Intercultural communication within institutional and bureaucratic settings - ‘adults-in-mobility’ and ‘adults-in-contact-with-mobility’ in Malta and in Italy

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to highlight both positive and negative aspects within these communicative situations by referring to two specific contexts, namely Italy and Malta. The data commented in this paper was collected during a European project funded by the European Commission, namely the SPICES (Social Promotion of Intercultural Communication Expertise and Skills) Project (1). In the cases of the Italian and the Maltese situations it is deemed necessary to promote further insight into issues pertaining to interaction within institutional-bureaucratic settings and, at a more practical level, to promote courses which prepare those involved in such situations to gain awareness of the difficulties and problems which intercultural communication often entails. Within the paper the terms ‘adults-in-mobility’ (AMs) and ‘adults-professionally-in-contact-with-mobility’ (ACMs), as defined in SPICES (cf. http://www.trainingspices.net/glossary.htm) will be utilised in order to refer to the participants of such communicative events. These terms are utilised as other terms used in the field (such as ‘foreigner’, ‘immigrant’, ‘local’), may be ambiguous and culturally-laden and therefore might cause misunderstandings and may be associated with stereotypes