‘Innovation’ has become a buzz word for government, corporate and civil society sectors striving to respond to more complex social realities and seeking to improve overall productivity  performance within their respective domains. At its most basic level and from a very general perspective, ‘innovation’ can be  seen as the capacity  to  harness  invention and creativity among people within any particular organization or  context. The notion of ‘intercultural innovation’, however,  is much  more challenging as it implies a pursuit of the same ‘creativity and invention’ agenda but within a culturally and linguistically socio-political context. This means and implies an ability to understand the manifestations of cultural diversity, the requirements of meaningful intercultural relations and  the practice of inclusive intercultural engagement. 

 At a more abstract level, the notion of ‘intercultural innovation’ requires a whole system approach whereby government social structures (e.g. education programs), political ideologies (e.g. how national identities are constructed and projected),  and  corporate management policies and practices  (e.g. how key institutions go about recruiting and relating to people of different backgrounds) are all attuned to the  requirements of engaging with and operating successfully within intercultural settings.

At a more practical level, ‘intercultural innovation’  especially in the workplace should not simply refer to acknowledging different manifestations of diversity per se, but more importantly, it should encompass putting in place a set of strategies and action plans to ensure that the organisational structure itself  as well as its core services reflect in a deep manner and meaningful manner this diversity and as such become more inclusive of all individuals irrespective of their  personal backgrounds.

More importantly,  ‘intercultural innovation’ should not only be  about successful management of cultural diversity as  it should also be approached as a matter of equality, fairness and justice. People from racially, culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds should in principle have equal rights and opportunities to participate in whatever field of employment they might choose. Equality and equal opportunity are  matters of human rights enshrined in international laws.

In terms of who is best placed to achieve and benefit from  ‘intercultural innovation’, the answer here is not so simple. But a combination of characteristics are needed to ensure organizations in increasingly globalised contexts are able to meet the  ‘intercultural innovation’  challenge. Such characteristics  include a set of formal legal processes; a decentralised leadership unit; ongoing diversity training; critical monitoring of demographic data for workforce and in relation to wider population; certain proactive recruitment measures aimed at supporting  members of visible minorities; ongoing professional development for all employees including those from previously underrepresented backgrounds; and accountability for diversity management results.  In short, ‘intercultural innovation’ should be about building cross-cultural bridges so that we as a society are able to optimize the input of  every single individual,  irrespective of their personal attributes, into our shared lives, our inter-dependent communities and our inter-connected world.

Intercultural innovation is about getting the best out of people and giving them the opportunity to soar and to succeed, and not allowing biases to get in the way. (…)I think that if we can all just respect each other a little more, then we can work together and that’s where you start to see innovation.

I don’t preach tolerance in my work. I don’t believe in tolerance, I always say my mother-in-law tolerates me. I don’t want to be tolerated, I want to be respected. I don’t need you to have the same beliefs that I do; I don’t need you to follow the same moral compasses I do. I need you to respect who I am as an individual and I will provide that same respect to you. If you can do that then you can get into a room and you can do magical things in terms of innovating and creating and solving the world’s problems

Who does it well? I don’t really know. I think sessions like this Learning Exchange organized by the Maytree Foundation, the UNAOC and the BMW Group,  are a great opportunity to come together and share experiences around the world and I think it’s going to be up to every organization to define what this looks like. I think we’ve done a good job. Do I think we can do better? Of course, I think we can always do better. But I think we’ve done a good job in terms of teaching that value of respect around the office.

To read the entire interview with Michael Bach, click here.

Intercultural innovation is the capacity of people from different cultures to overcome barriers posed by language or background in order to learn about and understand other cultures by creating lasting projects with potential replicating effects. It can range from collective art to the integrated capacity to solve very concrete problems. Even though in principle it is not related to conflict resolution, intercultural innovation could also make significant contributions in this field. It is a conscious and articulated process based on a multiplicity of dialogues or trialogues and brainstorming schemes.
 
Any person with any cultural background from any profession or geographic location can be innovative in this field. He or she could be found in academia, civil society, at grassroots level, enterprise or diplomacy, in cities or in the countryside. The key factor is the disposition for shaping cognitive, empathetic and emotional ties to interact and create with people from other cultures. Innovators should display curiosity, assertiveness, patience and resilience.
 
Intercultural innovation is more necessary than ever. On one side mankind  is experiencing the acceleration of time that makes us face a new dynamic scenario. We have globally achieved a very significant level of connectivity, virtually flattening intercontinental conversation. It is safe to assume that there are several ideas, conversations, projects mutually unknown due to cultural barriers. We are physically nearer than ever, but misrepresentations and misinterpretations are still playing a role.
 
Thus, we need ideas into practice able of turning ignorance or prejudice towards others into partnership and friendship, turning problems into opportunity, and crises into new chances.
In a world of increasing technical interconnection, we need new ways, methodologies and greater impact in projects that make the difference.

In a globalizing world where geographical boundaries are becoming increasingly less relevant, the demands on our social and communication skills are changing. Being part of the global community means that we need to reflect on the many cultural assumptions, values and expectations that generally make us feel comfortable and help us understand the world around us. Moving from a monocultural lens to a multicultural one means we must first learn to observe and listen more often to those who have a different background and history. It implies withholding judgment more often about those who appear to be different from us, and learning to respect others for who they are. Intercultural innovation goes beyond this, since it also requires people with different nationalities, backgrounds, languages, ethnicities and religions to learn to live together and to collaborate in an effective way. In short, it means gaining intercultural competence so that we can guarantee that we, as teachers, as businesses and as citizens harness the full potential of all those we work and interact with. Such competences do not come naturally but they can be learned and they can make our social and work lives much more rewarding, dynamic and innovative.