At the Intersection of Identities

It is assumed that part of today’s societal difficulties, uncertainties and crisis worldwide can be attributed to the competing of multiple identities, to their intersections and their overlapping nature – on the level of nations, on the level of communities and also on the level of the individual. We aim at presenting a typology of identities that come into play in the public and in the private domain of the individual. It is hypothesized that there is a strong interdependence of cultural heritage, human values and social traditions in the competition of identities. These questions, which are interrelated and interconnected with each other through a common denominator, namely “cultural-mental programming” and “reprogramming efforts,” are going to be pondered about in the presentation. In the context of globalization the relevance of this topic is reinforced by the need to adapt to changes within the ever-intensifying shift from intercultural to multicultural environment in communities, in business and in work places. Attempts will be made to articulate some projections with respect to future trends that are to be expected: the way to go from competing identities to establishing a competitive identity (Simon Anholt). The contribution does not offer ready solutions but rather serves as fuel for further discussions.