ILR Students Studying Dialogues in Diversity visit ESCP- Europe in Paris

The course, Dialogues in Diversity is taught by professors Bill Sonnenstuhl (ILR) and Beatrice Collin and Pierre-Arnaud Moreau-Portejoie (ESCP-Europe) using long-distance technology. It is designed as a conversation between ILR and ESCP-Europe faculty about diversity and inclusion in global corporations. During spring break, the ILR students traveled to Paris to meet and work with their ESCP-Europe counterparts on joint projects. This will be followed by a subsequent visit by the ESCP-Europe students who will travel to Ithaca in April, to continue working on their projects and present their final reports. While in Paris, ILR students attended a lecture on cross-cultural communications conducted by Professor Pierre Morale. He distinguished between the direct and explicit communication style of Americans compared to the less direct and implicit style of the French. At the class level, students are learning to work through those differences on their projects. Students also visited France-Telecom to learn about their diversity program and met with Google to hear about its diversity initiatives in France.

Learning about diversity and inclusion is not all work. Learning to live the message also means learning to live in new cultures. So, while in Paris, the students and faculty experienced café life, visited museums, strolled along the streets, visited Versaille, and took a boat ride the Siene.

To ESCP faculty and students, “Merci beaucoup!” We look forward to greeting you in Ithaca!