Dear OWCp Members,

It is my pleasure to inform you that your Project OWCp & its International Community is viewed by TESOL Organization as a model that connects cultures to promote peace and increase global understanding through dialogue, debate and collaboration.  

I am invited to speak about OWCp experience in facilitating cross-cultural communication and collaboration among people from different nations.  I will address the importance of cultural interaction, the benefits members gain when they share cultural topics as well as the difficulties that may be encountered to communicate and collaborate with members from different cultural backgrounds.

 I intend to show threads that illustrate how cultural interaction helps to bridge the communication gap, and helps to promote peace.  Therefore, I appreciate your support to make this presentation about your project successful by giving suggestions of what threads you think would reflect the cultural interaction and collaboration.  If you participate in any discussions with members from other cultures, would you kindly share with us:                                             

1. What are the benefits you gained from cross cultural interaction?

2. What difficulties have you encountered?

3. Have you observed any cultural conflicts?

4. How do you think projects like OWCp that engage members from different cultures can promote peace and increase global understanding?

5. What message do you wish to convey to the Culture of Peace Conference audience? Would you write a short message in this thread, and I will make sure it will be posted and/or read to the audience

I have arranged with the TESOL Organization the possibility of providing Web-conferencing tools to conduct this presentation Live with OWCp members from USA, Middle East, Europe, and Asia.  When we get all these questions answered and discussed, we will select members who are willing to share their experience about online cultural interaction and how it positively or negatively impacted their views and understanding of others.

• Conference Program

• Developing Cross-Cultural Understanding through Online Forums  by Prof.  Reima Al-Jarf

• How to promote Online Cross Cultural Interaction   Links to discussed Cultural Topics 

• Creating Online Collaborative Writing Projects TESOL Convention, 2004

• Dr. Vance Stevens reviews OWCp

• Cultures Through pictures