UNITAR Online Catalogue
Cross-Cultural Communication: Developing Cultural Awareness, Competences and Skills - 2025
Multilateral Diplomacy
Background
In today’s global environment, individuals and organizations regularly navigate intercultural situations and interactions. Developing cross-cultural competence is essential for operating effectively in these diverse settings, helping to prevent misunderstandings and reduce bias or prejudice in communication and negotiation processes. An awareness of how culture influences behavior, and developing a refined sensitivity, relevant skills, and practical competence, can significantly improve the quality of international interactions and contribute to more constructive and collaborative outcomes.
In light of these challenges, the course Cross-Cultural Communication: Developing Cultural Awareness, Competences and Skills was developed to address this need and support participants in building the knowledge and tools required for effective intercultural communication.
Event Objectives
The objective of this e-learning course is to build a deeper understanding of how culture influences communication in international professional settings. With a focus on developing cultural awareness, the course provides practical tools to strengthen competences and skills for navigating intercultural interactions, ultimately supporting more effective and sustainable international relations.
Learning Objectives
The Learning Objectives for this course are the following:
- Enhance knowledge about concepts of culture;
- Explore challenges of cross-cultural communication;
- Expand the participant's cross-cultural competences;
- Deepen the knowledge about negotiations and leadership in a cross-cultural context.
Content and Structure
The course will include the following content:
- Concepts and dimensions of culture;
- Cross-cultural communication;
- Cross-cultural competence;
- Working in international contexts;
- Cross-cultural negotiations.
Methodology
This online course is moderated by an intercultural consultant, is asynchronous, and places an emphasis on online discussions and self-paced learning. The participants will be primarily responsible for their own learning over the four-week span of the course. The course will contain the following components:
- Compulsory and optional reading material, intended to teach the basic concepts and principles of the lesson's subject-matter;
- Additional audio-visual and reading material related to the lessons;
- Discussion board sessions at the end of each module. To be eligible for the course certificate, a passing grade of 80% on participation and test assessments is required;
- A Community Discussion Board will be available for participants to post questions or comments visible to the instructor and other participants. This discussion board will be moderated by the trainer and UNITAR;
Estimated learning time: minimum of 30 hours.
Participants will be eligible to receive a certificate of completion after the successful completion of the course.
Targeted Audience
The course targets mid to senior-level governmental officials as well as staff of intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations. It also targets entry-level and mid-career diplomats and private and public sector specialists. Moreover, young professionals from related fields are welcome. Postgraduate students with relevant experience in multicultural working environments are also encouraged to apply.
Additional Information
Payment information
We highly recommend credit card payments. Registration will be closed as soon as the course is full and your place will be secured once your payment is confirmed.
For more information, please consult the UNITAR Multilateral Diplomacy Programme website or contact mdp-elearning [at] unitar.org (mdp-elearning[at]unitar[dot]org)
Admission requirements
There are no specific admission requirements. Participants who wish to enrol in one particular course without being awarded a diploma can still do so.
- Have a good command of the English language
- Be at ease with Zoom, Office 365, and basic computer skills
Discount for Eastwest European Institute Alumni
Alumni from the Eastwest European Institute can benefit from a 10% discount for this training. After you complete your application, kindly send your Eastwest Certificate to diplomacy [at] unitar.org (diplomacy[at]unitar[dot]org). UNITAR will verify your alumni status and, upon confirmation of the latter, apply the discount.
Technical requirements
UNITAR recommends the following as a minimum in hardware and software to take our e-Learning courses. Please consult your Network Administrator or Systems person to ensure that you have the following:
- Platform: Windows 10 or 11; MacOS 10.15 Catalina, 11 Big Sur, and 12 Monterey; Linux
- Software: Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office (Windows or Mac) or Open Office
- Browser: Microsoft Edge; Safari; Google Chrome; t works better with Firefox 3.6 or higher.
Note that JavaScript, Cookies and Pop-ups must be enabled.