For the World Universities Debating Championship in Berlin 2013 intercultural affairs plays an important role in ensuring a smooth tournament. There are lots of intercultural bricks to drop: by using inappropriate phrases, serving inadequate dishes or just simply ignoring cultural differences in the daily interaction with participants. The intercultural affairs team headed by Sarah Jaglitz and Tina Reimann works on making the stay for 400 teams from all around the globe as comfortable as possible.

Tina studied intercultural communication at the University of Halle where she was a member of Klartext Debating. Today she is working in international affairs in China. Sarah started debating in the „Debattierclub Greifswald e.V.“ at the shore of the Baltic Sea. Her greatest success was debating in semi finals at the WUDC 2010 in Antalya (Turkey). Currently she lives in Berlin and pursues a degree in Jewish Studies.

Marcel Sauerbier talked with Sarah and Tina for Achte Minute about their preparations for the big tournament in Berlin.

Achte Minute: Sarah, Tina, the purpose of your team is that all participants will enjoy their stay in Berlin during the WUDC Berlin 2013. How can we make sure they feel at home here?

Tina Reimann

Sarah: There is a saying: „Home is where you are happy“. We hope that all participants at the WUDC will have a great time even though Berlin and also Germany in general might be very different from their home countries. We analyse the basic requirements, what everyone will need to be happy and which cultural differences might lead to problems and how we can prevent those. Our goal is it that the participants won’t have to worry about the small everyday details during the WUDC but instead will be able to focus solely on the competition.

Tina: At home you are usually surrounded by people you know and you feel understood. In case that there should be problems we want the participants to feel that we care about their individual background, understand their needs and will try to find a solution.

Achte Minute: Sarah, you told us that you returned to Berlin after having finished your studies in Greifswald. What makes Berlin feel like home to you?

Sarah: Berlin is just so vibrant and multicultural. No matter what you are interested in someplace you will always find likeminded people. And that holds true not only for debating.  I also like the typical Berlinian charme: dry humor, a little bit gruffy, but a caring heart underneath.

Achte Minute: Tina, your major at university has been intercultural studies. What is the most appealing for you in working for WUDC?

Tina: I really like that I can put my theoretical knowledge from university to a practical use. In academia you focus usually on certain cultural areas. WUDC Berlin 2013 offers the chance of being part of a meeting of many cultures. This cultural diversity is absolutely fascinating me.

Achte Minute: Up until now, what was your major area of work?

Sarah: Our most important project is to devise the volunteer-meetings in which we brief our volunteers for their work at WUDC Berlin 2013. We just had one of these meetings in Berlin at the end of September. Our goal has been to sensitize our volunteers for intercultural differences and how to deal with them. It has been a great chance for us to simulate situations with our volunteers so they will be better prepared for similar situations at WUDC in December this year. By the way also our volunteers are not all from Germany only, so we are really an international team for this international event.

Tina: I also would like to mention that as far as we know there has never been before a whole ressort just for taking care of intercultural issues at a World University Debating Championship. That’s why we are constantly redefining our role in the process of organising this tournament.

Sarah Jagdlitz

Achte Minute: If you would attend the WUDC Berlin 2013 as a debater, what would strike you as extraordinary in the Berlin concept?

Sarah: I hope that the only thing that would strike me is that there is nothing to catch my eye cause everything runs smoothly. We already try to anticipate and prevent many possible problems in advance, as for example intercultural differences and the problems they might cause.

Achte Minute: TheWUDC Berlin 2013 will be a  huge event, not only for debaters but also for you. From your point of view: Why is it mandatory to be a part of it?

Tina: For me debating enables one to think about different opinions and to consider the points of view of other people thereby broadening one’s horizon. At the WUDC you get the chance to do this on an international level. And best of all: You don’t have to travel far away, it all happens at my doorstep. That is reason enough for me to be part of it.

Achte Minute: One wish for the WUDC Berlin 2013– what would be your choice?

Tina: That everything will run smoothly, of course!

Sarah: No black ice please!