Category Archives: Culture

The societies in the Global Village

Around the world, Authors A-H

The Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon – by OTIA BINIKISEH N. Eric

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A reality of Cameroon, the country fondly referred to as “Africa in miniature”, “the land of milk and honey”, the most peaceful country.

Camaroon English Speakers

CameroonFormer Southern Cameroon (Northwest & Southwest regions of Cameroon) is considered a minority group in Cameroon. Approximately 20% of the population (5 Million) of Cameroon are from and reside in these two English-speaking regions. This minority population has been marginalized both in public institutions and state positions. The feeling of marginalization started developing and growing among the anglophone population, when the 1961 Federal Constitution was changed by President Ahidjo in 1972; changing the status of Cameroon from the Federal Republic, to the United Republic of Cameroon. The  sentiment started to develop among the anglophone population that the francophone population was better represented politically, economically and socially. This fueled claims of self-determination within the Anglophone population. (ICG 02/08/2017).

 

This feeling of marginalization has been justified over the past years, where official documents are mostly released only in French.  There was infiltration of English common law system practiced in the English speaking parts of Cameroon and infiltration of the Anglo-Saxon system of education practiced in the English speaking regions of Cameroon with the French system of education. Worst of all, French speaking teachers who can barely say “good morning” in English, were sent to teach major subjects in Anglo-Saxon schools in the English speaking regions of Cameroon. This has made the Anglophone population feel that their culture and identity is being assimilated and wiped out.

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Around the world, Levine articles, Of Women

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright – by Deborah Levine

AlbrightReprinted in honor of Madeleine Albright R.I.P. 1937-2022

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is a petite woman who can fill large university auditorium with her presence. These days, Dr. Albright teaches, lectures and writes. She frequently speaks to university audiences land enjoys telling young people that they can be anything they want to be with hard work. Her audiences listen enthusiastically and a recent crowd at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was no exception. A packed house and 2 overflow rooms with video feeds were arranged for the presentation by our 64th Secretary of State. She was the highest ranking woman in government from 1997-2001 and the first female Secretary of State.

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Around the world, Authors A-H, Gender, Social Issues

Ukraine Makes the Headlines, Again – by Dr. Fiona Citkin

I periodically become a target of all-around questioning just because originally—more than 25 years ago—I came to the US from Ukraine as a Fulbright Scholar. Of course, this gives me the leverage to deeper understand what’s going on there, and why. But I do not hold a magic ball that predicts what the future holds in a largely unpredictable country – and even more unpredictable America under the current government. So, let me just answer some of these questions and clarify my positioning. Continue reading Ukraine Makes the Headlines, Again – by Dr. Fiona Citkin →

Around the world, Authors R-Z

Asians Celebrate the New Year – by Dr. Julia Wai-Yin So

The first day of the year in the lunar calendar is to many Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese who live outside their home countries, the most important festival of the new year that they celebrate.  Other Asian ethnic groups may join the festivity in their neighborhoods even though they observe their owe New Year days.  For example, the Thais honor their Songkran (Water Festival) in April or the Gujaratis celebrate theirs the day before the Asian Indian Diwali (the Festival of Lights) in late October or early November.  As for the Japanese and Filipinos, they choose to observe the Gregorian New Year.  With this festive day around the corner, let’s look at some of the New Year traditions of Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese.

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Authors I-Q, Commerce, Culture, Teams & Leaders

Global Leadership: Five Steps to Calibrating your Cultural Compass — by Dr. Richard Griffith

Global Leadership today: The modern workplace brims with activity as people dart from meeting to meeting. Sometimes our communication is too brief. At times our messages are not well thought out. Even when the communication is crystal clear, the message can get lost in a wave of workload. But because our organizations tend to rely on best practices, people have a common frame-of-reference when there are misunderstandings. Best practices are a common denominator that allow us to understand and predict behavior, and serve as “true north” as we navigate the complexity of modern organizational life.
As organizations expand internationally and multi-cultural communications between employees, vendors, suppliers, and customers become more frequent, we are finding that the common denominator of best practices begins to unravel. And once we can no longer fall back on best practices, our inner compass can go haywire.

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Levine articles, Race & Ethnicity, Religious Diversity Kit, Social Issues, Southern Culture

Pastor Paul McDaniel and the Interfaith South — by Deborah Levine

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When I arrived at Chattanooga’s Second Missionary Baptist Church, A true Southern gentleman, Pastor Paul McDaniel, met me personally met at the door.   Born in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Pastor McDaniel has been part of the Southern landscape and its African American community for most of his life. After attending Morehouse College in Atlanta, he received a Masters of Divinity degree from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School and a Masters of Arts degree from the University of Rochester in New York. A Chattanooga resident since 1966, Rev. McDaniel stepped down from his post at the Second Missionary Baptist Church after almost 50 years of service.  A larger-than-life figure in the community, I share our conversation in his honor.

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Levine articles, Politics, Social Issues, USA Culture

Cultural Diversity and Politics – by Deborah Levine

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To celebrate my birthday, I addressed a group of Global Scholars at Chattanooga State Community College on the societal trends in this political environemnt through the lens of cultural anthropology. Chattanooga is experiencing major cultural shifts as globalization transforms the South’s demographics. We are very much in need of a new generation with global leadership skills, multicultural expertise, and political involvement.

Around the world, Authors, Social Issues

Global Goodwill Ambassadors – by Richard DiPilla

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globalA civilized world, living in peace can only be attained through an understanding and acceptance of a diversified world. With this in mind, I founded an initiative using the LinkedIn social media forum called Global Goodwill Ambassadors.

The initiative has a simple mission. To recognize people from every nation, race, color, and socio-economic caste; who do goodwill toward others. The only thing Global Goodwill Ambassadors, looks at is the volunteering, charitable, or humanitarian works of any individual. We exercise no bias. We also have only one commodity, that of Goodwill. We are not commercialize in any way. We are apolitical and free of hatred.

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Around the world, Authors A-H, Commerce

The Year of the Dog for Globalization – by Kyle Hegarty

The Year of the Dog begins this week which means, among other things, this is the season when western companies fall over themselves by slapping zodiac animals on their products in hopes of appealing to Chinese consumers. Gucci dog purse, anyone? At the same time, digital payments in China continue to accelerate. Last year, the Chinese New Year tradition of ‘hong bao’ – where cash-filled red envelopes are given as gifts – saw 46 billion electronic transfers.

China’s transformation continues to play out in astounding ways both internally and globally. The country’s growing relevance on the world stage should not be underestimated. Globalization has never been so confusing as it is today thanks to the Middle Kingdom.
The mere mention of China triggers consumer brand executives to salivate over the growing army of shoppers and their wallets. Conversely. the same word causes western technology executives to back away with their tail between their legs.

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