According to Susewind (2012), "DIE is a shortcut for 'description, interpretation and evaluation.' The original exercise was developed as a pedagogic tool to train observation skills, help establish the difference between description and analysis, and foster reflection on the politics of fieldwork. It usually involves exposing students to an intercultural experience, and then interactively sort out description, interpretation, and evaluation of this experience."

According to Erasmus+, which provides free on-line instructions for "Building a Tower," the aims of this activity are to:

• Develop creativity
• Develop leadership qualities
• Deal with success / failure
• Develop communication
• Develop team work

Tara Harvey (2017) has written a helpful blog on the connection between mindfulness and intercultural learning.  These meditation exercises in particular are recommended by Michael Vande Berg for people seeking to develop emotional resilience.

The BEVI is an accessible, adaptable, and powerful analytic tool that may be used in a wide range of settings – from education and research to leadership and mental health – to understand and facilitate processes and outcomes of learning, growth, and transformation.

"BARNGA is a simulation game that encourages participants to critically consider normative assumptions and cross-cultural communication. It was created by Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan in 1980, while working for USAID in Gbarnga, Liberia. He and his colleagues were trying to play Euchre but all came away from the instructions with different interpretations. He had an ‘A-ha’ moment that conflict arises not (only) from major or obvious cultural differences but often from subtle, minor cues. He created the game to tease out these subtleties. In this activity, students play a card game silently, each operating with a different set of rules, unbeknownst to them."

"American Textures, a 78 minute documentary by Crossing Borders Films, follows six young Americans of Black, White and Latino origin on a road trip through the southern United States to confront race through dialogue. Their journey moves them to push through the wall of silence/fear/discomfort that surrounds race in Today’s America and face the presence of segregation, bias, and blindness, not only in US society, but also inside themselves. Their courage, vulnerability and honest interactions become emotional examples of ways to follow in their footsteps."

"Albatross," as described by Gochenour (1993), is a simulation facilitated in two parts: "The first part consists of performing a ceremonial greeting between members of an imaginary culture (Albatross) and foreigners (those participants being trained or oriented)... The second part consists of an extended discussion. Albatross is an experiential learning device of some power, but it is relatively useless unless the discussion is treated with particular thoughtfulness and attention." If you've never experienced Albatross, the introductory video gives an idea of what goes on in the first part.

The Intentional Workplace (2014) blog includes the pointed reminder:  "To Have Empathy for You, I Have to be Able to SEE You."

The Psychology Today (Segal, 2019) article was written in response to the government shutdown, but her comments about power and empathy are important for any time. She says, 

"First, those at the top do not need to attend to the behaviors of those below them, especially in the ways that those below have to attend to the behaviors of their superiors. Bosses come in, tell people what to do, and then their orders are followed.  Those below must be aware of the mood, needs, opinions of their bosses.  And the lower you are on the work or social order, the more moods, needs and opinions of people you must attend to who are above you.  So, lower hierarchy folks are better at reading others than are those at the top.  Second, getting to the top may be easier for those without empathy.  They can be laser-focused on advancement and doing what they need to do to gain power without being distracted or emotionally touched by the needs and circumstances of others.  Brain science backs this up.  Neurologically, people in power attend less to surroundings, to the behaviors of others, and have deeper brain activity for self-focus.  They don’t readily attend to others in ways that we expect to show empathy.  People in power can be empathic, but they need to work at it, to want to feel for others...."

"Rebekah Fitzsimmons, a 34-year-old English professor at Georgia Tech, is a millennial.

"So are some of her students.

"But despite being members of the same generation, there are some pretty big differences between them."  See the article for more...

Nadine Dolby's recollections of a case study called "Toys for Haiti" is an anecdote with which many of us charged with teaching empathy can relate.

The results of Twenge, Freeman, and Campbell "genearally support the 'Generation Me' view of generational differences rather than the 'generation We' or no change views."

Chris Grabau offers practical strategies for adding empathy skill-building into the university classroom

Richard Kahlenberg argues that "until we actually diversify institutions by economic status, so that peers and classmates can explain the challenges faced by working-class people, teaching empathy through role-playing may be the next best thing."

This journal article by Konrath, O-Brien, and Hsing lays out in detail the changes in dispositional empathy across the generations.  

This resource, adapted from an AFS resource, with graphics by Julien Peyre from AFS France, demonstrates the benefits and risks of each stage, as well as what is required of the study abroad student to move to the next stage in their intercultural development.

The PowerPoint accompanied a workshop facilitated by Mick Vande Berg at Purdue University on April 23-24, 2015, which enlarged Purdue's vision for providing intercultural learning to all undergraduates, especially those who choose to study abroad.

“Replace the word 'millennial' with any individual race, religion or gender and you’d rightly spark mass outrage. Somehow, though, it is okay to make sweeping generalizations about the largest and most diverse generation in American history, at 81.1 million of the population, born between 1981 and 2000."

"Millennials are more accepting of differences, not just among gays, women and minorities but in everyone. ‘There are many, many subcultures, and you can dip into them and search around. I prefer that to you're either supermainstream or a riot grrrl,’ says Tavi Gevinson, a 17-year-old who runs Rookie, an online fashion magazine, from her bedroom when she's not at school. It's hard, in other words, to join the counterculture when there's no culture. ‘There's not this us-vs.-them thing now. Maybe that's why millennials don't rebel,’ she says.”

“The lack of empathy between Baby Boomers and Millennials isn’t the result of an inability to understand the attitudes and motivations of people born into a different generation. I think it’s caused by a deep-rooted conviction that a whole generation has a lesser capacity for empathy than your own.

“So before you judge another, judge yourself. Is your colleague apathetic to the needs of the business, incapable of understanding others, obsolete or inexperienced, and has a lot to learn…or is it you?”

Two articles which take opposing views of research on Millennials as Generation Nice

“It’s well-researched that there’s a correlation between reading and empathy. Reading strengthens your empathy muscles by requiring the reader to put himself into the characters’ shoes and see the world from an alternate perspective for a while.

“Knowing this, it’s no surprise to us that a strong percentage of the people that said books don’t play an important role in their lives are less likely to be able to see both sides of an argument. They are also less inclined to associate with people with differing opinions from their own.

“Likewise, people who profess a passion for books are more likely to see both sides of an argument and even more likely to enjoy interacting with people with differing opinions from their own."

Of interest to the preparation of the presentation on "Teaching the skills of intercultural communication and empathy across the generations" was the following:  

“Dr. Sara Konrath, Assistant Professor at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University and one of the authors of the 2009 study, spoke with BTR to discuss its findings.

“’What’s interesting is that [our study] didn’t look at the attitudes of previous generations toward college students, but actually surveyed the beliefs of college students themselves,’ Konrath explains. ‘When asked about some core empathy traits, we tended to see responses such as, “I don’t think about others when they’re in need, when someone is suffering it doesn’t move me,” and so on.’"

The "Teaching the skills of intercultural communication and empathy across the generations" presentation in this collection references this article; specifically, "Whatever the reason, GenMe seems to lack much of the basic empathy that previous generations thought was human nature. Whether it is a true lack of empathy or simply that they are misunderstood depends on your point of view. It has even been said that those who accuse them of being less empathetic are in fact showing a lack of empathy themselves.”

The handout includes a worksheet for working through layers and legacies and a self-test created by Mark A. Williams for determining participants' strong and weak lenses.

When Wilfrido Cruz and I were considering using The 10 Lenses for training in the Housing and Food Services division at Purdue University, we had the opportunity to see Mark A. Williams present the concepts of the book at a SHRM diversity conference in Philadelphia.  I think you'll see why we fell in love with Williams' work.