EIRP Proceedings, Vol 7 (2012)

Abstract

The relationship between the individual and intercultural communication becomes clear when we understand culture within the cultural anthropology paradigm. From this point of view, any individual is the barer of a certain culture (subculture, sub-subculture etc.), and interindividual communication is an intercultural one. That is why the issue of tolerance between individuals and groups becomes an issue of the efficient communication and mutual understanding between cultures.

My research on demolishing the barriers to intercultural communication aims not only to institutionalized communication (between governments or national organizations), but also to communication between well established cultural communities, with a strong identity (linguistic, ethnic or religious communities): they regard any act of communication, including here the international professional one (where the main barriers dwell in the communication between national cultures).

I think that in its current shape, based on economic criteria (which split rather than unify), the European Union does not offer enough “common tasks” in order to give birth to a new Pan-European civic culture, as a variety of the third culture. But, a European Federation could offer the political, economical, social and cultural framework necessary for the achievement of what Casmir called “the third culture”.