Key competences for cultural awareness and social skills in the tourist industry

Abstract

The Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning identify and define the 8 key competences necessary for personal fulfilment, active citizenship, social cohesion and employability in a knowledge society. “Social & civic competence (KC6)” and the “cultural awareness & expression (KC8)” have been defined as the Key Competence as two out of the overall eight Key Competences identified for further action at Community level, both within the Education and Training 2010 work programme and within the Community Education and Training Programme.

Social skills includes personal, interpersonal and intercultural communication and cover all forms of behaviour that equip individuals to participate in an effective and constructive way in social and working life, and particularly in increasingly diverse societies, and to resolve conflict where necessary.

Cultural awareness is essential to understand the cultural and linguistic diversity in Europe and other regions of the world, the need to preserve it and the importance of aesthetic factors in daily life.

This article aims to show a customized programme in order for the European citizens working in the Tourism and hospitality industry to develop appropriate interpersonal and cultural awareness skills, the ability to recognize cultural differences in personal values and behaviour and acquire the know-how to manage cultural diversity on the basis on their own identified needs.