Workshop Topics

See what it was about!

2014
November - Self-Awareness
December - Privilege

2015
February - Inclusion and Exclusion
March - Cultural Contexts in Society and Workspaces
April - International Week Dinner Workshop
May - Weekend Intercultural Retreat
October - Cultural Competency
November - Inclusion in Engineering and Business (Collaboration with ADSA)

Upcoming Events

Get to experience it!

For our next workshop, we'll be collaborating with ADSA to talk about "Inclusion in Engineering and Business." More information coming soon!

• Upcoming Workshop
• Date: Sunday, November 15, 2015
• Time: TBA
• Place: TBA

Intercultural Retreat

Let's go even deeper!

We are currently in the process of planning another retreat! Stay tuned for more information!

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Why we do what we do.

As members of a diverse campus, we believe in a community where all students can approach one another with an open mind and enthusiasm to learn. We believe that each student can gain a genuine Illinois experience, unobstructed by social barriers.

Currently, the University of Illinois has an international student population that represents about 24% of the entire campus. This population has risen exponentially over the last decade, providing an exciting opportunity for intercultural enrichment, exchange of diverse knowledge and perspectives, as well as a more profound understanding of what it means to be a “global citizen” for each student.

The Intercultural Community Development Initiative (ICDI) was created with the vision to foster these interactions among international and domestic students.Through well-researched, deliberately designed workshops, we will create an educational environment for students to ask themselves difficult, important questions: Why is it difficult to approach someone from another country? Why do we tend to cluster with those from our own culture? How can we learn to branch out and make the most of our international campus? Through experiential learning, both international and domestic students will consider their identities, assess their personal biases, and work together to create solutions and break barriers.

More specifically, each semester, we will hold one large-scale multi-day retreat designed to challenge students’ assumptions and stereotypes, expose cultural barriers, and build strategies on how to move to action. We hope that students will then engage in our campus community by applying this knowledge in their academic and social lives. In addition, we will hold several smaller workshops throughout the year to address more specific topics such as professional skills, intercultural communication skills, etc, and to continue the conversation and strengthen the relationship among these students. We believe that, through education, students will develop cultural competency and build genuine relationships across borders, ultimately feeling comfortable navigating the challenging social realities of our globalized world in their personal and professional futures.