial moving and storage, our portfolio of brands (including Sirva, Allied, northAmerican, Global Van Lines, Alliance, Sirva Mortgage and SMARTBOX) provide everything needed to move talent and deliver experience.
Since 1963, Sirva&rsquo;s Intercultural Group has been providing premier talent development solutions to organizations seeking to increase global competence and enhance global performance across their workforce. Built on research-based training methodology and foundational cultural content, our tailored solutions help our clients' employees and their families develop the competencies required to be effective and thrive in diverse, multi-cultural settings.&nbsp;

SIRVA

NOTE: This session will be held on Zoom.
This session is intended to offer a tranquil environment where individuals can relax, rejuvenate, and find inner peace as they embark on the final day of the conference.
Facilitator Emani Richmond will create a soothing atmosphere, designed to guide participants into a state of deep relaxation, promoting stress reduction and mental clarity. The session provides a safe and non-judgmental space, allowing participants to let go of tension, release emotional blockages, and encourage self-reflection. It offers an opportunity for self-care and introspection, as well as for connecting with one's own inner wisdom and intuition.
Don't miss this opportunity to start your day feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and more connected to your inner self.
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Emani Richmond

Guided Meditation & Healing Space

NOTE: This session will be held on <a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/j/75625089564?pwd=B23bMZ4A42lWZduQGrfaBiS5CIWaL7.1">Zoom</a>.
In conversations, frustrations with others' behavior can lead to disconnection. Have you wondered why this happens? The NeuroAffective Relational Model reveals that we're born with core needs: Connection, Autonomy, Attunement, Love, and Trust. These needs shape our early expectations and must be met, at least to a "good enough" degree, for healthy development (D.W. Winnicott). Unmet needs foster disconnecting behaviors, aligning with mindset stages like denial, polarization, and minimization on the Intercultural Development Inventory.&nbsp; This session links our core emotions, assumptions, and responses to the Intercultural Development Inventory continuum. Gain strategies for bridging mindset and cultural competency, fostering acceptance and belonging.
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https://us06web.zoom.us/j/75625089564?pwd=B23bMZ4A42lWZduQGrfaBiS5CIWaL7.1

Zuica Donev

Fostering Connection: Exploring Human Needs, Mindset, and Cultural Competency

This session will be on <a href="https://zoom.us/my/culturalmentor">Zoom</a>.&nbsp;
In our interconnected world, the concept of belonging transcends geographical borders but often encounters other boundaries. This session explores how individuals and groups in higher education forge connections and extend belonging beyond traditional borders. With higher education institutions shaping the future, especially for international students, fostering a sense of belonging is crucial. We delve into challenges, opportunities, and strategies for inclusivity among students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds and share effective methods for promoting inclusivity and nurturing inclusive academic spaces. Join us for an engaging dialogue on higher education's role in fostering belonging across borders, sharing experiences and innovative solutions to ensure everyone finds their place. https://zoom.us/my/culturalmentor

Terra Gargano

Julia Zeigler

Belonging Across Borders: Fostering Pathways to Inclusivity

NOTE: This session will be held on <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82807292429">Zoom</a>.
Imagine a typical day. Now, imagine a typical day, but instead: you are awakened by jackhammers, your hot water is turned off, your Internet isn&rsquo;t working, the roads you drive on are blocked off, there&rsquo;s piles of debris in front of your house and workers are trying to access your basement. How would you feel about that?
The buzzword over the last ten years has been &ldquo;infrastructure:&rdquo; infrastructure bills, infrastructure upgrades, infrastructure improvements, infrastructure repairs, infrastructure failures and so on. It&rsquo;s no surprise that, across the world, various infrastructures are failing to meet acceptable standards, whether due to age, environmental impact, technological upgrades and safety requirements.
Now, you&rsquo;re probably wondering: what in the world does this have to do with interculturalism? While we may be talking about roads, bridges, utility lines and buildings, we&rsquo;re not looking at the bigger picture: the communities that are impacted by the work and the cultural nuances that frame them.
The presenter will discuss the ways in which governmental bodies, public utilities and private organizations can utilize interculturalism within their infrastructure improvements by effectively communicating and educating communities that will be impacted and partnering with local leadership. As a current public utility employee engaged in this work, the presenter will be sharing examples of successful (and unsuccessful) projects, including best practices and lessons learned.&nbsp;
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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82807292429

Allison Iurato

Interculturalism & Infrastructure: Building Bridges with Effective Communication

NOTE: This session will be held on <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81144737177">Zoom</a>.
Understanding the history of relationships between Western and Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Islamic civilizations facilitates dialogue between the West and these powerful forces in our world. The focus of this presentation is on the evolution of somewhat similar responses of these four civilizations to the West under conditions of unequal power, highlighting identity conflicts and perception gaps. The persenter will briefly discuss how each of these civilizations has fostered nationalist movements but also identify trends that point toward integration with rather than separation from or assimilation with Western civilization.
The concepts of alternative modernities, therapeutic retrieval of fractured histories, and completing the cycle of trauma and recovery enable us to understand the four responses to modern Western civilization more expansively. We can move beyond static notions of civilizational clash due to unique and irreconcilable values. This material for teaching and training can enrich intercivilizational dialogue. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81144737177

Bill Kelly

Understanding the History of Intercivilizational Relationships

Take advantage of this time to connect with friends and colleagues in the Lounge, and visit with our conference sponsors at their booths once more. This is the FINAL networking break of the 2024 conference!

Networking Break - FINAL

NOTE: This session will be held on <a href="https://zoom.us/my/culturalmentor">Zoom</a>
How do we build community while ensuring every voice has a seat at the table? How do we recognize and engage with the strengths and perspectives that every voice lends to the conversation? In our panel discussion, we evoke the expertise and passion of four women: Indira Fuacanangui, Jennifer Okoliko, Dr. Kelsea Jackson, and C. Melissa Neu, who lead by example in their prospective communities, from Angola to Nigeria to the United States. Through a collaborative and empathetic mindset, these leaders inform on issues related to intersectional discourse across cultures. Crucially, they evoke their shared learnings to strengthen their communities.
Having met at an International Leadership Association (ILA) Mastermind group on Intercultural Communication, this panel will address the evolving landscape of intersectional discourse and its implications for building inclusive communities. We will explore our shared learnings and experiences gained during our collaboration, demonstrating how these insights have strengthened our communities.
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https://zoom.us/my/culturalmentor

Christina Benavides

C. Melissa Neu

Intersectionality in Intercultural Community Building - A Panel Discussion

NOTE: This session will be held on <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82586122670">Zoom</a>
The intricate relationship between neuroscience and the third culture is explored, shedding light on the developmental effects of cross-cultural mobility and the often-concealed outcomes of migration. These experiences potentially impact neurobiological processes, especially for multi-cultural and third culture individuals.&nbsp;
Acknowledging the influence of multiple cultures on identity and learned behaviors is central, where practical exercises are customized to individual experiences. The unique blend of cultures is a potent driver of cognitive thought processes, where neurobiological implications have long-term functional outcomes.&nbsp;
Through inclusion strategies, cultural differences can be used as tools to foster inclusion. By attuning to diverse cultural elements, intercultural understanding may enhance synaptic connections and cognitive thought-processes. Attendees will learn how to use cultural resilience to bridge workplace gaps, support intentional organizational development, and improve cross-cultural communication. Strategies for creating a more inclusive, practical, and diverse work environment will be applied.&nbsp;
This session is for anyone interested in navigating inclusion through a neuroscience perspective. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82586122670

Ruchelle Buenaventura

Neuroscience and Third Culture: Leveraging Learned Behaviors for Inclusion

NOTE: This session will be held on <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87498952776">Zoom</a>
True DEI requires organizations and their leaders to co-create a new culture with shared purpose and power. Rather than expecting assimilation from those who have been underrepresented or sidelined, in this session we will explore how to design a new way of working together that incorporates divergent experiences, values, and needs, and seeks to create a more balanced power structure. The session will include large group dialogue and small group and partner work, in which participants will explore the diversity of their own social networks and identify ways to expand their connections to break down hidden biases and blind spots and broaden their understanding of multiple realities that exist outside of their purview.
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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87498952776

Maria Morukian

Inclusion is Not Enough: How to Move Beyond Performative DEI

This session will be held on Zoom:&nbsp;<a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83232949462">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83232949462</a>
Join Conference Chair Brett Parry for closing remarks and a prize drawing: one (1) free conference registration for 2025!

Closing Remarks & 2025 Conference Prize Drawing

NOTE: This meeting will take place on <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83232949462">Zoom</a>
This 'fireside chat'-style presentation will feature discussion on: &bull; Strategies for overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers in global communication. &bull; Practical advice for building and managing multicultural remote teams. &bull; The challenges and opportunities of globalization and remote work in today's world. &bull; Creating an inclusive work environment in a remote or hybrid setting.
This session promises to be a highlight of the conference, as it offers real-world expertise, relevance, inspiration, actionable insights, and inclusivity&mdash;all in line with SIETAR USA's values.
Your speakers are:
Diana Zalaquett, Change Management Project Manager w/ HubSpot Dr. Vrnda "V" Boykin, Senior Program Manager w/ GTM Enablement Martijn van Dooren, CEO of WX Digital Agency Jessica Reyes, Global Strategy Architect: Bridging Cultures for Business Growth
Diana Zalaquett&nbsp;is a LatinX entrepreneur, Career Coach, and Change Management Project Manager at HubSpot&nbsp; Diana to the USA at 18 to pursue her dream career. Since then, she has ived and worked in over 5 different countries and experienced first-hand the challenges of immigration and career transitioning.
Highlights include:
&bull; Nominated Latina 30 under 30&nbsp; &bull; TedX Speaker: "Communicating in the new Normal"&nbsp; &bull; Coached over 200+ women immigrants looking for career transitions/job search strategies&nbsp; &bull; Received MVP and Remarkable Awards at HubSpot&nbsp; &bull; Worked at the United Nations as a Program Officer for the Landmine Ban&nbsp;
Dr. V&rsquo;s expertise is in creating equitable work experiences for women. &nbsp;Dr. V established clear evidence to illustrate the importance of social support systems in tackling workplace equity through shifts in the social environment. &nbsp; Dr. V utilizes her skills and knowledge to disrupt and redefine leadership training and enablement programs resulting in increased performance and profitability.
Martijn van Dooren, the CEO of WX Digital Agency, is an entrepreneur whose journey commenced at the age of 14 when he launched his first eBay venture. Today, with a strategic presence of WX in Panama, the Netherlands, and India, Martijn is dedicated to connecting people worldwide and embracing cultural differences to drive exceptional results. His mission has been clear from day one: build a globally inclusive and culturally diverse agency that leverages his expertise in tech and digital marketing to enhance efficiency and provide data-driven recommendations. By fostering a workplace that celebrates diversity and harnessing the power of global perspectives, Martijn aims to propel performance and profitability for clients and stakeholders, understanding that true success is rooted in the synergy of cultures and connections.
Jessica Reyes is a dynamic marketing leader and expert in global communication and remote team management. With over two decades of experience, Jessica has honed practical strategies to overcome cultural and linguistic barriers.
Raised in a multicultural environment, Jessica's personal background fuels her passion for fostering collaboration across diverse cultures. As a leader in multinational corporations, she played a key role in building and managing remote teams, earning recognition for her ability to create cohesive multicultural environments. Jessica's passion for international business and cross-cultural communication led her to pivotal roles. Notably, she worked closely with trade agencies across all Latin America countries, gaining a nuanced understanding of the region's dynamics. She has been instrumental in fostering connections between Latin America and the United States.

Agenda

Speakers32 Speakers

Renata Urban

Liesbeth Huysmans

Gabriela Weglowska

Emani Richmond

Zuica Donev

Terra Gargano

Yuliya Kartoshkina

Danne Johnson

C. Melissa Neu

Allison Iurato

Ruchelle Buenaventura

Michelle Hagenberg

Carolyn Ryffel

Eric Davis

Cheryl Woehr

Debby Flickinger

Jon DeVries

Pilar Montejo

Bill Kelly

Ricardo Nunez

Christina Benavides

Paula Swanson

Shannon Murphy

cynthia milani

Maria Morukian

Julia Zeigler

Indira Fuacanangui

Martha Brumbaugh

Christian Höferle

Ann Smith

Lobna "Luby" Ismail

Basma Ibrahim DeVries

Booth3 Booth

Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) | IDI, LLC

SIETAR USA

SIRVA

Agenda

Speakers.css-1f6omqm{margin:0;font-size:1.4rem;font-weight:500;line-height:1.5;color:#5d5d5d;font-family:'Poppins',sans-serif;margin-left:0.8rem;}32 Speakers

Renata Urban

Liesbeth Huysmans

Gabriela Weglowska

Emani Richmond

Zuica Donev

Terra Gargano

Yuliya Kartoshkina

Danne Johnson

C. Melissa Neu

Allison Iurato

Ruchelle Buenaventura

Michelle Hagenberg

Carolyn Ryffel

Eric Davis

Cheryl Woehr

Debby Flickinger

Jon DeVries

Pilar Montejo

Bill Kelly

Ricardo Nunez

Christina Benavides

Paula Swanson

Shannon Murphy

cynthia milani

Maria Morukian

Julia Zeigler

Indira Fuacanangui

Martha Brumbaugh

Christian Höferle

Ann Smith

Lobna "Luby" Ismail

Basma Ibrahim DeVries

Booth.css-7303n9{margin:0;font-size:1.4rem;font-weight:500;line-height:1.5;color:#5d5d5d;font-family:'Poppins',sans-serif;color:#FFFFFF;margin-left:0.8rem;font-weight:400;}3 Booth

Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) | IDI, LLC

SIETAR USA

SIRVA

Speakers32 Speakers

Booth3 Booth