Hello and welcome to show 264 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today we will listen to our chief editor Giorgi Sulaberidze from Georgia, Eastern Europe about his cultural experiences during his exchange semester in Germany. How does the exchange program influence international students’ lives? What are the cultural challenges? Which aspects of life in a … Continue reading "Erasmus Experience +++ International Friends +++ Life In A Cultural Exchange +++ Absolutely Intercultural 264 +++"

Erasmus Experience +++ International Friends +++ Life In A Cultural Exchange +++ Absolutely Intercultural 264 +++

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http://www.absolutely-intercultural.com/podcast/absolutely_intercultural_show_295.mp3

Hello dear listeners and welcome to show 295 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today, we are going to talk about “Abortion”, which is a subject that touches deeply personal beliefs, cultural values, and societal norms. It is a topic that produces strong feelings and controversies, informed by very diverse factors from personal experiences to religious beliefs, legal aspects, and more. Our goal today is definitely not to favour one perspective over another, but to offer a platform for a range of very different voices to share diverse thoughts and perceptions. 
absolutely my choice
In our first interview, a Moroccan student will share her friend’s story who faced severe challenges after marrying and becoming pregnant. Her friend’s husband was an alcoholic, and his addiction created a very unstable and toxic environment, affecting her friend both, emotionally and physically. Diogo asked her how abortion is generally perceived in her home country, Morocco.
absolutely personal
In our second category, Ada supports pro-choice policies and thinks that women should have control over their bodies. However, personally, she would never have an abortion. Oljana asked her to explain to us the context of her home country Albania, where abortion has been legal since the dictatorship ended in 1990.
absolutely pro-life
In our last story, we will listen to Edmond who is generally against abortion, believing it should only be considered when the woman’s life is in danger. This belief is rooted in his personal values and his own experiences. He will share a personal story from his own life where his pregnant wife was in serious danger.
What about you? What are your personal beliefs or values and how do cultural, religious, or societal influences shape the way you perceive abortion? Have you or someone you know ever faced a decision like that? We would actually love to hear from people who completely reject the whole idea of abortion but could not find anyone in our bubble! Get in touch, feel free to share your unique story with us here on this podcast.
Write a comment or mail us, we could do a follow-up interview with you in one of our next shows. On our web page, absolutely-intercultural.com, you can get more information about this show and previous episodes, and you can leave comments. And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too.   
By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes, Apple Podcasts and Spotify? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment. 
Our next show will be coming to you from Anne Fox in Denmark on 5th July.
Until then – try to imagine how you would decide in the situations which were described by our guests today. And –
Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell! 
The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann
Chief Editor: Sebastian Berg
Assistant Editors: Oljana Haskja, Fikret Küey and Diogo Vital Maia
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Abortion +++ Freedom of Choice +++ Ethical Dilemma +++ Absolutely Intercultural 295 +++

http://www.absolutely-intercultural.com/podcast/absolutely_intercultural_show_294.mp3


Dora Hegedus: Your Thinking Partner


In the last show we heard about different types of freedom and in this show, 294, we will continue this theme and find out how lack of freedom can drive someone to leave their country.



Also, in this show we’ll be looking beyond the Erasmus semester abroad, at what can happen when you aim to relocate to a new country permanently. Your head or your heart? Which will win?



We’ll end with a very important problem which Danish leaders often overlook. But is it just Danish leaders?



My name’s Anne Fox and this show is coming to you from Denmark, which is where today’s guest, Dora, decided to relocate to from Hungary. Dora is a coach and therapist and has noticed that, while the headline advantages of coming to Denmark to live are fairly well known globally, there is a downside, that Dora calls “killing me softly”.



But is this show all doom and gloom? No! We will finish with a very simple piece of advice that Dora has for Danish leaders, but which I think is very good advice for everyone. 



Today I am talking with Dora Hegedus who runs a coaching company, called Your Thinking Partner, in Denmark. Dora will tell us why she felt that she and her family should leave Hungary, even though she was already in her fifties when they decided to make the move. 



absolutely killing me softly
But first we’ll find out why the famed work-life balance of working in Denmark is not enough and how Danish leaders are losing their new international employees through careless inattention to one critical factor. What Dora might call, absolutely killing me softly.






absolutely ready to leave
So a sense of belonging is critical to being able to take full advantage of the freedoms of Denmark and in our next segment we will hear how it was this sense of belonging that Dora felt slipping away in her native Hungary. Hear how Dora felt increasingly alienated as we go absolutely ready to leave.



absolutely helpful
Now we don’t want to leave you with the feeling that Denmark is a hopeless case for internationals. It is clearly working for Dora. So here is one last piece of advice that Dora has for Danish leaders on how to retain their foreign staff. Let’s go absolutely helpful.



So that’s it! Ask your foreign colleagues if they need help. Advice which I am sure would bear fruit everywhere, not just Denmark. What do you think? What’s the best way of helping people feel they belong in your country?



Share your story with us via comment or email, and you could feature in one of our upcoming shows. For more information and previous episodes, explore our website.



And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too.



By the way, did you know we are also  on Apple Podcasts and Spotify? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.



The next show will be coming to you from Germany with Laurent Borgmann on the 7th of June.



Until then – stay tuned to your international colleagues!



The host of this show is: Anne Fox



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Belonging +++ work-life balance +++ Denmark +++ Hungary +++ absolutely intercultural 294 +++

http://www.absolutely-intercultural.com/podcast/absolutely_intercultural_show_293.mp3

Hello, dear listeners, and welcome to episode 293 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today, we’re exploring the “Culture of Freedom.” We’re asking a big question: Is there such a thing as too much freedom in some cultures? We’ll look at how freedom affects our own cultures but also how our own cultures have an influence on the freedom we are granted. We will focus on aspects of safety, creativity and even romantic relationships. This is the Absolutely Intercultural Podcast –my name is Laurent Borgmann, and I’m here to guide you through this journey around different aspects of freedom.
Is true freedom about choosing whatever we want, or is it simply about creating a good life within agreed limits? What is the role of freedom during a war, an outbreak of repeated terrorism in a country or a world-wide pandemic? Will total freedom really spark our creativity, or is it the boundaries and limitations that actually fuel our most innovative ideas? Is choosing your own life partners the ultimate freedom, or do arranged marriages offer a kind of family safety net, deeply valued in many cultures?
absolutely safe
 In our first story, we will listen to Xavier from Australia. He shares with us how he thought a lot about the paradox of Freedom vs. Safety during the Corona Crisis down-under where the freedom of movement was much more rigorously restricted than in most parts of Europe. When faced with extreme challenges, Xavier noticed in himself that he actually preferred lockdowns over predicted anarchy, no matter how strict and unprecedented the new Corona regulations were
absolutely independent
In our second story, we will listen to Raghavan from India. He talks about his niece in the United Kingdom who, like many young Indians abroad, is now enjoying an unexpected window of freedom to build a career and find a life partner by herself. These young expats often have the opportunity to choose someone they love, a freedom they would perhaps not have in their own country. However,if they can’t find someone quickly, their parents will jump in and help by arranging their marriage, even from a distance of 8.000 kms.
absolutely creative
In our last story, we will listen to Figo from Turkey who does not feel free to express his artistic freedom. He feels that social biases and narrow-mindedness discourage him from sharing his music, particularly on social media.
What are your thoughts on freedom? Do you think we have all gone too far with personal freedom? Or do you think more freedom would make your country a better place? We’re eager to hear your perspective.
Share your story with us via comment or email, and you can feature in one of our upcoming shows. For more information and previous episodes, visit our website at absolutely-intercultural.com. If you enjoyed the show, please give us a thumbs-up on Facebook.
And did you know we’re also on iTunes, Apple Podcasts and Spotify? You can subscribe for free, leave a rating, and drop a comment there. 
Our next show, hosted by Anne Fox in Denmark, will be out on 3rd May.
Until then – find out whether there can be TOO much freedom in a culture!  and
Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell! 
The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann
Chief Editor: Natalia Obikhod
Assistant Editors: Sebastian Berg
 
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Paradox of Freedom +++ Freedom vs. Safety +++ Artistic Freedom +++ Absolutely Intercultural 293 +++

http://www.absolutely-intercultural.com/podcast/absolutely_intercultural_show_292.mp3
 
Norwich Institute for Language Education
Welcome to Absolutely Intercultural show number 292 on World Futures Day. My name’s Anne Fox and this show is coming to you from Denmark, but when you’re online, does it matter where I am? In this show we’ll be looking at some of the issues that can happen in online courses. Yes, believe it or not, online learning existed long before the Covid 19 pandemic and for this show I decided to ask some of my colleagues at NILE in Norwich about some of the things that can happen when you are teaching online.We’ll hear from Robert about a joke gone wrong, from Eva about how to organise a mixed gender group so that the genders are never mixed and what happened in Neil’s Zoom session that so upset the rest of the group?
absolutely separate
So let’s start with Eva and go absolutely separate about how to organise a mixed gender group so that the genders are never mixed.
absolutely funny
In our next segment we’ll be talking to Robert about something that he experienced when he was facilitating a very diverse group from around the world. Is it absolutely funny?
absolutely real
And in our final segment, we’ll meet Neil who lives in Spain and works for NILE teaching aviation English where we’ll learn how online learning can be absolutely real. But first the dilemma of adjusting meetings to meet other cultural norms.
Neil’s story about his student in Kiev reminds me that this week on several TV stations simultaneously, a new series called “In her Car” tells the story of a Ukrainian woman who volunteers to drive people in Ukraine during the current conflict.
If you have any stories about intercultural challenges with online learning then  let us know here on the blog in a comment.
And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too.
By the way, did you know we are also  on Apple Podcasts and now Spotify? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.
The next show will be coming to you from Germany with Laurent Borgmann on the 5th of April.
Until then – stay tuned!
The host of this show is: Anne Fox
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Online learning+++ NILE +++Absolutely Intercultural 292+++

http://www.absolutely-intercultural.com/podcast/absolutely_intercultural_show_291.mp3
 
Stereotypical image of future
Imagine the future. What do you see? I think I could safely bet a lot of money that what you’re seeing now in your mind involves high tech, humanoid robots, and metallic high-rise cities! Can we be more imaginative about the future? And how do you see your personal future? Welcome to show 291 of Absolutely Intercultural coming to you from Denmark. My name’s Anne Fox and in this show we’re going to talk about the future, or rather, futures. Futures?
absolutely plausible
We’ll start with finding out more about what Futures Studies is, or are, by talking to Thor Svanholm Gustavson of the Copenhagen Futures Studies Institute and no, it’s not about predicting the future but about the possible, the preferred and the absolutely plausible. So what are Futures Studies?
absolutely specific
Thinking about the future is good for societies but let’s explore the personal level. Now let’s be absolutely specific and find out what Viktoria from Georgia told Mariam about her views of her future.
absolutely educational
In our next segment we hear again from Thor in Copenhagen. Let’s go absolutely educational and find out why Futures Studies should be on the school timetable. Thor’s final point makes me want to run a competition to draw a vision of the future that doesn’t include high tech, robots and flying cars. But maybe that’s for the future… 
absolutely predictable
Now we’ll hear from Raj, from India, about the role of parents in writing their children’s future. There’s a clear example of the present influencing the future when Raj goes back to India and aims to promote sustainability.
So who’s writing the story about your future?  You? Your parents? Society? Do you feel limited by the number of futures that are presented to you or do you, on the other hand have too many possible futures and you need to start thinking about your preferred future? What pictures of the future do you have? Are they all high tech? You can let us know here on the blog at absolutely-intercultural.com  where we have links from the organisations mentioned in the show.
And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too.
Thanks to Mariam for interviewing our two RheinAhr Campus students.
By the way, did you know we are also  on Apple Podcasts and now Spotify? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.
And talking about predicting the future it is very likely that the next show will be coming to you from me in Denmark on March 1 which by sheer coincidence is World Futures Day!
Until then – stay tuned!
The host of this show is: Anne Fox
Co-host: Mariam Bilge
Links mentioned in the show:
UNESCO https://www.unesco.org/en/futures-literacy 
Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies https://cifs.dk/ 
Teach the Future https://www.teachthefuture.org/
Image: Pixabay
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Erasmus Experience +++ International Friends +++ Life In A Cultural Exchange +++ Absolutely Intercultural 264 +++

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