Mobility of Cultures

Written by María Soledad Paz.

This is a summary of an article that deals with the issue of inter- and multiculturalism in Europe – a very interesting read!

“Mobility of Cultures and Knowledge Management in Contemporary Europe” by Zakari Taipaile (2012)

This article argues that it is vital for European countries to remodel and improve national knowledge infrastructures to ensure a better understanding of other cultures in contemporary Europe. In other words, the author claims that through new forms of collaboration among governments inside the European Union, member states can guarantee the equal treatment of people moving inside the free-movement zone of Europe.

This study is relevant to the topic of multicultural educational organizations in Finland since it discusses about how it is necessary to improve and revisit the current practices regarding intercultural adaptation and communication among the growing number of immigrants in Europe.  Moreover, in our panel discussion, we discussed some problems regarding the integration of foreigners working in educational organizations in Finland. Many of these issues are related to lack of knowledge about other cultures that can lead to conflicts or simply the avoidance to hire international workers.

This article points out that it is vital that the different stakeholders realize how cultural diversity in an enlarged Europe should be promoted and encouraged.

The author states that the phenomena can be understood through the mobility of cultures. He specifically calls for the understanding of knowledge management as the need “to administering the necessary knowledge when people from different cultural backgrounds cross national and cultural boundaries” (Taipaile, 174).

Moreover, the author supports collaboration, networking and cooperation with private and non-governmental actors as a way to renew and improve national knowledge infrastructures to advance in intercultural understanding among member states in Europe.

In conclusion, the article demonstrates that through the new mobility paradigm we can challenge the lack of cultural diversity and understanding in the European Union. The author presents theories, concepts and examples to support his views.

 

References

Taipaile, Z. 2012. “Mobility of Cultures and Knowledge Management in Contemporary Europe”. European Review 20 (2), pp. 173–181