Understanding Cultural Awareness

Someone’s cultural awareness is their understanding of the differences between themselves and people from other countries or other backgrounds, especially differences in attitudes and values.

There are several levels of cultural awareness that reflect how people grow to perceive cultural differences:

• My way is the only way. At the first level, people are aware of their way of doing things, and their way is the only way. At this stage, they ignore the impact of cultural differences.
• I know their way, but my way is better. At the second level, people are aware of other ways of doing things but still consider their way as the best one. In this stage, cultural differences are perceived as a source of problems and people tend to ignore them or reduce their significance.
• My way and their way. At this level, people are aware of their own way of doing things and others’ ways of doing things, and they choose the best way according to the situation. At this stage, people realise that cultural differences can lead both to problems and benefits and are willing to use cultural diversity to create new solutions and alternatives.
• Our way. This fourth and final stage brings people from different cultural background together for the creation of a culture of shared meanings. People dialogue repeatedly with others and create new meanings and new rules to meet the needs of a particular situation.

Although not all people identify with their cultural or religious background, however, culture itself is a fluid entity undergoing transformations as a result of globalisation, migration, and the diaspora influence.