On 29th September at the IBM Benelux head office in Amsterdam, intercultural management and organisational culture experts from around the world gathered at #theculturefactor conference.
The main keynote speech had been delivered by Prof. Dr. Geert Hofstede on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his research into national cultures using original IBM data. However, the final session of the day; a philosophical discussion on managing diversity between Prof. Hofstede's son, Prof. Gert Jan Hofstede, and Mayor of Mechelen and World Mayor 2016, Bart Somers; stole the show.
In this edited video of the session, Bart Somers gives some background to the racial and cultural mix of his city of Mechelen in Belgium, and explains with his infectious enthusiasm his views on managing cultural diversity to create an inclusive and tolerant society in which everyone, regardless of their cultural background, has a place and feels like a member of a modern multicultural city.
In a world of negative news stories of clashes between races, religions and cultures, this positive and inspiring final talk of the day left the conference attendees with a real sense of hope for the future, and is a magnificent example of what can be achieved when culture is managed properly.
