Peter van der Werff

Peter van der Werff has been teaching at universities in the Netherlands and abroad since the early 1970s. At the Free University in Amsterdam he has developed the concept of cultural interfaces and made it applicable to environmental management and development work. He also conducts targeted workshops for interested audiences in other situations.

Interactions between cultures

These workshops focus on interactions between cultures. An interface of different cultures can create or reduce economic poverty, environmental degradation, and warfare. The framework of cultural interfaces also applies to the integration of migrant communities.

Cultural interfaces can exist between different communities, societies or organizations, or between different types of people within a culture, society or organization. A cultural interface can also occur within one person.

Social entities such as cultures, societies and organizations are not closed entities, but have overlaps and gradual adjustments with neighboring entities. They are also not composed of identical people but show much internal variation. Moreover individual persons have some space for manoeuvre in adjustment to their situation.

At the same time there are certain recognizable patterns of thinking and acting as shaped by the culture of a particular community or society. These patterns are the subject of attention in the workshops.

Cultures are largely rooted in the subconscious and therefore difficult to change at will. But in the West the persistence of culture is often underestimated and emphasis is often given to the potential of change in both cultures and persons. This underestimation is also part of culture and therefore persistent.

The persistence of cultures does not preclude change. Cultures are always changing. But changes are often unplanned, unintended or undesired by policy makers, managers or development workers who pursue change in certain directions.

Example: Berbers in the Netherlands

In the culture of Berber communities in the North African Atlas mountain range boys and young men had an important role to play. Their remarkable assertiveness and fighting spirit helped the Berber community to survive in the harsh social and ecological environment in Morocco. Their behaviors were therefore consciously or subconsciously appreciated and encouraged by the Berber population.

In a concerned workshop we create respectful awareness of both the Berber and the Dutch culture and the ways these cultures are transferred to next generations in conscious and subconscious ways. Based on this increased awareness we try to bring about some adjustments in the transfer of Berber culture.

Most effective is to involve both young mothers and professionally interested women of Berber background. We first try to find out how young mothers maintain the original subconscious educational pattern. In a second step we look at how conscientization of that pattern can help to create modifications. Such modifications need connections to both the original Berber culture and the surrounding Dutch culture. In a follow-up, the mothers may be guided in careful ways in their attempts to realize modifications.

Of course, certain features of Dutch culture may also be considered for change, but we require another methodology to realize that.

Didactic Perspective

Didactic experience proves that interaction between students and teachers works better than passive listening to lectures. The workshops have therefore a variety of interactions, as well as other activities.
During a workshop different group formations are created, at both indoor and outdoor locations.

Why Participate?

For practical work, management, policy making and general understanding of poverty alleviation, environmental management and matters of war and peace it is importance to grasp the working of cultural interfaces. It is clarifying and fruitful to see obstacles and opportunities that find their origin in interactions between cultures.

Who can participate?

Participants have preferably a background of higher education and the curiosity to explore their visible and hidden convictions.

How to Set up a Workshop

Workshops are convened by interested organizations and networks of persons. Logistics are cared for in close collaboration with Peter van der Werff.

Duration

The duration of workshops ranges from half a day to a whole week.

Cost

Costs are mainly the rent of a room, food and drink, and the rate of € 100 an hour for Peter van der Werff.
Usually the time spend during the actual workshop equals the time needed for preparation, talks with individual participants and follow-up activities.