Cross-Cultural Advice and Training

Margaret Bornhorst Cross-Cultural, based in Brisbane, Australia, provides a range of creative solutions to personal, organisational and community challenges resulting from Australia's, and the world's, growing ethnic and linguistic diversity.

Services available include customised training packages, workshops, short inspirational presentations, community festival activities, conference keynotes and workshops, and consultation.

Cultural and linguistic diversity is under the radar for many organisations.

Australian communities are extraordinarily diverse these days, with up to 220 birthplaces and languages in all capital cities and in many cities and towns. Yet government, business and community leaders are frequently unaware of how their organisations could benefit from embracing this new diversity rather than ignoring it, or merely managing it.

They are also frequently unaware of the precise impact cultural and linguistic differences might be having on relationships and systems.

Identifying cultural tensions, and reducing or eliminating them through targeted and appropriate interventions, can have a very positive effect on communities, organisations, and teams.

And learning to recognise and utilise the special cultural and linguistic talents of people can take your organisation to a whole new level of personal and organisational development.

Broad experience and extensive networks

Few cross-cultural practitioners working in Australia today have Margaret Bornhorst's range of experience across sectors and her extensive network of trainers and cultural informants. When Margaret designs a program or presentation for you, her 18 years of specialisation in cross-cultural communication ensure that it will be customised to the precise needs of your organisation, and that it will utilise the best information and presentation style to engage your audience. Her background in theatre ensures that her programs are uniquely lively and engaging.

Margaret Bornhorst's special area of expertise

After 14 years with Multicultural Affairs Queensland, and a lifetime of cultural and linguistic observation, Margaret Bornhorst is uniquely equiped to assist new settlers to understand the Anglo-Australian culture in the kind of detail that few other practitioners can provide. She is especially skilled at creating effective and successful multicultural teams. It is still true that the average Australian of English, Irish and Scottish origin does not believe that Australia has a unique culture of its own. If you don't believe you have a culture yourself, it is very difficult to find the energy to pay serious attention to the characteristics of other cultures. Not only does Margaret convince Anglo-Australians that they have a unique culture and what its parameters are, she also provides the information and skills needed to enjoy working successfullly with people from all over the world. How good is that?