By Carla Marcucci and Barbara Hummel, 2017 Becoming culturally sensitive trainers requires respecting how one's culture contributes to the way one perceives the world and understanding that communication and learning styles are distinctly cultural. Differences can occur in problem-solving approaches, attitudes and responses to the law, ways of negotiating, and uses of language, among others. Trainers would benefit from taking into consideration that the learning skills of professionals are influenced by their cultural heritage. While some countries favor a pragmatic approach, others may prefer a more theoretical one. Those countries which have based their training on a theoretical approach might benefit from the experience of those countries who have had a lengthy experience with a pragmatic approach. In many ways, adapting trainings to the needs of different cultures and allowing participants to learn in ways that may be unfamiliar and uncomfortable mirror the paradigm shift required of Collaborative Professionals. Success may be achieved when the participants feel they can incorporate their new experiences and knowledge into their cultural framework. To use Italy as an example, Collaborative Practice was introduced in Italy through training with prevailing American trainers using the English language with simultaneous translators. Use of interpreters required the trainers to be aware of how pacing and use of language could contribute to either clarity or misunderstandings. The trainers found that asking the interpreters to familiarize themselves with the Collaborative materials contributed to success in overcoming some of the language and cultural differences. The participants faced an equally challenging scenario as they were presented with new theories and approaches, which were translated from a foreign language, and presented in a different learning approach. Therein lies some of the inherent difficulties encountered in cross-cultural trainings. The Italian professionals were faced with shifting from learning from books and articles to a new experiential learning approach which included role plays and group work, with less emphasis on written materials and PowerPoint presentations. Italian professionals can confirm that the new approach to learning "has gone straight to the heart, even before getting inside the trainees' brains." After many different training courses, including advanced seminars, some Italian professionals felt the need to integrate their accumulation of knowledge and experience into their cultural framework in order to master it. One of the results has been the writing and publication of the book, La Practica Collaborativa: Dialogo fra teoria e prassi, published by a leading publishing house, UTET Giuridica. The book is edited and co-authored by members of AIADC, and includes a chapter devoted to the American experiences written by several American trainers who came to Italy to teach. Through their commitment to ongoing trainings over a number of years, the Italian professionals have gained the competence and confidence to set up their first Introductory Collaborative training course taught by Italian professionals. The Italian Professionals have succeeded in combining new methods of training and learning with their traditional learning styles. Challenges that cultures face when their professionals are not fluent in English are the limited availability of written and published materials in their language. Preparation for cross-cultural trainings includes the time-consuming task of translating the materials for the participants. Thoughtfulness in creating learning experiences, such as role plays, that are culturally relevant and appropriate increase the participants comfort with new information as it is applied to familiar scenarios. Italy demonstrates another example in removing the obstacle of the language barrier and availability of published materials. In answering a need for the Italian professionals to have increased resources, a committed group of Italian professionals who are members of AIADC worked diligently to translate the work of Nancy Cameron, Collaborative Practice: Deepening the Dialogue, into Italian. A truly collaborative effort has created new resources now available for the Italian professionals who wish to deepen their understanding of the Collaborative process. Cross-cultural training is an opportunity for trainers and participants to embrace our cultural differences and similarities. As we acknowledge each of our own world views, we can reach to understand and respect the world view of others. When we are willing to move outside our comfort zone and familiarity of our cultures, we experience an opportunity to change in ways that benefit ourselves and others.
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