Parallel Sessions Overview

SIETAR Switzerland 2025 Conference, Lucerne

Thursday 26 June (Sessions: A, B)

Parallel Sessions A 13:30 – 15:00

IL01: Mary Gene Saudelli and Suzan Snaggs-Wilson

Are We There Yet?: Discourse Analysis of Interviews of 3 Women Leaders
Track: Research

• Public discourses about women’s status in professional contexts and society at large asserts messaging that implies equity has been achieved. Politics, education, business, and many other spaces convey that “doors” are open and equal status is the norm. However, research in relation to leadership, diversity, inclusion, and notions such as the “glass ceiling” and “glass cliff” counter these assumptions about women’s status in professional and social lives (i.e. Snaggs-Wilson, 2021).

IL02: Sanne Bosma and Marcel van der Poel

Beyond Borders: Integrating Biology into Intercultural Communication and DEI Training
Track: Practice Oriented

• Learning outcomes of trainings in Intercultural Communication (IC) and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) should enhance learners’ ability to engage with foreign worldviews. In this workshop, we explore how trainers can develop participants’ skills for navigating superdiverse contexts, overcoming essentialism, and balancing relativism with principled commitments. We advocate for a new direction in the field by integrating insights from biology, particularly the culture-biology interplay and neuroscience, to better understand how individuals interact with diverse others. How can trainers help learners acknowledge viable alternatives and foster meaningful connections across differences?

MM1: Gianni D’Amato, Ganga Jey Aratnam and Paula Nestea – Moderated by Katharina Addington-Lefringhausen

Shaping the Future of Migration: Rethinking Research on Refugees and their Host Societies
Track: Migration Matters

• In this session, we will hear from migration experts about the evolution in research on refugees, their impact on their host societies and how research can evolve to better reflect and respond to the complexities of integration and social cohesion in today’s changing world.
• Panel discussion: Each speaker will have 20 minutes to present new orientations and thinking in Research on Refugees and Host Societies. After the panel presentations, the audience will be invited to address the speakers and consider how these new orientations can be embedded in their practice. Speakers are also invited to address the audience and consider collaboration opportunities.

Note: If you are just registering for the MM sessions and not the full conference, please email welcome@sietar.ch and include your name, university or company, email address.

Parallel Sessions B 16:00 – 17:30

IL03: TBC

IL04: Carlos Nunez, Edwin Hagenbeek and Raya Nunez Mahdi

Culture, Health Care and Servant Leadership
Track: Practice Oriented

• Your cultural expertise can help healthcare professionals embrace diversity and inclusion as culturally sensitive leaders. Leadership in multi-cultural settings is an essential competence for healthcare workers. 
• Around 50% of patients have diverse backgrounds. Yet most doctors and nurses overestimate their intercultural competence. Lack of intercultural skills leads to exclusion and insufficient health care. Healthcare professionals who prioritise the needs of their team and patients, as true Servant Leaders, excel in giving high-quality care.
• This workshop connects real-life cases with leadership and cultural models by Hofstede and Hall.

MM2: Anne-Claude Lambelet

Embracing the Work Done by Institutions Supporting Migrants and Those Who Support Them: Rethinking Our Practice in an Evolving Context
Track: Migration Matters

• This second Migration Matters session, moderated by Anne-Claude Lambelet, former SIETAR Switzerland President and Lead of our Refugee Initiatives program, will provide participants supporting migrants or voluntary workers who assist in their integration, the opportunity to share their work and, in the light of the first session, to re-examine how their practice might benefit from new approaches and collaborations. 
• 16:00 – 16:45:
  • This time slot will provide all participants with the opportunity to move around the room to dedicated hub areas where specialists will share their work, whether it be research, specific projects involving refugees, volunteers and/or our host societies, new tools, etc. This will also be a great networking opportunity to learn more about each other.
  • Please note those participants who wish to present their programs, tools or showcase their activities must announce themselves when registering for the conference so we can manage logistics.
  • Maximum sitting for those presenting in the hubs will be limited to 2 individuals per organisation.
• 16:45 – 17:30: 
  • During that time, participants will be asked to choose between 2 or 3 discussion topics and participate in an open group discussion on the theme selected. A group leader will facilitate the discussions and ensure all are comfortable to participate.
  • Dedicated individuals will be tasked with collecting perspectives from the two Migration sessions. A report will be compiled and shared with session participants.

Note: If you are just registering for the MM sessions and not the full conference, please email welcome@sietar.ch and include your name, university or company, email address.

Friday 27 June (Sessions: C, D, E, F)

Parallel Sessions C 11:00 – 11:45

IL05: Stefanie Neumann

Intercultural Coaching in Organisational Settings: Supporting Leaders in Becoming Culturally Savvy
Track: Practice Oriented

• In today’s globalised world, leaders are increasingly exposed to multicultural influences, which demand heightened awareness and competencies for navigating complex and ambiguous con-texts. Intercultural coaching plays a vital role in helping leaders become more attuned to cultural differences, enhancing their knowledge and abilities to act effectively in diverse settings. To achieve this, coaches must recognise the cultural factors influencing both themselves and the leaders they work with, utilizing culturally appropriate methods in the coaching process.
  In this session, the speaker will explore strategies for identifying and addressing cultural aspects in leadership coaching through mindset, processes, and tools. Drawing on research and case studies, this session aims to empower coaches to assess the intercultural development needs of their coachees and foster meaningful coaching relationships.

IL06: Pia Stalder, Malika Abentak, Kalidou Seydou Sy, Nanga Désiré Coulibaly, Amani Charles Yokoli and Colette Djadeu Nguemedyam

Responsible Global Management: From Theory to Practice
Track: Practice Oriented

• This session is dedicated to discussing the topic of Responsible Global Management (RGM). The following 3 questions are at the centre of our session: What is RGM and what are its basic principles? What are the challenges of RGM and what skills are required to meet them? What is necessary for more RGM in companies, institutions, organisations, and society in general? Our aim is to jointly create a better understanding of the concept and to collect concrete ideas for better anchoring responsible global management in practice (politics, business, wider society).

IL07: Vincent Merk

Creating a New Leadership in STEM Education
Track: Higher Education

• From the beginning the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines have been a traditionally white male-dominated area in education. Recent developments in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) process have created opportunities to broaden the leadership model within STEM in academia and business. New trends encourage a more relevant development of leadership including traditional minorities: gender, culture, ethnic backgrounds, etc. We will argue that by better managing diversity and creating more inclusion within STEM programmes, emerging leaders will produce more social justice and equity and hence reach a higher level of individual and collective wellbeing.  

Parallel Sessions D 13:15 – 14:00

IL08: Claus Schreier, Nuntana Udomkit, Kevalin Puangyokeaw Setthakorn and Jillaine Farrar

Bricolage vs. Effectuation: Thai Entrepreneurs’ Blended Opportunity Creation Approach
Track: Research

• This study examines how Thai entrepreneurs navigate uncertainty through effectuation and bricolage, shaped by intercultural leadership. Traditional Western entrepreneurial models often overlook cultural influences in transitional economies like Thailand, where trust, relationship-building, and social capital drive opportunity creation. Through interviews with 20 Thai SMEs, findings reveal a preference for bricolage, leveraging interpersonal trust over resource control. Effectuation principles, such as the stop-loss rule, are less applicable, as Thai entrepreneurs prioritise long-term relationships over predefined risk limits. This research challenges existing frameworks and explores how culture-specific leadership shapes entrepreneurial strategy, with future plans for a Swiss-Thai comparative study.

IL09: Beth Yoder

The Unexpected Path to Intercultural Leadership: Embracing Informal Learning
Track: Practice Oriented

• Whether you prefer the 70-20-10 approach identified by Center for Creative Leadership or Pontefract’s 33-33-33 model, a great deal of learning happens outside of formal training. In this session, we will delve into effective strategies for enhancing intercultural leadership through informal and social learning methods. Drawing from real-world examples in academia and corporate coaching, participants will explore actionable techniques to apply within their own organisational contexts, fostering more dynamic and culturally adept leadership.

IL10: Gabor Holch

Back to Basics: Underrated Disruptions in Intercultural Executive Performance
Track: Practice Oriented

• This presentation and Q&A focuses on mundane but impactful aspects of leadership across continents, cultures and functions, such as different cultural attitudes towards timeliness, virtual conferences, productivity apps, boss-report relationships and projecting executive presence in culturally appropriate ways. Following my daily practice, my examples come from East-West executive challenges: C-suite leaders bridging locations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia, leading culturally diverse teams and bridging worldwide locations with corporate headquarters.
• The session starts with a presentation of common challenges in intercultural executive assignments, based on live coaching cases from my work as an East-West Leadership coach, facilitator and advisor. These examples will then be placed in the context of relevant intercultural leadership methodologies and recommended tools (awareness, communication, teamwork, engagement and feedback), and finally cases of successful application with positive results, specifically from the pharmaceutical, automotive and professional service (finance, law and management consulting) industries. 

Parallel Sessions E 14:15 – 15:00

IL11: Myriam Callegarin

How to Shift Your Thinking: 5 Levels, 5 Outcomes
Track: Practice Oriented

• Albert Einstein said, ‘”We can’t solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” But how can leaders practically apply this wisdom in today’s complex global environment? In this interactive session, you will learn a framework for recognizing and shifting through five distinct levels of thinking – each producing unique actions and outcomes that influence decision-making, team cohesion, and organisational impact. This pragmatic approach empowers leaders and their teams to navigate cultural differences, drive meaningful results, and make intentional choices that foster lasting positive change across all levels of the organisation and beyond.

IL12: Sibylle Ganz-Koechlin and Tebuho Winnie Kanyimba

How Do You Know What You Know? Knowledge – Power – Leadership
Track: Higher Education

• Where does our knowledge come from? Which ideas, values and representations are currently taking the lead in education? Epistemic injustice and colonialised knowledge transmission – a topic in our practice? If knowledge is power, “having and transmitting knowledge is a cornerstone of influence”.
• We would like to exchange on these topics with you, reflecting on our own practices in teaching and learning, using theoretical inputs and practical exercises, and explore the eternal question at the heart of socio-cultural codes: How do we make sense of the world? Join us for lively discussions!

IL13: Patricia Szobonya and Catherine Roche

Knowledge Diplomacy: Geopolitical Activism through Virtual Exchange
Track: Higher Education

• A knowledge diplomacy framework enables nations to collaborate, negotiate, and achieve common ground, influencing behaviour and commitment. As geo-political tensions escalate around the world, the role of higher education is critical in addressing conflict resolution strategies through knowledge diplomacy practices. Project-based applied learning tasks infused into virtual exchange activities can provide students with an opportunity to interact with diverse peers and explore potential solutions on local or global scales. Through bi-national teamwork, students can investigate the world beyond their familiar space and collectively examine issues that address one or more of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

Parallel Sessions F 15:30 – 16:15

IL14: Papa Balla Ndong

Leading Across Cultures: Empowering Intercultural Competence in Global Leadership
Track: Practice Oriented

• In a globally connected world, effective leadership requires more than traditional skills; it demands intercultural competence. This session explores the essential competencies for leaders navigating diverse cultural landscapes. We will discuss key skills: cultural awareness, adaptability, empathy, and conflict resolution and practical strategies to implement them. Through real-world examples and interactive activities, participants will gain insights into creating inclusive environments and empowering global teams. This presentation aims to equip leaders with the tools needed to inspire, engage, and lead effectively across cultures, fostering both personal growth and organisational success.

IL15: Charles Obihara and Dorian Maarse

Connecting Medical Staff with a Diverse Patient Population: The Results of a Pilot-Training Program in an Oncology Hospital
Track: Practice Oriented

• Ethnically diverse healthcare teams enhance patient-centred care, yet cultural gaps can lead to miscommunication and dissatisfaction. In a Dutch paediatric oncology clinic, a pilot intercultural competence training was conducted for 17 staff members to improve cultural sensitivity and communication. The six-month program included book study, training sessions, small-group discussions, practical assignments, and pre/post Intercultural Developmental Inventory© (IDI) assessments with coaching. Results from interviews, assignments, and IDI scores showed significant improvements in cultural awareness and communication. This session explores the training’s impact and its implications for fostering inclusive, patient-centred healthcare.

IL16: Martina Suter

Applying Intercultural Competence and Behaviour in Hybrid Leadership
Track: Research

• As hybrid work evolves, international leaders must navigate cultural differences, virtual collaboration, and trust-building in diverse teams. This study examines intercultural competence in hybrid leadership, focusing on trust, transparency, and psychological safety to enhance team effectiveness. Based on research in Swiss companies, it explores hybrid leadership competences, intervention scenarios, and a validated assessment model. Findings offer practical strategies for managing global hybrid teams, fostering collaboration, and leveraging cultural diversity for innovation. By bridging theory and practice, this study provides actionable insights on how intercultural behaviour in hybrid settings impacts motivation, engagement, and performance.

Saturday 28 June (Sessions: G, H, I)

Parallel Sessions G 10:30 – 11:15

IL17: Angela Weinberger

Using Tech and Content to Coach Inclusive Leaders
Track: Practice Oriented

• Significant income sources for intercultural trainers have mainly been replaced by technology in Global Mobility. Expats no longer receive large packages when moving to another country as mobility has become a lifestyle. Mental health issues in the workplace and increased diversity in global teams necessitate higher global competency for inclusive leaders and expats. Build your private practice by offering coaching programs and using technology wisely. 
  • Why building a business requires technology and understanding of your ideal client. 
  • How to structure your content pieces and use technology to design and scale coaching programs and client journeys for private clients (B2C).
  • What to consider when you develop worksheets, games and handouts for your clients?

IL18: Nuntana Udomkit, Claus Schreier and Shu-Hsiang Chen

Sustainability Challenges: How to Keep Its Momentum During the Crisis?
Track: Research

• Sustainable leadership refers to a management approach that prioritises long-term ecological, social, and economic aspects in decision-making processes. However, in an era marked by frequent disruptions, organisational leaders face the formidable multi-cultural challenges of balancing immediate survival with long-term sustainability goals. Often, this dilemma forces many organisations to deprioritise long-term sustainability goals, focusing instead on short-term operational and financial strategies essential for immediate survival.
• This research explores this critical dilemma through a case study of Le Méridien Hotel in Bangkok. Le Méridien, Bangkok provides a compelling, intercultural context due to its proactive stance on sustainability embedded in its corporate and operational ethos, and its location in a region prone to economic and cultural challenges. The research examines how its management team navigates the intersection of crisis management and sustainable practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially where immediate financial health, employee safety concerns, international customer expectations for service quality, and stakeholder pressure for immediate results are paramount.

IL19: Amna Ben Amara

From Democratic to Personalist Leadership: Learning Lessons from the Populist Models of Leadership
Track: Practice Oriented

• In recent years, traditional democratic leadership models, characterised by values such as consensus-building, transparency, and collective decision-making, have encountered significant challenges from emerging, more personalist forms of leadership. These new models often emphasise personal branding and sometimes bypass traditional institutions in favour of direct, emotionally charged communication with the public. This trend is particularly evident in the rise of populist figures, who rely heavily on charisma, media presence, and direct engagement with their base, often using “showman” tactics to build loyalty centred around the leader as an individual rather than a party or collective platform.
• As noted in emerging literature on charismatic leadership, celebrity CEOs, and purpose-driven leadership (e.g., Bass, 1990; Hayward, Rindova, & Pollock, 2004; Hartley, 2018; Leonardi & Vaast, 2017), this trend in populist politics appears to significantly influence leadership in organisational and corporate environments, challenging the balance between individual influence and collaborative governance. Consequently, through a critical investigation of populist models of leadership across various contexts, this discussion will explore how insights from political personalism might shape future organisational practices. Additionally, participants will engage in a neuroleadership diversophy game based on real-life scenarios, applying these insights to practical leadership situations.

Parallel Sessions H 11:30 – 12:15

IL20: Maria Stergiou

Authentic Listening: An Ontological Approach for Effective Intercultural Leadership
Track: Higher Education

• We are not aware of the fact that the source of being and acting in life in general and in any intercultural setting is language. Through our work in Internationalisation, we aim to contribute to fostering connectivity across borders of nations and cultures. When engaging in internationalisation of education questions of meaning and values arise in speaking and in listening. In this session, we will explore how effective intercultural leadership could look like by conducting an ontological inquiry and exploring the ways our listening shapes our interactions. The methodology used is based on the Ontological/Phenomenological Model for Leadership.

IL21: Yaprak Dalat Ward

A Course Design: Leading Across Cultures
Track: Research

• This study examines an instructor’s experience redesigning and teaching an asynchronous graduate course on Cultural Diversity. The course integrates intercultural communication principles, experiential learning, and Universal Design to enhance inclusive leadership skills. Students engage in discussions, case studies, and reflective exercises to develop competencies in cultural intelligence, dialogue facilitation, and conflict resolution. Data from student feedback and instructor observations indicate increased engagement, confidence, and awareness of cultural responsiveness. Despite these efforts, intercultural communication remains challenging, highlighting the need for continuous curriculum adaptation to address evolving complexities in cultural diversity and leadership education.

IL22: Glene Ribeiro

Intercultural Leadership: Leveraging Paraverbal Cues for Communication
Track: Practice Oriented

• This session explores the role of paraverbal cues – tone, pitch, volume, and pacing – in effective intercultural leadership. Participants will learn to recognise how paraverbal styles vary across cultures, including within Switzerland’s diverse linguistic regions, and understand the implications for team cohesion and clarity. Guided by key theories like Communication Accommodation Theory, Nonverbal Expectancy Violations Theory, and High and Low-Context Communication Theory, leaders will engage in practical exercises and create a personal adaptation plan to improve communication. Through role-plays and analysis, this session equips leaders with actionable strategies to adjust their paraverbal cues, promoting respect and inclusivity in multicultural environments.

Parallel Sessions I 13:15 – 14:00

IL23: Anastasiia Grynko

Teaching Intercultural Competence in Higher Business Education: Students Expectations and Application of Case-Based Observation-Analysis-Reflection Method
Track: Higher Education

• Intercultural, or diversity, competence is one of the core skills for individuals and organisations whether in a local or global business contexts. Previous works on intercultural teaching in higher education emphasise importance of reflective and critical thinking and suggest engaging students into collaborative learning (Dimitrov & Haque, 2016). In the meantime, business and management instructors widely apply case-method to engage students in problem-solving and reflective thinking (Pilz M. et al., 2024).
• This paper addresses application of case-method as a part of intercultural teaching in higher education targeted at business students. First, it examines survey responses on expectations business students at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts share as they enter the intercultural course (collected in Fall 2024, N =78). Second, it revises the Deardorff (2006) processual Model for intercultural learning and Hammond (2015) approach to culturally responsive education. Finally, it discusses practical implications of case-based classroom and Observation-Analysis-Reflection approach for strengthening intercultural competence of business students.

IL24: Lynn Williams

Acknowledging Multiple Voices: Lessons from Culturally Responsive Teaching
Track: Higher Education

• What does it mean to apply principles of culturally responsive (literature) teaching in day-to-day interactions in a school setting? In this interactive presentation, I will outline my learnings in culturally responsive teaching (CRT) for English, the subject I teach at upper-secondary level, and share how I now also draw on these to shape my work as a homeroom/form teacher. The application of selected approaches and question formulations will be illustrated with concrete examples. Participants will have the opportunity to exchange on the ideas presented and to consider how they might adopt and adapt certain strategies in their own contexts.

IL25: Kyriaki Koukouraki

Cultural Competency in Action: Elevating Staff Skills for a Diverse World
Track: Higher Education

• Pedagogical training among higher education (HE) staff varies widely, often creating a gap between subject expertise and effective teaching. While many instructors excel in their fields, formal training in teaching methods is often lacking. Recognizing this, King’s College London developed a self-paced, asynchronous course to enhance teaching skills and intercultural competencies. This session explores the course’s creation, from conception to its September 2024 launch, and its role in supporting faculty in an increasingly internationalised learning environment. Attendees will gain insights into addressing pedagogical gaps and fostering effective teaching practices in diverse HE settings.

Parallel Sessions J 14:15 – 15:00

IL26: Bjørn Z. Ekelund

Diversity Icebreaker Across Disciplines and Cultures
Track: Practice Oriented

• The Diversity Icebreaker was first introduced at a professional conference in London SIETAR UK in 2006 . This tool, which categorises people into Red, Blue, and Green based on simplified models of learning and cognitive styles, has gained global recognition for enhancing self-awareness and improving communication in diverse groups. Central to its success is the use of involvement, the social construction of the categories, humour, which fosters fun, collective self-reflection, and self-irony, ultimately reducing resistance and misunderstandings and enhancing collective problem-solving capacity. We will run the seminar and have a dialogue on relevance for interdisciplinarity and cross-cultural area.

IL27: Oluwayemisi Ojo and Abiud Maosa Bosire

Intercultural Leadership in Higher Education: Creating Spaces for International Students Integration
Track: Higher Education

• Each year, students worldwide embark on a journey to study abroad to improve their prospects. Studying abroad in host cultures and institutions presents international students with transitional and adaptational challenges, which impact their academic, social, and professional life and success. Our workshop leverages international student intercultural experiences at three European universities to explore intercultural leadership in higher education and how to create conducive spaces for integration into host cultures. The aim is to, through workshop activities, develop strategies to foster inclusive spaces. Workshop outcomes will contribute to improved practices for supporting international student integration in institutions in Europe and beyond.

IL28: Geoffrey Bwireh

Intercultural Leadership in the Work of Congolese Refugees in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda
Track: Research

• The main aim of the study is to investigate the role of cultural orientation in Congolese refugee work. The leadership in these settings is shaped by the interactions of numerous actors, including international organizations, national governments, NGOs, and local stakeholders.

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Poster Presentations

• Friday 27 June 15:00 – 15:30
• Saturday 28 June 10:00 – 10:30

Almash Seidikenova 

Living in a Multicultural Environment: Mastering ‘Own and Foreign’ in Intercultural Communication

• Globalization has reshaped state relations, fostering openness in diplomacy, economics, and education. Higher education plays a key role in this shift through academic mobility, which enhances adaptability, intercultural understanding, and personal growth. However, encountering new cultures prompts self-reflection and highlights ethnocentrism, where individuals assess foreign cultures through their own lens. This study examines how students and researchers abroad perceive “self” and “other,” addressing misunderstandings and strategies for effective intercultural dialogue. Findings from a survey conducted at the International House reveal insights into overcoming cultural barriers and fostering meaningful exchanges in diverse environments.

Adeoye Sodiq-Adekunle

Intercultural Conflict Resolution in the Workplace: Examining Strategies for Resolving Intercultural Conflicts in Diverse Organisational Settings

• As globalization continues to shape the business landscape, organisations are becoming increasingly diverse. This diversity, while enriching, can also lead to misunderstandings and conflicts. We explore the factors that contribute to intercultural conflict in the workplace, such as cultural differences, communication styles, and power dynamics. Additionally, we examine effective strategies for preventing and resolving such conflicts, including intercultural training, cross-cultural communication skills, and conflict resolution techniques. By understanding the root causes of intercultural conflict and implementing appropriate strategies, organisations can create more inclusive and harmonious work environments.

Michael Sullivan 

Building Bridges Across Cultures: Navigating the Space Between Us

• In this poster, we explore what prevents us from truly fostering empathy across cultures. We address hidden barriers – such as socio-economic divides, trauma & power distance, historical narratives, and gender – that shape our ability to relate. We unpack the complexities of cultural distance and the factors that most influence our interactions. We explore the key question, “Even if I see you clearly, how do you see me?” and examine what lenses shape the other person’s perceptions. Finally, practical strategies such as vulnerability and intellectual honesty will be offered for building rapport and creating meaningful cross-cultural connections.

Syed Zafar

Where Rubber Meets the Road: Impacting Lives with Cultural Knowledge

• This poster provides an example of using cultural knowledge to make positive impact on communities. It is based on the speaker’s personal experiences of working with Norwegian psychologists who provide assistance to Pakistani immigrants in family violence cases in Oslo. Psychologists were able to significantly improve their success rate when they began to incorporate Pakistani cultural knowledge in their counselling sessions. This poster will focus on some of the major cultural differences between Norway and Pakistan as they relate to counselling in family violence cases.