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Latest ITER Newsline

  • Disruption mitigation | Final design review is a major step forward

    The generations of physicists, engineers, technicians and other specialists who have worked in nuclear fusion share a common goal, dedication and responsibility [...]

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  • Image of the week | Like grasping a bowl of cereal

    Contrary to the vast majority of ITER machine components, the modules that form the central solenoid cannot be lifted by way of hooks and attachments. The 110-t [...]

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  • Education | 13th ITER International School announced

    The 13th ITER International School (IIS) will be held from 9 to 13 December in Nagoya hosted by National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), Japan. The subject [...]

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  • Open Doors Day | Having fun while discovering ITER

    A public event on Saturday 13 April draws a big crowd. It was a beautiful, summer-like day on Saturday 13 April. Perfect for a journey into ITER. Nearly 800 mem [...]

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  • Fusion world | Increased awareness in a changing landscape

    The world of fusion research is changing fast, and world leaders are taking notice. The large public projects that occupied centre stage for the past decades ar [...]

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Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Did we forget somebody?

As this poster in Building 525 A suggests, the ''Comparative Culture Workshop'' could address every nation's cultural or ethnic subcategory ... (Click to view larger version...)
As this poster in Building 525 A suggests, the ''Comparative Culture Workshop'' could address every nation's cultural or ethnic subcategory ...
Considering that some 34 nations are represented in ITER; and further considering that each nation can be broken into cultural or ethnic subcategories (as this poster in Building 525 A suggests), the "Comparative Culture Workshop" cycle could take some time to complete.

This new endeavour in cultural understanding succeeds the "Intercultural Seminars" that were organized in 2008-2009. "We felt a need to be more interactive," explains Agence Iter France's Shawn Simpson, "and to focus on the work interaction between people of different cultures."

Participants in Shawn's workshop have already gone through the challenges and benefits of "working with" the Americans, the French (there are requests to do that one again), the Japanese and most of the Europeans. The Spaniards will be next in December.

"I'm very pleasantly surprised by the number of people who show up despite the pressure of work and deadlines," says Shawn. The workshop doesn't "teach" nor does it provide quick-fix answers—it helps to open the mind. "What is particularly satisfying is when I hear someone say: 'Oh, I understand why so and so didn't answer my mail right away!' Or: 'Now, that explains why that meeting with X... went so badly...'"

Have three years of intercultural pedagogy been efficient? "Definitely!" says Shawn. "Intercultural awareness at ITER is getting better every year ..."

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