TRAINING

Building Bridges Through Dialogue and Shared Narratives: UNESCO Story Circles are a participatory methodology designed to foster intercultural understanding, empathy, and dialogue across diverse groups and communities.

Rooted in UNESCO’s mission to promote peace and cultural exchange, Story Circles create a safe, inclusive space where participants share stories and listen to others, building connections and breaking down cultural barriers.

Through guided sessions, participants engage in meaningful exchanges that encourage active listening, reflection, and the recognition of shared humanity. Each circle focuses on themes that resonate with participants’ lived experiences, allowing for an exploration of identity, diversity, and common values.

Structure:

1. Training session (4 hours): Intercultural competence with Unesco Story Circle (in-class)
2. Individual follow up process with participants (action plan, goals and insights) (online)
3. Closing session (2 hours): Sharing commitments, action plan and achievements (in-class or online)

Target audience:

• • Higher Education: Faculty, non-teaching staff and graduate and PhD students.
  • Educational institutions: teachers and educators.
  • Nonprofits: staff and adult volunteers/members.

«The cost of intercultural incompetence are so high, including all the dangers of conflict and war… just as our future depends upon actions taken today, so the future of cultural diversity respectful of human rights in our social world depends upon our ability to gain and demonstrate intercultural competencies today»

UNESCO, 2013

This intensive program equips Higher Education staff with the skills and frameworks to foster intercultural competence and critical thinking in the Internationalization at Home programs and processes.

Rooted in critical pedagogy and transformative teaching practices, the program combines experiential learning with an intercultural approach. Participants will explore strategies to navigate cultural diversity, challenge power structures, and empower students to engage with global and social justice issues critically and meaningfully.

Led by a consultant, trainer, and researcher with over 15 years of experience in higher education and international projects, the program provides actionable tools for creating inclusive, impactful, and transformative educational spaces.

This can be included in longer training programs in the field of Internationalization, Global education, Global citizenship and others.

Time: 8 hours (possibility to adjust time distribution)

Target audience:

• • Higher Education: Faculty, non-teaching staff, researchers and PhD students.
  • Nonprofits: staff and adult members involved in educational programs.

Training to enhance participants’ intercultural competence with practical tools to effectively manage international classrooms, groups and environments.

As Stella Ting-Toomey, author of Communicating Across Cultures, explains, intercultural communication is about recognizing the identities of others. But how do we put this recognition into practice? It begins with communication—how we express what we want, feel, or expect. If conflicts can arise in classrooms, groups, communities or teams where individuals share the same language and cultural references, imagine the challenges when people from different cultures, whose differences influence communication styles, come together.

Intercultural competence training focuses on building the skills needed to communicate appropriately and effectively with individuals, clients, and teams from diverse cultural backgrounds. By learning to recognize, accept, and navigate cultural differences—and express them constructively—we can turn these differences into a competitive advantage for just organizational growth.

Time: starts with 3 hours and can be adapted to the needs and goal of your organization.

Target audience:

• • Higher Education: Faculty, non-teaching staff and students.
  • Educational institutions: teachers and educators.
  • Nonprofits: staff and adult volunteers/members.

This training explores the three levels of interculturality—relational, functional, and critical—to analyze and reflect on power structures, diversity, antiracism, coloniality, and decoloniality, among other key topics.

It aims to foster critical awareness of global inequalities and empower participants to take meaningful actions, both individually and collectively, to advance global justice.

Time: 3 hours.

Target audience:

• • Higher Education: Faculty, non-teaching staff and students.
  • Educational institutions: teachers and educators.
  • Nonprofits: staff and adult volunteers/members.

‘Training? I’ve traveled a lot; I don’t need preparation. I already know how this works.’ Does it sound familiar? It’s something we often hear from students signing up for international internships. But those who organize and coordinate these programs know that this isn’t the case.

This workshop is designed to critically and consciously prepare students and volunteers for international experiences in a country of the Global South and/or non-Western culture. It focuses on developing personal and intercultural competences, and critical thinking for those embarking on this journey, while also contextualizing the experience within a globalized world and giving practical situated advice. It addresses key aspects such as otherness, diversity, ethnocentrism and one’s own cultural assumptions to ensure thorough preparation and meaningful, high-quality experiences with a positive impact on the student, your university and the host organization.

Time: starts with 3 hours (several sessions recommended)

Target audience:

• • Higher Education: students.
  • Educational institutions: teachers and educators.
  • Nonprofits: adult volunteers/members.

An experience in a country or culture different from one’s own presents both a unique challenge and a valuable opportunity for personal, academic and professional growth. This training prepares students and volunteers for a better and meaningful experience in Spain.

This training will address the expectations of international mobility, the stages and characteristics of cultural adjustment (such as communication styles, traditions, time management, gender perspectives and roles, etc.), intercultural communication, and group dynamics, with the goal of fostering meaningful connections and strengthening a sense of belonging within the group.

We will also explore the dangers of the single story, the impact of stereotypes, and how these can shape our perceptions and interactions both ‘at home’ and during their international experience. Finally, we will delve into the cultural, sociohistorical, and practical aspects of their new city, region and country, to help students better understand and fully embrace their new cultural environment.

Time: 3 hours 

Target audience:

• • Higher Education: international students arriving in Spain (Study Abroad, Erasmus+ incoming students, other international exchanges and full-time international students).
  • Educational institutions: exchange students arriving in Spain.
  • Nonprofits: adult volunteers arriving in Spain.

A creative and engaging workshop designed to help students and volunteers qualitatively and quantitatively assess their overall international mobility experience through visual thinking techniques.

Elements that are evaluated:

• Before, during and after the international experience.
• Sending university/organization and host
• university/organization.
• Formal and administrative processes.
• Personal experience.

The final deliverable will be a comprehensive document summarizing the information provided by the about the different evaluated elements.

Time: 3 hours 

Target audience: any person/group who has participated in an international experience over 3 months long.

Independent lecturer and researcher with experience in public and private universities, and nonprofits. I use participatory and experiential tools both online and in person teaching, always with a critical and international approach.

In 2014 I started teaching in Higher Education. Since then, I have taught and still teach in the following topics:

Master’s level:

• International Perspective of International Cooperation.
• Empowerment and psychosocial aspects from a communitarian
• perspective.
• Ethical dilemmas and culture shock management.
• Mentored students in their international internship and thesis.
• Research assistant.

Undegraduate:

• International Affairs.
• International Organizations.
• Ethics in Business.
• Organizational Communication.

If my approach suits your vision but you need a customized program, feel free to reach out and share your ideas.