The myth of globalisation | Peter Alfandary | TEDxAix

Is globalisation about sharing a global culture, or designing new cultural borders? Is cross-cultural awareness a new skill, a differentiated form of collective intelligence we should learn, and teach?
Peter delivers a lively talk on cross-cultural differences and their impact on our daily personal and professional lives.

French educated, Italian speaking, English lawyer, Peter Alfandary describes himself as a mildly schizophrenic Brit. After 30 years practicing as an international lawyer, Peter decided to turn his lifelong fascination with different cultures into a full-time occupation – training and coaching professionals and senior executives on cross cultural management skills. He passionately believes that the need for cultural intelligence is increasingly critical as we move inexorably towards greater globalisation.Film and jazz buff, avid reader, Peter travels the world advising businesses and lecturing on cross cultural skills. His passion for his subject is only equalled by his other passion, Huguette, his Citroen 2CV which he proudly drives around London.

[kenan_miranda]

Who’s here ‘cause your prof told you to watch this video?

Me:🙋‍♂️

[v.a.]

Well said Peter. Looking back 20 years, some of this was taught in international business courses. It's important to distinguish between high and low context cultures. If we can understand the nuances and idiosyncrasies of others we can be more efficient communicators and increase the probability of a successful exchange.

[paddydiddles]

Having an understanding wouldn't necessarily imply acceptance or tolerance, but good communication is certainly an important route towards better understanding

[tacos]

one thing though, shouldn't the title be "The myth of the global village" rather than "the myth of globalization" :) really loved this talk<3

[jordangillis]

No one got the silence joke, I thought this guy was hilarious clearly people think otherwise.

[pploum]

saw this yet again, after so many viewings, I keep being impressed. Well spoken, Peter. Very well spoken. Patrick Ploum, a fellow international from the French Lycee

[PL-ltwz]

This speaker was ahead of the times. Some countries now crawl away from globalisation, to protect their own interests, after realising they can't compete economically or technologically on a level playing field.

[Ulrna]

if everyone acts the same, looks the same, talks the same, and all art has the same philosophy, everyone thinks alike and acts alike, and all cultures are melded together, then the world will no longer be worth living in.

[cristinacandy]

My take on this was to recognize the different cultures that exist and by understanding them you can improve your ability to communicate. Through his travels he gained an appreciation for the diversity and used these experiences to enrich his own outlook. Judging by some of the hostile comments, I don't see how anybody could have twisted it into some kind of insidious plot to dismantle your own culture and promote sameness!! Perhaps I don't understand this culture very well either because some people automatically draw false conclusions when certain words pop up and rather than listen to what the speaker is trying to convey. I don't support the globalisation agenda at all and I didn't think he was promoting it either!

[yourdadishere]

I feel like this talk should have had a different title.

[firstmartian]

It is so easy to educate people about others culture in this internet era, but it is hard to make people living together without cultural competition to become dominant in the area which created a conflict in the future.

[ІваннаБондар-хц]

Thank you! It's amazing how seemingly small gestures or phrases can have such diverse interpretations.

[rrheipel]

I would recommend reading The Silent Language by Edward Hall (1959) and the Hidden Dimension (1966). Both books explore the cultural differences discussed here. These should be compulsory reading for anyone dealing with people -- everyone.

[ketoleuclaver]

Great talk. Merci merci beaucoup papa Peter pour votre Grande sagesse.

[seymour]

Very thought provoking.  I will think twice before hitting that send

[naskls]

Thank you for your insight - these ideas are needed more today than ever.I have shared this talk with my business classes and recommend it to others.

[yanzytalion]

glad my prof let me watch this, ive learned a lot from this. i love the way he delivers his message imagine he is one of your professors.

[sestameri]

A well delivered speech making some pertinent points in an amusing way. He seems to be preaching to the converted, though. He really needs to deliver it to other audiences around the world, from the cultures he cites, perhaps Afghanistan, Syria, Morocco, Japan, China. I wonder if the reaction will be as favourable as here before a Western audience. There's little point in understanding and accepting the other if the other doesn't understand and accept you. For respect to have value it needs to be mutual.

[tubervine]

Cultural diffusion as an outcome of globalisation is indeed, in and of itself, a 'false friend', but globalisation is not defined entirely by the supposed interdependence of culture, it driven by trade that catalyses the interdependence and gradual homogeneity of economic and political policies and rules. Empathy and understanding of culture as a form of 'intelligence' may help to catalyse respect or mere tolerance, but we may not necessarily create that safer world without ethics, conscious capitalism, and an acceptance of diversity and differences.

[rowenadoblas]

Need to watch this for reaction paper 😌