Let's Meet Africa
and Do Business
Upon arrival in this country, I didn't speak a word of Dutch. My wife and I communicated in French, before switching to Hebrew. With the aid of some French books from Belgium and a few private lessons, I studied Dutch in my spare time. During the day, I worked full-time, taking on a variety of 'simple' jobs that didn't require much knowledge of Dutch, such as folding towels and sheets in a laundry, rinsing bottles in a pharmacy and sweeping the street.
From 1969 to 1972, I followed evening courses in French at Teachers Training College, not to learn French but to improve my Dutch via the required translations from French to Dutch and vice versa.
In 1972, I again combined a full-time job – by now in the accounting domain (Bookkeeping and Budgeting Sections) – with part-time study, this time at university. I completed a Bachelor's degree in Semitic Studies (Languages and Cultures of the Near East) in 1975, followed by a Master's degree in 1976.
At this point, I was offered a Pure Theory Research Scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. However, I decided to accept a more ‘socially responsible’ job, namely as a consultant to ethnic minority groups in the Netherlands (coach/adviser in the area of education).
Subsequently, I held positions as a lecturer/coordinator in Transcultural Educational Theory and as Director of Stichting Welzijn Buitenlanders, a foundation for the welfare of immigrants.
Since 1982, I have been Director of the Intercultural Institute (ICI), an independent (i.e. non-subsidized) centre of expertise in the areas of (Intercultural) Communication, Organization and Management. Alongside this full-time position, I completed a Ph.D. in Psychological, Pedagogical and Sociological Sciences at the University of Groningen in 1993.
Since then, I have been appointed Professor of Intercultural Communication in the Netherlands (University of Amsterdam) and Israel (Bar-Ilan University at Ashkelon). On 24 March 2000, I gave my inaugural lecture – A new perspective (ISBN: 905629126)- at the University of Amsterdam. My appointment in Israël was extensively covered by Milco Aarts in Ashkelon and Frank van Vliet in de Telegraaf of Saturday 18 November 2000 under the headline ‘Professor Pinto as peacemaker’.
I am furthermore pleased to be part of a body of researchers who have developed a new theory in their own field. In my case, that theory concerns the differences between people in the broadest sense of the word, namely at the macro and micro levels. In line with this theory, I have developed a method for dealing with social, religious, cultural and individual differences. The publications section below gives a selection of reviews of the first edition (1990) of the book Intercultural Communication, describing the theory and method. Both theory and method are currently the subject of empirical research, including a doctoral thesis by Hans Harmsen, a general practitioner-cum-researcher at Erasmus University in Rotterdam.
David Pinto
David Pinto will be present on Let's meet Africa and Do Business to talk about cultural differences and how to deal with them. A very important topic for business people who are dealing with African colleagues.
More information about David Pinto you can find on his website.