by BIS Correspondent
NASHIK, SEP 20, 2016: Nashik-based, Divyadaan, organised its annual seminar on Multicultural Competence to understand the different perspectives of cultures on September 16 and 17.
Father Edison Fernandes from Koregaon Park, Pune was the resource person for the seminar, which was also aimed at making people aware of their own world view which invariably helps to define our own cultures.
Divyadaan is the community where people from different cultures mingle together. As part of the preparation for the seminar, brothers from various cultures prepared a noticeboard to present their own distinct culture.
Through this, Maharashtrian culture, Konkan culture that included the Goa and Mangalore region, Bhil culture from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, North East culture, South Indian culture from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra and Telangana, were depicted.
Bishop Lourdes Daniel of Nashik was the Chief Guest. Father Robert Pen, Rector of Divyadaan, addressed the gathering and presented a reflection on multicultural competence. Father Banzelao Teixeira, Principal of Divyadaan, then introduced the speaker – Father Fernandes to the gathering.
Father Fernandes started his talk with a personal experience of his cultural upbringing. He shared his views on multicultural competence and stressed on the relevance of the issue. He then asked the audience to share their experiences on multicultural incompetence.
Father Tony D'Souza, Father Robert Pen and Cl Mukesh Garasiya shared their experiences of other cultures which was completely different from their own.
In the post-lunch exercise session, the audience was divided into ten groups. Through an activity participants grew in the understanding of their own culture.
Father Fernandes then addressed the thinking pattern of different cultures. He also highlighted the differences between modern thinking, postmodern thinking and the individualistic and collectivistic characteristics of different cultures. Father Fernandes handed out a questionnaire to find out what type of culture members of the audience belonged to.
On September 17, Father Fernandes talked about the individual and collective cultures vis-à-vis the Salesian preventive system. He finally discussed the questionnaire.