| dc.description.abstract | The 11th Conference of the Nordic Network for Intercultural Communication, held in
Kristiansand 26 – 28 November 2004, attracted a variety of professionals in the field
of communication: scholars, researchers, educators and other practitioners. Although
the purpose of NIC is to promote cooperation in the Nordic countries (including the
Baltic countries) between researchers and practitioners interested in intercultural
communication the arranging committee was happy to welcome individuals from other
European countries and even from as far as Australia.
The theme of the conference was “The Intercultural Perspective in a Multicultural
World”. Participants were invited to submit papers on topics that were related to the
main theme. The papers which were presented at the conference demonstrated that
intercultural communication is both a scientific field in its own right, and that it is
being applied in a multitude of settings where people with different cultural
backgrounds meet and exchange ideas and information, work and do business
together, study or in any other way are engaged in intercultural encounters.
At the sessions during the conference intercultural communication was discussed from
different perspectives, such as education, research, business, globalisation, media and
health. The form of the presentations varied but may be grouped under two main
categories: scientific papers that were part of larger research projects, and sharing of
experiences which had a more informal and report-like form and which were not
intended for publication in the present collection of articles from the conference. All
were welcome and appreciated, however, and we hope that some of the projects not
included in this publication may be available for others in the future, either in NIC
conferences or in other connections.
Two key note speakers were invited: Milton J. Bennett, director of The Intercultural
Development Research Institute, and Elisabeth Eide, assistant professor at Oslo
University College. We are very grateful for their contribution to the conference. Their
articles are included in this volume.
After the conference the presenters were invited to submit their papers to an
editing committee which had the mandate to do a selection and publish them in book
form in a series at the University College of Kristiansand. The present volume then consists of selected articles that were deemed suited for publication by the committee
in consultation with external referees.
The editing committee has consisted of Birte Simonsen, University College of
Kristiansand, and Eilef Gard, Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication.
We would like to express our gratitude to the contributors of the articles and to the
University College of Kristiansand, which has generously included this volume in their
series of publications. Finally, thanks also to the Cultiva Foundation for their
economic support of the conference and this publication. | en |
