SIIC interns of the “Banana Crew of ’82” including Cultural Detectives Dianne Hofner Saphiere front and center, and Kathryn Stillings, half-standing with the curly hair. Also in the photo are the founders of the Stanford Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC): Cliff Clarke (back row, second from left) and King Ming Young (behind Dianne’s head), along with Jack May (back row, far left), administrative assistant.

My initial involvement with SIIC—then the Stanford Institute for Intercultural Communication—was in 1982, as an intern for Michael Paige. It is where I first met Kathryn Stillings, also an intern, who remains a dear friend and plays a crucial role with Cultural Detective. Several years later, the Institute relocated from Stanford University to the Intercultural Communication Institute, Portland, Oregon, keeping its “SIIC” acronym and changing its name to the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication.

The Institute has been an annual professional touchstone for me in the 34 years since. In 2016 it celebrates its 40th anniversary! Teaching over the years beside such pillars of intercultural communication as Dean Barnlund, Jack Condon, LaRay Barna, and Stella Ting-Toomey, among so many other incredibly talented, passionate souls, and having the privilege to call many of them friends, has been one of my professional life’s most treasured blessings.

Some SIIC faculty circa 1990: Dean Barnlund, Nessa Lowenthal, George Renwick, Sheila Ramsey, Dianne Hofner Saphiere

This year, I am privileged to repeat a course I first conducted last year with Daniel Cantor Yalowitz, which was a hoot to deliver and extremely well received, called Gaining Gaming Competence: The Meaning is in the Debriefing (Session II A, Workshop 12). It will be a five-day course held July 18-22.

I am also thrilled about a brand-new course that I will be facilitating with Fernando Parrado, entitled Latin America and Its Place in World Life (Session I, Workshop 6), scroll down on the page). Latin America has so very much to offer today’s world, and is so very misunderstood; I cannot wait to work with participants to help develop our understanding of the region and the ways we teach about it. The topic is both timely and crucial.

I very much hope you will join me for either or both of these workshops; click here for financial information and a link to the registration page, or download a brochure for printing or sharing: SIIC_Flyer_Dianne. Here is a link to the full SIIC schedule.

Cultural Detective is also working in conjunction with the Intercultural Communication Institute to provide a 2-day facilitator certification workshop. This workshop receives kudos from even the most experienced intercultural trainers and educators. It will be conducted by Tatyana Fertelmeyster, July 23-24, in between SIIC Sessions II and III. We look forward to having you or your group join us! Click here for registration.