ABOUT ME

My work is both an academic and a personal interest. I grew up in a profoundly diverse environment, and it took me a while to realize that this was not commonplace for everyone. Towards the end of my studies in communication, I found myself in a a time where ethnic and cultural diversity became increasingly problematized in political and public debates. To me this felt as if the context I grew up in was all of a sudden considered a problem. I had to get involved somehow.

I was lucky enough to find a place within a renowned Dutch knowledge institute (KIT Royal Tropical Institute) concerned with international and intercultural affairs. I worked for many years at their unit for education and training as a trainer and consultant. In addition, I was heavily involved in the department's vision and method development, often in close cooperation with scholars and thinkers. I was often unsatisfied with the status quo of approaches in the field and was motivated to update and develop them. I started to publish articles in academic and professional journals myself as well, and later on co-authored an academic text book: ‘Diversity Competence: Cultures Don’t Meet People Do’ (together with Edwin Hoffman, PhD.)

After moving to Sweden, I started lecturing full time at the University of Gothenburg, and later the HTW University of Berlin in Master programs in communication. Instead of being the theoretical person in a practice-oriented environment, I found myself trying to bring life and real-world relevance to academic theories.

After several years in academia, I now find myself back on the training & consultancy side, while staying connected to academic developments and discussions (and sometimes contributing to them). The connection between theory and practice forces me to try to get to the heart of things, and to connect the dots that otherwise may go overlooked. While doing so, I try to apply necessary nuance, and appropriate humour. I don’t shy away from complexities or controversies, but aim to do this in a dialogical and connecting way.

I divide my time between Sweden and The Netherlands, and feel (more or less) at home in both. I am an associate of KIT Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam, and New to Sweden, and NGO that aims to improve newcomers’ labour market integration in Sweden.