News

Soft stuff or hard cash?

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Cultural competence is classified as a soft skill. Soft skills are personal and social characteristics that you need to be successful, which describe how you tackle challenges, interact with people and organize your work. In a multicultural…
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Showing the management team

“Wonderful experience”

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After a few online trainings, I finally got the chance to do a face-to-face training with this management team in Ghana. We had covered quite some ground online, yet they all felt the incredible difference with this one. Being in the room,…
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Impression of book launch

Book launch in Portugal

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On the 4th of July, we were happy to present our book once more! This time for a room full of Portuguese businessmen, academia and (former) colleagues ánd former professors of Vasco Freitas Silva (co-author). In a pretty Casa do Corim, in…
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Illustration on how to build trust

Webinar Trust across cultures

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When a potential partner asks you to sign a contract, does you trust in the person diminish or increase? Or, on another note, do you prefer long meetings where you have the ability to voice your ideas and listen to others, or would you rather…
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Indruk van de training

Masterclass Intercultural Competences

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Together with the colleagues from the Cooperative Cultural Insights, we organized the first Master Class with open enrollment, on June 18th 2025. Great fun to join forces and complement each other, and exciting to co-facilitate well. The…
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Impression of atmosphere of FoH Conference

Conference Friends of Hofstede

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Cultural experts from across the Globe gathered to exchange knowledge and experience under the umbrella of the Friends of Hofstede.
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Online poster to attract people to the IODA World Café

Adapting OD to culture

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Are your OD methods culturally adaptable? How does culture influence your change management, the processes, interaction, structure and the instruments you use? How can you be more effective in different contexts? We had great conversations…
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three pictures of members of the cooperative

Relaunch Cooperative

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Exciting news for the new year!Saskia Maarse, Brigitte Opel and I are relaunching Cooperative Cultural Insights, combining our extensive expertise from diverse cultural backgrounds, various sectors, and multiple countries. With a vast network…
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Dr. Michael Eze als spreker, met zijn afbeelding groot achter hem geprojecteerd.

Dr. Eze on Africa day

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Dr. Michael Eze and top civil servant Christiaan Rebergen in dialogue on the Africa day about the Africa strategy of Foreign Affairs. Ubuntu teaches us that Europe and Africa need each other.
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The role of the Jester

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This image, is it allowed? Would you call it cultural appropriation? And is this still the case if the ‘proprietors’ of the figure are actually dressing you and if it’s all done in a cheerful, jolly atmosphere? The latter is exactly the…
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Prof. Sarr and prof. Modest sitting and having a conversation

More knowledgeable, less intelligent

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“We have become more knowledgeable but less intelligent.” These words were spoken in Leiden by Prof. Felwine Sarr, a Senegalese academic, poet and musician. Or possibly we should reverse the order and say: ‘a musician, poet and academic’.…
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Deze kleurrijke foto laateen kamelon zien, met eroverheen fotootjes van zes sprekers van het congres

You ARE the traffic jam

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“You're not IN the traffic jam, you ARE the traffic jam.” A beautiful statement by Shirine Moerkerken, giving meaning to social constructivism, on which she bases her interventions in organizations. You may hate being in a traffic jam,…
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This is a compilation of six pictures with Alette presenting and in a panel.

NABC Book presentation

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It was great to do the book presentation and panel discussion, talking about intercultural management in Africa. It was during the back-to-business meeting, after the summer break, of the Netherlands-African Business Council (NABC), organized…
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announcement on social media for Alette as a speaker on NABC Back to business event

Speaker NABC

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Always nice to see such a speaker announcement. Soon I'll present my book at the back-to-business event of the NABC (Netherlands-African Business Council). The book is about doing business in Africa. It concerns a very interesting case study…
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Compilatie van 9 foto's: een overzicht van de groep en allemaal verschillende deelnemers met microfoon, die reageren op de boek presentatie

Book well received Gaborone

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During the OLDN Conference on OD and Change in Gaborone, Botswana, I presented the book on management in Angola, that I wrote together with Vasco Freitas Silva. The book was very well received and it resulted in a lively discussion with all…
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Compilation of six images of different moments of the conference: eating, convening and posing together with colleagues/

OLDN Conference Botswana

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In Gaborone, Botswana, I was happy to attend the International OD and Change Conference of OLDN. The Organization Leadership & Development Network is an OD initiative from Zimbabwe with members from all over the globe, under the excellent…
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Alette staat voor een muur waarop de wereldkaart afgebeeld staat in water, met golven en spetters.

Global Water Management

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Alette just finished a series of intercultural workshops for a company that specializes in Water Management throughout the world. I like the way their wall paper reflects their core business! 🙂
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A yellow microphone with the letters BNR on it

BNR Radio Business in Africa

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Alette did a radio interview on BNR and told the story about her new book 'Cultural Confluence in Organizational Change: a Portuguese venture in Angola.' It was all about doing business in Africa, the so-called 'best practices' and challenges…
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