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Dear Readers,

Living abroad often starts with curiosity — the thrill of meeting the Other. But living abroad intentionally means taking that curiosity further: wanting to deeply understand what makes the other different from us, and what makes us different from them.

Cultural intelligence is the ability to recognize the lens you're wearing, understand the one your interlocutor is using, and switch intentionally between the two.

This is an essential skill for those of us building a whole, satisfying life between cultures and I find this absolutely fascinating.

As a multipotentialite, I go through phases of deep obsession, and right now I’m in full “cultural dimensions researcher mode.”

Books piled on my desk, ten Google tabs open, earbuds in, notes spread across multiple Moleskines. Full immersion.

Part of this research feeds directly into my Cultural Bridge Series — my monthly deep-dives into cultural intelligence in the workplace, based on the best resources available on the topic.

But today I’m taking you behind the scenes of my personal intercultural journey, sharing what’s actually on my table right now.

Grab something warm — if you’re even a little curious about interculturality, I think you’ll find something here for you.

Here’s what I’ve gathered this time:

📚 Four books sitting on my (very crowded) desk

🎧 Three podcasts - my best commute companions

💌 Two Substacks to understand our complex world

📚 Books

Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind — Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede & Michael Minkov

This is the foundational text on cultural dimensions — the one you keep referencing when you realize that what you thought was a personality conflict is actually a deeply ingrained cultural value at play. Hofstede’s research spans decades and dozens of countries.

Once you start seeing culture as software running silently in the background of every interaction, you can’t unsee it.

Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands — Terri Morrison & Wayne A. Conaway

Where Hofstede gives you the theory, this book gives you the field guide. Practical, country-by-country, almost encyclopedic — it answers the “but how should I actually behave?” questions. I reach for it when I’m preparing to work with a new culture and need to move quickly from awareness to action.

Each chapter focuses on a country through several angles:

• What is your Cultural knowledge

• Tips on doing business

• Country History

• Know before you go

• Business practice

• Protocol (greetings, gift, dress…)

Every chapter is a reminder: The most universal quality is diversity. (Michel de Montaigne)

Coaching across Cultures - Philippe Rosinski

What I love about this book is the shift in perspective it creates: cultural differences are not obstacles to manage — they are forces to leverage. Rosinski’s Cultural Orientations Framework gives you a concrete set of dimensions that apply in any workplace, from how people handle time, to communication styles, to power dynamics.

But what makes it truly unique is the scope: it goes beyond your culture of origin to include organizational and professional cultures as well. Engineers, nurses, business managers, every group carries its own cultural programming.

A game changer for any intercultural coach or professional, but also for expats looking for answers (and questions!) about their own integration in a new context.

I have already shared how I came across this book and how reading it changed my trajectory. And I have exciting news: I’ll be attending his training in April! A milestone I’ve been looking forward to for a long time, and one that will deepen everything I bring to my intercultural coaching work. Stay tuned!

The Culture Map — Erin Meyer

It’s the one I leaf through the most at the moment. Meyer takes Hofstede’s dimensions and makes them immediately applicable, especially in professional contexts. Her eight scales (communication, feedback, leadership, trust…) give you a map to navigate differences starting from your own cultural frame.

Because don’t forget: culture is always relative.

If you're looking for the foundational framework on cultural dimensions, start with Hofstede. If you want to apply cultural theory directly to workplace dynamics, The Culture Map is your starting point.

🎧 Podcast

The Intercultural Toolbox

This podcast is exactly what it sounds like, and so much more than you'd expect. Each episode, a guest shares their personal intercultural journey and brings concrete tools and resources to go deeper. It's a goldmine for intercultural coaches and professionals: part lived experience, part curated knowledge, all substance. The kind of podcast where you finish one episode and immediately open a new Moleskine page (or a Notion table).

This episode, in particular, caught my attention for the richness of the resources it offers.

Inclure - Le podcast qui connecte les cultures

A French-language podcast I discovered at the end of last year and haven't stopped listening to since. What drew me in is the variety — of guests, of angles, of entry points into the same big question: how do we learn to understand each other across cultures? And behind it all, a truly noble mission: making intercultural learning accessible to society at large.

This is an inspiring episode: Coopérer pour survivre

Surprises Interculturelles - Charlotte Courtois

Another French-language podcast that takes you on a world tour: customs, traditions, encounters with the Other and with yourself. The host brings a wonderful mix of warmth and honesty — because navigating cultures takes curiosity, yes, but also vulnerability.

💌 Substacks

Cultural Perspective by Way Yuhl

What I love about this newsletter it is the angle: not what happened, but why, and what the deeper cultural and historical patterns behind it tell us about what comes next. For those of us living between cultures in an increasingly complex world, having a tool to interpret rather than just react feels like having the key to finally make sense of it all.

Cultural Currents by André Darmanin

André writes about transformation and intergovernmental relations through a cultural intelligence lens — and what I love about his work is how he dissects institutions and the way they function when different cultural logics sit around the same table. His perspective on Brussels dynamics is particularly sharp and rare. Recently, I had the chance to co-write a post with him on cultural self-awareness, the first important step of cultural intelligence.

📣 Join the Conversation

Understanding cultures is the practice of staying curious, transforming friction into awareness.

This is just a slice of what’s keeping me intellectually alive right now. I’ll keep sharing as the journey unfolds — because everything I discover feeds directly into my work helping turn cultural complexity into clarity.

I’d love to hear your recommendations: What’s the best book or resource you’ve come across about Culture?

Leave a comment

👀 This post belongs to the Inclusion Virtual Library.

Until next Sunday, Emanuela

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Final Episode of the Advent Calendar 🎁

This is the last episode of my Inclusion Advent Calendar - A Window of Awareness.
And I wanted it to be a real gift.

Not a list of “inspiring” resources.
But a working virtual library: books, podcasts, and learning spaces that accompanied me while I was building what I built this year — writing, coaching, collaborations, panels & conferences, podcasts participations, theatre - and the process behind it.

None of it happened by accident.
Every idea was sparked by research,

Every project took shape through intentional construction,

Brick by brick.

What follows is not a recommendation list.
It’s a trajectory.

From Living Abroad to Making Sense of It

When I decided to live my life abroad intentionally, I realised that living intercultural experiences alone was no longer enough.

Experience had given me exposure, but not interpretation. I needed a lens.

I started researching and taking online courses. Everything seemed relevant, yet nothing truly rang a bell. I earned the online certificate, connecting the dots, yet I felt that nothing was really shedding light on my path.

At a certain point, I stopped looking for answers and started looking for questions.

With this new compass, I came across a book that changed everything:

Coaching Across Cultures, by Philippe Rosinskis.

This book was exactly what I needed. Not a set of instructions, but a guide — the feeling of having someone walking beside me.

It accompanied me through two important phases of my journey.

The first time I read it, I was still trying to make sense of my own life across cultures. The framework in the book, helped me slow down my interpretations, question automatic assumptions, and clearly separate behaviours from values.

As I kept reading, my admiration for the author grew with every page. I vividly remember stopping at a passage where he described supporting the merger of two organisations shaped by deeply different cultures.

I paused and thought: I’ve lived this. I’ve faced these tensions. I’ve worked with the tools I had at the time.

And something shifted.

I realised I wanted to go further.

To learn more.

To refine my practice.

To become someone who does this work deliberately, not instinctively.

When I discovered that Rosinski came from a technical and scientific background — like mine — and had become a coach fostering intercultural communication in complex organisations, identification was immediate.

His path made something suddenly feel possible.

I stopped reading and argued with myself for a long moment:
What would it take for me to become this kind of professional?

I took time to assess what this path would require — in terms of rigor, responsibility, and practice.

A few months later, I enrolled in a professional coaching school accredited by the International Coaching Federation.

My objective was not simply to acquire tools, but to develop a solid coaching posture: learning how to work with complex situations, how to listen beyond surface narratives, and how to accompany change in a structured and ethical way.

Nine months later, I obtained my certification — and with it, a solid framework for what had previously been intuitive.

Suddenly, things clicked. My ability to ask meaningful questions became sharper, my capacity to hold space without rushing to solutions grew stronger, and I learned to work with both individual and systemic dynamics with far more confidence and intention.

I opened the book again, with this new gaze.

This time, with a different gaze. I was no longer searching for explanations for my own life, but for powerful questions to bring into conversations with others — both in individual coaching and multicultural teams.

The same pages revealed new layers:

• How to stay with friction instead of rushing to solutions,

• How awareness emerges when differences are named rather than smoothed over,

• How personal and cultural uniqueness can become a real source of strength and innovation when we consciously work with.

Storytelling as a Tool for Meaning and Dialogue

Storytelling has always been how I think and understand myself, how I give shape to my life and its complexity.

As I was learning new coaching tools, something else was happening in parallel:

The more I trained, the more I felt the need to find my own voice.

Amid the noise of coaches, mentors, and guides — with or without ethics or certification — I felt overwhelmed and uncomfortable with the idea of simply applying tools, frameworks, or so-called miraculous solutions.

In that search, I found my voice through narrative approaches.

Reading The Art of Storytelling Across Cultures helped me articulate my natural communication channel and my way of working with people’s stories.

Johanna Sell shows how storytelling is a tool for mutual understanding and intercultural dialogue, stories bridge cultures, challenge stereotypes, and carry cultural values: how we relate to authority, how we express conflict, what we protect, what we leave unsaid.

This book helped me make the link between traditional and collective stories, and individual ones.

It also led me to look for communities of professionals who are genuinely curious about intercultural work and who share a common intention: making understanding possible across differences.

Through that search, I discovered that Johanna Sell was presenting her approach in a webinar hosted by SIETAR — an international, non-profit organization dedicated to developing knowledge, values, and skills that support effective intercultural and interethnic relations at individual, organizational, and community levels.

Seeing her work brought to life in that space confirmed for me that storytelling could be a powerful tool for dialogue and understanding — and it made me feel part of a global community of curious souls.

That insight was later deepened through the webinar series ICF Synergie, organized by the International Coaching Federation, the body through which my coaching school is accredited.

It was there that I discovered the narrative approach of Dina Scherrer, through her work on Repairing Stories.

This encounter helped me understand how narratives can be worked with — not erased, not replaced, but carefully repaired — so that new meanings and possibilities can emerge.

This now shapes how I accompany people in coaching.

Voices That Equipped Me to Walk

This year of transformation, I needed voices that could suggest new paths — and equip me to walk on unknown ground.

In my immediate circle, most people followed a traditional, single-track trajectory: climbing the ladder, eyes fixed on the top. I knew that to build something different, I needed other angles of view. So I listened elsewhere.

I turned to podcasts that gave space to early and late bloomers, multipotentialites, entrepreneurs who stepped off the ladder, people living abroad, and those trying to make sense of human interactions in complex environments.

• Think Fast, Talk Smart : communication, presence, and clarity in high-stakes contexts (EN)

• La Relève: redefining success beyond linear careers (FR)

• Scatenate: conversations with women building non-conventional paths (IT)

• Inclure: diversity and inclusion as levers for performance and management transformation (FR)

These voices accompanied me while I was building something that didn’t yet have a clear shape — helping me stand more steadily in uncertainty.

Learning Personal Branding and Content Creation

As I started building my work more publicly — writing, coaching, and creating content under my own name — I realised I needed to learn how to articulate what I do and how I show up.

Coming from a corporate world, I wasn’t fluent in personal branding or content creation. This ecosystem was different: more exposed, less codified, more personal.

So I learned the only way I know — by observing and reading others.

I subscribed to a handful of Substack newsletters written by people building in public with depth and consistency.

• How we grow

• The Lemon Tree Mindset

• Unfiltered

• Les Perso de Maud

Not to copy their strategies, but to understand how they think, how they show up, how they turn experience into content. I paid attention to tone, rhythm, and coherence.

Over time, this helped me clarify my own positioning. Personal branding, I realised, isn’t about visibility at all costs. It’s about alignment — between what you do, what you write, and how you show up.

I’m still learning, still testing, and enjoying the journey!

A Process, Not a List

How to Build Your Own Personal Library for the Year Ahead

What I’m sharing here is not only a set of resources, but a process.

Each book, podcast, or learning space entered my life at a specific moment, responding to a concrete need: to understand what I was living, to slow down my interpretations, to name friction, to find language before moving forward.

If you want to build your own personal library for the year ahead, here is the approach I followed:

Start from a question, not a topic.
Name the goal you want to reach next year, then reduce it to the first small step.

→ What do you need right now? And what is the very first step that would move you toward that goal?

Choose resources that help you interpret, then build your own lens.
Let books and podcasts widen your view, but don’t outsource your thinking.

→ What have you learned today that you can apply tomorrow, in your own way?

Let each resource do something to you.
It should shift your posture, your language, your attention. If it stays only “interesting,” close the book and listen to another voice. Notice how a resource changes your vision — and how that change alters your trajectory.

→ What new directions are opening up for you now?

🎄 About This Advent Calendar

Throughout December, I shared the Advent Calendar in the form of daily Substack Notes — books, podcasts, and resources around identity, inclusion, and intentional living across cultures.

If you’d like to explore them, you can find all the Notes directly on my Substack profile, under the Notes tab. They can be read in any order, at your own rhythm.

Welcome to The Inclusion Room — a space where literature, science, and storytelling meet to unlock the power of diversity, inspiring both personal and professional growth.

Subscribe now

This post is for language lovers.
Some of us have embraced new languages while living abroad, finding in them a doorway into another culture. For others, languages feel like new friends we meet along the road of life. For some, languages have become both a life and a career.

As for me, until the age of 22, I didn’t speak any language other than my own, Italian. I could translate Ancient Greek and Latin, but speaking a living language was difficult. Today, 20 years later, I am a polyglot—and deeply in love with languages. That’s why I’ve started to explore what draws people into languages, and what these encounters make of us.

Here’s what I’ve gathered for you this time:

📚 Two books that tell what it means to live between languages and worlds
💌 Two Substacks where languages step into the spotlight

📻 An Application I used to learn German

📚 Books

Foreign Words - Vassilis Alexakis

Vassilis Alexakis was a Greek writer who emigrated to France and built a remarkable body of work in both languages. His recurring themes, exile, dual belonging, and language as a vessel of memory and identity, speak to anyone navigating between worlds. What makes his work unique is that he translated his own books, carrying them from one language to another himself.

I’ve always been fascinated by writers who choose to write in their adopted language. It feels like a declaration of love, just as Milan Kundera.

I first came across Foreign words in a Parisian bookstore, and it immediately resonated with my love of words, especially foreign ones. What captivates me in learning a new language is this process of taming: words that begin as a simple string of letters gradually become a sound, and then an image. Each time, it feels like a fresh beginning.

This book touched me deeply, not only as a language lover but also, and even more so, as an immigrant who lives daily between two languages.

In this book, Alexakis weaves his relationship with French and his double linguistic identity together with the death of his father, with the inheritance of his country, and with colonialism, which erased local languages—languages that nonetheless found their way back.

The main character, Alexakis’ alter ego, decides to learn Sango, a language spoken in Central Africa, word by word from his Paris apartment. The first word he learns is baba—“father.”

Later, he completes his first sentence: baba ti mbi a kui — “My father is dead.”

His father accompanies him, symbolically, on his journey to Central Africa, where he learns that Sango had to invent a word for “colony”: the servant country. Because a language is always alive with its own history.

This was the first of Alexakis’ novels to be translated into English (Foreign Words, 2006).

And if you are a French- or Greek-speaker, his entire bibliography is waiting for you.

Memoirs of Hadrian - Marguerite Yourcenar

What is the connection between languages and this book about Hadrian’s life? Hadrian reigned over a vast empire, honoring all cultures and languages. He lived his life between two worlds, an education taught in Greek and a destiny written in Latin.

Reading Memoirs of Hadrian means immersing yourself in the journey of an emperor who travels through the various regions of his vast empire with enlightened curiosity.

It’s like seeing through his gaze, refined by countless readings, and discovering cultural diversity as a wealth to be celebrated.

Appreciating languages as keys to different worlds: Latin, used for governance, blends with Greek, which guides his thoughts and orients him in his most intimate reflections.

As we accompany Hadrian on this journey, we experience with him the unification of an empire built like a mosaic of cultures, reflecting the identity of this extraordinary man born in Spain, educated in Greek, and leading as a Roman.

💌 On Substack

Love to Lingo

In this publication, Christina shares actionable insights, tools, and strategies to help you build or refine your language-learning practice. She writes from her own experience of learning new languages, and her love for words shines through every line.

She has also launched a series of posts ‘How I learn languages’ where people share their personal stories with languages.

I’m delighted to share that I’ll be part of the series on November. Stay tuned!

Palto’

This a newsletter that explores life through the lens of multilingualism. It often focuses on storytelling, and also wanders into related territories, geography, education, literature, and the many ways languages shape our world.

It was through these pages that I first discovered Alexakis—thanks to this post:

Paltò

Oscillare tra Parigi e Atene: Vassilis Alexakis

Qualche mese fa ero in libreria e, cercando e curiosando, ho notato il dorso di un libro in francese il cui autore, Vassilis Alexakis, mi era del tutto ignoto e il cui titolo, Ap. J.-C. (che vuol dire dopo Cristo, in italiano), era talmente bizzarro da incoraggiarmi a tirarlo fuori per leggere la quarta di copertina. Il romanzo, pubblicato nel 2007 e pr…

Read more

a year ago · 7 likes · 4 comments · Gaia Donati

📻 An application to learn German

When I first sat in a meeting where everyone spoke German, I couldn’t understand a single word, and I had one year to change that and secure a permanent contract at my company.

I threw myself into many things: immersions, Assimil method, intensive courses… But what helped me build confidence and expand my vocabulary was having Die Deutsche Welle Deutsch lernen in my ears during every commute!

You’ll find exercises, articles, news, music and podcasts for all levels, so you can practice every aspect of the language, anytime and anywhere, at your own pace!

✍ Some of my other writings on languages that could be of interest to you:

👀 This post belongs to the Inclusion Virtual Library. You can explore the previous editions here:

📣 Join the Conversation

I’d love to hear your recommendations for the Virtual Library!

What’s the best book or resource you’ve read about Languages?

Leave a comment

Welcome to The Inclusion Room — a space where literature, science, and storytelling meet to unlock the power of diversity, inspiring both personal and professional growth.

Subscribe now

Dear Readers,
I hope this letter finds you well!

One of Inclusion Room’s ambitions is to create a Virtual library of books and resources that will bring together knowledge and insights to:

• Empower individuals to embrace their uniqueness and thrive outside the box.

• Create a path towards building a more inclusive society for all.

I hope that these resources will offer you additional insights to deepen your reflections.

Some time ago, I wrote a post about being multipassionate — or having an ‘octopus mind’ — and how living abroad can become a catalyst for this way of living.

That post reached thousands of readers and sparked truly meaningful comments and conversations. So I know that among you, dear Inclusive Community, there are many multipassionate souls.

For years, I wandered from one interest to another, learning about topics that seemed totally unrelated. I often felt trapped in a single role, claustrophobic if I stayed too long in one city or country. I thought it was my problem — until I did my research and realized I wasn’t alone. There’s a word for people like me: I’m an explorer.

I told you my story in that post. Today, I want to share the resources that led me to my shift in awareness.

Here’s what I’ve put together for you:

📚 Three books helped me figure out how I’m wired and gave me tools to navigate life in my own unique way.

🙌 A community rich in first-hand experiences

💌 Two experiences shared by our Inclusion Room community

📚 Books

1. Refuse to Choose - Barbara Sher

The book that changed everything for me is Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher .

This book helped me in two powerful ways:

1️⃣ It validated the way I am wired and gave me tools to make the most of it.

2️⃣ It gave me a community I could finally belong to.

3️⃣ It opened my eyes to new ways of combining creativity and work.

In its pages, I discovered so many ways of being multipassionate. I’m not usually a fan of labels — I dislike being boxed in — but in this case, giving a clear name to my wiring was liberating. I’m proud to call myself an explorer.

Who is an explorer?

Someone with an intense and endless curiosity for many subjects that seem unrelated.

An explorer is someone driven by curiosity and a deep fascination for novelty. They have an unshakable desire to venture into the unknown, an exceptional ability to grasp new concepts, and a boundless enthusiasm for experimentation. Above all, they are fueled by a passion for living life to the fullest.

I even learned there are different types of explorers. Most explorers share the same core feature: the urge to learn as much as possible. The difference lies in how they do it — the length of the learning cycle (weeks, months, years), whether they run projects in parallel or sequentially, whether they feel the need to finish things or happily move on without regrets.

Personally, I shift between different modes of exploration depending on the phase of my life.

My favorite tool? The Explorer Journal.

Being an explorer means that ideas or topics often pop up out of the blue while you’re working on something completely different. An explorer might feel guilty or wrong for abandoning a current project — or for adding yet another one to the table.

The idea behind the Explorer Journal is simple: you keep a notebook dedicated to all the activities and ideas you have, every day, week, or month (every explorer works with their own unique time frame!).

Just writing an idea or activity in your journal shifts your mindset: it reminds you that your thoughts deserve a place and that your unique wiring is worth respecting.

Another benefit is that your ideas will wait for you. When you come back, they’re there — ready to be explored again. I add a small update next to each idea or project whenever I return to my notebook to add something new.

In a world that celebrates single expertise and lifelong passion for one thing, I often felt alone with my cycles of intense interest — and the inevitable drop that followed. This book explained why that happens and how to turn my mindset into a source of fulfillment instead of self-doubt.

For months, I practiced the exercises Barbara Sher suggests, until they became second nature — a practical way to express and capitalize on my multipotentiality.

2. How To be Every thing - Emily Wapnick

Of course, being an explorer doesn’t pay the bills. Right?

When you jump from project to project — sometimes before even finishing — one day you’re deep into South American geopolitics and the next you’re obsessed with particle physics.

So how do you land a paid activity?

How do you build a life that lets you be everything?

How to Be Everything by Emilie Wapnick is one of the most practical books I’ve found for answering this question. She calls us multipotentialites — people with many passions, many interests, and the urge to explore them all.

How many of you were haunted by that classic question: What do you want to be when you grow up?

I can’t even remember my answer — mostly because it changed every year! My mother remembers I said “psychologist”, my father says “interpreter”. I still recall an exercise in high school where we had to imagine ourselves in twenty years. Panic mode! I wrote “archaeologist” — but I’m sure I had three other versions ready, just in case.

Emily Wapnick’s book is liberating. She explains:

✅ The superpowers of multipotentialites — my favorite are adaptability, fast learning, and the ability to make unexpected connections.

✅ The three key ingredients of a multipotentialite’s life: money, meaning, and variety.

✅ Practical ways to combine your passions into work that actually pays

✅ Clear structures for living off your passions while building a sustainable career.

Ever heard of the “Einstein Approach”? While working as a patent examiner (a “good enough job”, as Barbara Sher would say — yes, Emilie Wapnick is a big fan of Barbara too!) Einstein kept researching and published his groundbreaking papers on the side. Funny enough, I was also a patent examiner for a while — so I love this example!

Maybe you’ve heard the modern word Slashing: it means combining different jobs or roles that tap into different interests.

Emily Wapnick shows many models, so you can find the mix that fits you best.

3. Repacking you bags - Richard J. Leider, David A. Shapiro

What happens when you combine being an explorer with traveling and living abroad?

As I explained in my previous post,living abroad often amplifies your multipotentiality.

You switch languages, roles, and routines.

You adapt, reinvent yourself, and connect cultures.

What often sets an explorer in motion is boredom — or a craving for novelty.

Sometimes, the place you live in, for various reasons, can trigger both feelings — even if you’re not a pure explorer at heart. But when you are an explorer, this thirst for newness becomes a powerful engine.

The challenge is to channel that energy wisely, making the right choices when you decide to move on.

I’m fascinated by people who turn their work into a way to live different experiences — giving themselves the chance to reinvent who they are each time. It has become my life model.

I was on my third expatriation when I discovered this book. I was living a good life: surrounded by international friends, a good job, in a country with a great quality of life. But something still felt off.

Around me, I saw others like me — restless for the same reasons. One day, they would make a big move, only to regret it later because “they hadn’t asked themselves the right questions.” I’ve heard that line so many times after the fact.

This book became an essential tool when I chose to move back to France — my first expat country. The game changer was the idea of the Vision of the Good Life.

The authors offer a framework of Good Life characteristics — helping you measure how close (or far) you are from the life you truly want at that particular moment. If you’re too far away, then the message is clear: pack your bags and get closer to the experience that brings you back to it!

The framework’s dimensions are diverse and flexible: your sense of belonging, work, spirituality, relationships, and more.

I used this framework when I decided to leave the Netherlands and return to France — and I still use it regularly to ask myself: Should I stay or should I go?

🙌 A community

When you’re a multipotentialite, you crave meeting others like you and sharing all the projects you have on the table, right?

Emilie Wapnick gave an inspiring TEDx Talk where she introduces her community of Multipotentialites.

Check out the talk here: TEDx

And the Community here: Puttylike - a Home for Multipotentialite

💌 From our community

A real-world translation of multipotentiality in the job market is simple: being a generalist in a world that favors specialists.

Who are generalists?

To borrow the words of an unapologetic generalist, :

But here’s the reality: finding your place — and landing fulfilling work — as a generalist today isn’t always easy.

Are you one of us? I recommend reading Caterina’s post:

She breaks down the biggest challenges generalists face today and shares practical strategies to help you secure your next opportunity in a world still dominated (for now) by specialists.

Freedom Focus

The Subtle Art of Career Leverage (for Generalists)

Generalists are the 21st century’s unsung heroes…

Read more

a year ago · 14 likes · 15 comments · Caterina

And if you’re a writer, you’re probably an explorer too. The perfect combo? A writer and a traveler. is a great example of an explorer who’s carved out multiple paths — and proves you don’t have to choose just one.

Enjoyed the recommendations?
New titles join our Virtual Library every month — don’t miss out! I host a community chat each month to collect your ideas and contributions, so stay tuned and bring your own posts to the table!

Join the Conversation

What books or resources have helped your understanding of how you are wired?
Have you written a post about it?
Feel free to share your favorite reads or drop the link to your post — I’d love to explore your perspective.

Leave a comment

Welcome to The Inclusion Room — a space where literature, science, and storytelling meet to unlock the power of diversity, inspiring both personal and professional growth.

Subscribe now

Dear Readers,
I hope this letter finds you well!

One of Inclusion Room’s ambitions is to create a virtual library of books and resources that will bring together knowledge and insights to:

• Empower individuals to embrace their uniqueness and thrive outside the box.

• Create a path towards building a more inclusive society for all.

I hope that these resources will offer you additional insights to deepen your reflections.

Belonging can be tied to a place, a passport, a tradition, or a social class. But more deeply, it’s a layered journey through who we are, what we value, and how we show up in the world.

In this article, I’d like to share a few books and resources on this layered path. Each one speaks to a different level of that journey—and might, I hope, offer you words, reflection, or comfort as you walk your own.

Here’s what I’ve put together for you.

📚 2 books that provide food for thought

📻 2 podcast episodes rich in first-hand experiences

💌 2 posts from our Inclusion Room community

📚 Books

1. Educated - Tara Westover

I loved this book. I especially appreciated how the author's tone evolves as she moves from youth to adulthood. It truly felt like listening to a woman speaking from different stages of her life, each with her distinct voice.

The concept of belonging becomes a character in its own right, growing alongside Tara and unfolding, layer by layer.

Tara first belongs to her family—rooted in strict religious beliefs and enclosed within the rigid boundaries drawn by an absolutist, fundamentalist worldview.

Then, Tara begins to seek connection beyond the walls of her home—through a local choir, a theatre group, glimpses of a world that feels freer. But no matter how deeply she longs to belong, the gap remains. Her dresses are too large, too outdated. The unspoken rules of that world—its codes, its ease—remind her she doesn’t quite fit, doesn’t belong. Not yet. Later, through university, she tries again.

What connects people more deeply than shared stories and knowledge?
But what if the world you come from tells a different story—one where the heroes are others, and the truths you carry aren’t recognized?

Tara comes to understand that she doesn’t truly belong even to herself.
Not until she chooses to craft her own education,her own path, to hold on to her memories, even as her family denies them.

For me, this is the book’s most powerful message:
You can’t truly belong anywhere until you belong to yourself.
And that kind of belonging only becomes possible when you allow enough space—for reflection, for doubt, for clarity.

2. That Hair - Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida

It's a disjointed novel with a staccato rhythm. Hair becomes a symbol of the author's identity and her story between Angola and Portugal.

I wouldn’t recommend it for its plot or style, but I strongly suggest reading it to grasp—or at least sense—how multiculturalism is embodied in the soul and body of a young woman seeking belonging while torn between worlds.

Taming her hair, in a way, becomes a means to shape family history, make sense of fading memories, and preserve within herself a version that longs to be expressed but never will.

I wish I could read Portuguese to fully appreciate the original version. I read it in Italian and, although I’m sure the translator did a good job, I often felt that some words didn’t quite capture the essence of what the author was trying to convey. If any of you have read it in the original language, I’d love to hear your thoughts—perhaps we can explore that feeling together.

📻 Podcast

1. What Makes Home a Home? (From DEEP CULTURE PODCAST )

What makes a place home when your roots are scattered across continents?

In this episode, the authors discuss Third Culture Kids—people who grew up between cultures, often never fully belonging to any. For them, home isn't a fixed place on the map, but a connection to others who’ve lived the same in-between story.

They speak of being chameleons—learning to blend in anywhere, but struggling to feel anchored somewhere. Born in one country, raised in another, their identity often resonates more with fellow global nomads than with the places themselves.

The conversation also touches on those who were forced to move—by war, displacement, or crisis. For them, the search for home is often filled with grief, loss, and reconstruction.

The episode introduces concepts like “encapsulated marginality”—living on the edge of multiple cultures, never fully inside one.

This exploration reminds us that, at its core, belonging is caring—it’s about the presence of people who truly see one another, understand shared struggles, and create a sense of safety and love.

2. Presence starts within (From THINK FAST TALK SMART)

This podcast was recommended by my dear friend after a deep conversation we had about belonging in the workplace.

Imposter syndrome often whispers that you don’t deserve a seat at the table, but what if you could transform that voice into a signal of your need to belong?

Instead of comparing yourself to others, pause and ask: Which value do I bring to the table? True belonging starts with this question — and with accepting yourself, regardless of external validation.

The episode invites you to slow down, engage your presence, and ask not just how you are perceived, but how you experience yourself in the moment. Because before being fully present for others, you need to be present for yourself.

💌 From our community

Elizabeth Silleck La Rue

Don’t Let the “Esq.” Fool You

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash…

Read more

a year ago · 11 likes · 7 comments · Elizabeth Silleck La Rue, Esq.

Not all journeys start from the same place.
Some of us grow up straddling two worlds — learning to speak in different codes, adapt to different norms, and constantly prove we belong. Inclusion means recognizing that the keys to belonging are not handed to all of us equally. This is a reminder to pause, reflect, and imagine what the path looks like for someone who didn’t grow up with the same map.
And still, despite the barriers, built her own path and found a place of her own.

Life Revisited

Daring to be myself

In 2008, I left my home country, Pakistan to create a new life in Europe…

Read more

a year ago · 21 likes · 16 comments

Belonging means being able to show up as your true self — without fear, without masks. For , wearing the hijab was a powerful step toward embracing and expressing her identity. What once felt like a risk became a turning point: from self-doubt to confidence. In choosing to be visible as a Muslim woman, she stayed true to herself and found her place in a global community.

Enjoyed the recommendations?
We add new titles to the Virtual Library every month — don’t miss the next update!

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Join the Conversation

What books have shaped your understanding of belonging?
Have you written a post about it?
Feel free to share your favorite reads or drop the link to your post — I’d love to explore your perspective.

Leave a comment

Welcome to The Inclusion Room Beyond Borders — a space where literature, science, and storytelling meet to unlock the power of diversity, inspiring both personal and professional growth.

Dear Readers,
I hope this letter finds you well!

One of Inclusion Room’s ambitions is to create a virtual library of books and resources that will bring together knowledge and insights to:

• Empower individuals to embrace their uniqueness and recognize diversity as a strength.

• Create a path towards building a more inclusive society for all.

I hope that these resources will offer you additional insights to deepen your reflections.

You can find other posts of this series here:

Travel as Self-Discovery

In this issue, we explore works that capture how journeying through unfamiliar landscapes becomes a profound exploration of self and other. These selections reveal how travel literature is about mapping the internal transformations that occur when we encounter difference.

Let’s fill the shelves with:

📚 3 Books Where Travel Becomes a Journey of Exploration and Cultural Discovery

💌 3 Substack Selections on Travel and Life Abroad Experiences

🎁 1 Suggestion shared by the Community

📚 Books

A Fortune-Teller Told Me - (Un Indovino mi disse) by Tiziano Terzani

For years, I have traveled through the pages of Tiziano Terzani. Had I discovered him earlier, I might have chosen to follow his path as a traveling journalist.

Yet, I’m not sure I would have had the courage to face the situations he encountered: being in the USSR as it collapsed, finding himself trapped by the Khmer Rouge, or boarding planes so old he had to hold the door handle to keep it shut.

Terzani often said he was made to live in Asia. He thrived in the heat, favored linen clothing, and fully embraced the cultures he encountered during his decades of reporting for Der Spiegel. Even at the end of his life, when illness struck, he turned not only to Western medicine but also to Eastern healing traditions—a journey he later chronicled in one of his books.

One of his most extraordinary journeys began with a prophecy. While living in Thailand, a fortune teller warned him: Do not fly in 1993.

Rather than dismissing the prediction, he took it as a challenge. As a journalist, he was constantly on the move across Asia. But for an entire year, he avoided airplanes entirely, traveling instead by boat, train, and car, he visited Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia.

He recounted this experience in A Fortune-Teller Told Me.

This slower, grounded way of traveling led him to rediscover the essence of movement—not just reaching a destination, but fully immersing himself in the journey. He watched landscapes unfold, tuned in to the rhythms of daily life, and absorbed the wisdom of those he met along the way.

At every stop, he sought out fortune tellers and spiritual figures, comparing their predictions to the original one.

Through these encounters, the philosophies and traditions of Asia intertwined with the lives of ordinary people, offering readers a rare and profound glimpse into a world shaped by belief and destiny.

And as for whether the prophecy was confirmed — well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

European Poems and Transitions by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Ferlinghetti's poetic collection are a cultural bridge between American travellers and European daily life. As a Beat poet traversing Europe, he captures the disorienting yet illuminating experience of encountering unfamiliar rituals and social codes.

My foot steps

Will no prints on them

But they and the people have left

they imprints in me

their distant emotions

full on me as in

some tragic magic theatre

I do laugh and cry with them

I am just their dramaturge

or some foreigner theatre critic

come to see the spectacle

of their little lives played out

Ferlinghetti sits in the corner of a café or on a bench in a square, observing life and people as they pass. He recounts what he sees, weaving poetic details into his words, orchestrating them into a delicate, transporting melody.

Open this book and embark on a journey across Europe through Ferlinghetti’s eyes! With his sharp poetic vision he captures the essence of cities, the pulse of streets, and the fleeting moments that define a place. From the cafés of Paris to the back alleys of Rome, his words paint a landscape of movement, nostalgia, and discovery. Each page invites you to wander alongside him, seeing the old continent not as a static postcard but as a living, breathing tapestry of cultures, art, and rebellion.

Mississippi Solo by Eddy L. Harris

Harris's journey down the Mississippi becomes a profound exploration of identity as he navigates both the physical river and the complex social landscapes of America. His solo canoe trip serves as both literal adventure and metaphorical journey into understanding himself as a Black man in America.

Throughout the narrative, Harris documents encounters with people along the river who initially view him as an outsider, highlighting how travel exposes the experience of otherness.

Harris beautifully captures the transformative power of solitude during travel, demonstrating how stepping away from familiar surroundings creates a space for deep, authentic self-discovery.

The Mississippi itself becomes a character in the narrative—sometimes hostile, sometimes nurturing—mirroring the complex relationship travelers develop with unfamiliar environments that ultimately reshape their understanding of home, self, and other.

These books demonstrate how travel literature at its best uses the journey through external landscapes as a means to map internal transformations. Whether crossing oceans to encounter European sensibilities, navigating America's great river,or explor Asian rituals, these authors show that the most profound discoveries happen when we allow ourselves to be changed by what we encounter.

💌 Found on Substack

on Expat on a Budget shares insights from her experience of leaving the US to live in Portugal, offering a pragmatic and honest perspective on daily life abroad, highlighting both its advantages and challenges. You’ll discover thought-provoking perspectives, practical tips, and profound reflections on what it truly means to live intentionally as a foreigner in a new country.

on Girls guide to living abroad offers a personal perspective on life abroad, drawn from over 16 years of living in multiple countries. She shares practical tips, insightful stories, and advice on topics ranging from raising children in a foreign country to navigating the challenges of living abroad. Kaila creates a community for expats to share experiences, connect, and learn.

on Journey Jots inspires culturally curious travelers to discover Europe’s rich heritage and captivating destinations. It offers valuable insights into the history, art, and traditions that define each unique location. A must-read for anyone looking to explore Europe with a deeper understanding and appreciation of its diverse cultures

🎁Suggestions from the Community

Special thanks to who shared Small Arcs of Larger Circles.

In Small Arcs of Larger Circles, Nora Bateson invites us into a way of thinking that embraces complexity, exploring how learning, perception, and relationships evolve through interconnected systems rather than linear paths, revealing the subtle, layered nature of transformation.

Join the Conversation

What books have transformed your understanding of self and other through travel? Share your recommendations for our next issue!

Leave a comment

Welcome to The Inclusion Room — a space where literature, science, and storytelling meet to unlock the power of diversity, inspiring both personal and professional growth.

Subscribe now

Dear Readers,
I hope this letter finds you well!

One of Inclusion Room’s ambitions is to create a virtual library of books and resources that will bring together knowledge and insights to:

• Empower individuals to embrace their uniqueness and thrive outside the box.

• Create a path towards building a more inclusive society for all.

I hope that these resources will offer you additional insights to deepen your reflections.

As part of Inclusion Room's DNA and my multicultural approach, you will find references in different languages.

You can find other posts of this series here:

Today, I’d like to highlight resources on living abroad, turning point in expat life, and the challenge of finding one's place when returning home after expatriation.

Let’s fill the shelves with:

📚 2 books that provide food for thought

📻 1 podcast rich in first-hand experiences

💌 2 selections from the Inclusion Room community that truly resonated with me

📚 Books

Ignorance - Milan Kundera

Kundera is one of my favorite writers. I’ve read everything he wrote. Exiled to France in 1975, the second part of his literary work is in French, including Ignorance. I rarely reread novels, but Ignorance is one of the few exceptions.

Kundera perfectly captures the mechanics of feelings tied to origins.

As an exile, he watches his characters get entangled in the dynamics of return with a sense of benevolence.

This novel is like a taut rope, pulling the reader straight to where it hurts: the misunderstanding of return.

Even the title is an anatomy of nostalgia:

Other languages have words that reveal different nuances, like the longing for one's homeland: homesickness in English, Heimweh in German. In Spanish, añoranza comes from the verb añorar (to long for), and in Catalan, enyorar which comes from the Latin ignorare.

Therefore, nostalgia is, in a way, the suffering of ignorance: when you’re far away, you ignore what’s happening ‘over there’.

This blind force drives Ulysses to leave Calypso and return to Penelope and Ithaca. But in Irena’s reality, the novel's main character, life in Prague has moved on, and people forget. Just like her lover, who has forgotten her, but she needs the memory to anchor herself to her past.

Nostalgia is a tyrant that plays with the memories of exiles. The suffering lies not only in the desire to return but also in accepting that things have changed, that memories are often distorted by time, and that, over the years, it becomes difficult to find your place in your own history.

Alma - Federica Manzon

Alma is a powerful novel that explores themes of origins, migration, and identity. Set against the turbulent history of the Balkans in the 1990s, the story delves into the complexity of identity and belonging.

The novel highlights Trieste as a border city, where local identities are deeply influenced by its history and geography. Alma, born there, feels like a foreigner in her own country, caught between different cultures and histories.

Her story intertwines with Vili’s, who emigrated from Belgrade as a child. Their connection deepens as they both navigate the tension between their roots and their new lives. The shadow of the Balkan war shapes their identities and choices.

Alma is still only available in Italian, but stay tuned: it’s a story that will resonate with anyone who has struggled with the concept of home and belonging.

Below is a detailed description of the book in Italian.

Un bellissimo romanzo che esplora il tema delle origini e dell'identità.

Si può emigrare rimanendo nello stesso paese ma sentendosi stranieri?
Sì, è sicuramente possibile in Italia, un paese la cui unità è relativamente recente e in cui i regionalismi sono sempre forti. È ancora più vero per coloro che, dalle regioni di frontiera, si spostano verso altre regioni più "centrali".

Le città di frontiera, che hanno vissuto nella respirazione delle guerre e dei giochi di potere, entrando e uscendo da blocchi etno-culturali diversi a geometria variabile per poi stabilizzarsi dentro confini precisi e dietro una lingua nazionale, continuano a vibrare di identità diverse che si mescolano nei suoni delle lingue e negli stili delle facciate.

Alma è nata in una città all’est, Trieste. L’autore non la nomina mai, la indica come "la città", in contrapposizione con "la capitale" dove Alma emigra. La narrazione comincia quando Alma torna in città per recuperare l’eredità del padre. La memoria l’aspetta ad ogni passo. I ricordi emergono e si intrecciano con la storia dei personaggi, fondendosi con il presente.

Alma parla tutte le lingue dei paesi limitrofi, l’italiano è una di quelle. Anche i ricordi hanno ognuno una propria lingua.

Nella capitale, naviga nelle convenzioni sociali, sentendosi sempre estranea, custode di storie che gli altri non potrebbero capire. Così se le porta dentro, insieme a quello che ha visto con i suoi propri occhi della Storia, dall’altra parte della frontiera, con Vili.

Vili è emigrato da bambino da Belgrado a Trieste. I suoi genitori l’hanno affidato al padre di Alma, che naviga tra "di là" e "di qua" della frontiera. Tra loro si innesca un sentimento profondo radicato proprio in quelle terre di confine.

Il romanzo si sviluppa dentro questa tensione: l’appartenenza al paese d’origine e il legame con il nuovo luogo in cui si è costruita una vita.

La guerra nei Balcani è lo sfondo delle loro storie, ma è anche un personaggio a sé. Cresce e prende spazio accanto alla ricerca d’identità che muove i personaggi e la Storia.

📻 Podcast

Expat au féminin: A Podcast Connecting Women Abroad

Expat au féminin

What does expat life bring? Self-discovery, challenges, and a journey unlike any other.

Expat au féminin explores these questions through stories from expat women, along with insights from coaches and professionals. More than a guide, it’s a global network of shared experiences and advice.

This podcast is available only in French.

Ful French description here below:

Expat au féminin : le podcast qui relie les femmes à l’étranger

Qu’apporte vraiment l’expatriation ? Découverte de soi, aventure humaine, ou parfois même un grand mystère à élucider ? Expat au féminin explore ces questions avec profondeur et sincérité, en donnant la parole à celles qui vivent l’expérience au quotidien.

À travers des témoignages de femmes expatriées, mais aussi d’experts – coachs, professionnels et accompagnants – ce podcast décortique chaque facette de la vie à l’étranger : les joies, les doutes, les transformations.

Plus qu’un simple guide, c’est un espace où se tisse un véritable réseau de femmes aux quatre coins du monde, partageant expériences et conseils comme le feraient de précieuses amies.

Que l’on soit en quête de repères ou simplement curieuse de comprendre les multiples dimensions de l’expatriation, Expat au féminin éclaire ce voyage intérieur et collectif avec bienveillance et authenticité.

💌 Found on Substack

From Katharina:

Into Many Things

Maybe We Can Outsmart an Unhappy Life by Moving

At “Into Many Things” I write about the kind of life where the rules are optional. My two biggest joys are traveling (aka living abroad) and asking big questions about life—because, honestly, why not? Expect personal essays, travel guides from the many places I’ve been to, and a few thoughts on the little things that make life worth liv…

Read more

a year ago · 10 likes · 3 comments · Katharina

What resonated deeply with me: If you’ve read my latest post, you know I’m once again at a turning point in my expat journey. The difference this time? I’ve learned to ask the right questions: the ones that bring clarity. Katarina’s post resonated with me because, like her, I deeply believe that where we live profoundly shapes how we feel. We owe it to ourselves to be in places that bring out the best in us.

From Christine Job

What I loved: I recently had the pleasure of discussing with Christine about the challenges of expatriation and what makes this experience so meaningful. She hosts a podcast where she interviews Black women expats, and our conversation echoed two key aspects from her latest episode that truly stuck with me:

• Being intentional about the life we build

• Creating a space of freedom for self-expression

Join the Conversation

I’d love to hear your recommendations for the Inclusion Virtual Library!

What’s the best book or resource you’ve read on themes of diversity, inclusion, or living abroad?

Leave a comment

Welcome to The Inclusion Room — a space where literature, science, and storytelling meet to unlock the power of diversity, inspiring both personal and professional growth.

Subscribe now

Dear Readers,
I hope this letter finds you well!

One of Inclusion Room’s ambitions is to create a virtual library of books and resources that will bring together knowledge and insights to:

• Outline a path towards collectively ensuring an inclusive society.

• Help individuals recognize their uniqueness as a strength.

Once a month, I will share a selection of resources that have inspired the themes of this Community.

I hope that these resources will offer you additional insights to deepen your reflections.

As part of Inclusion Room's DNA and my multicultural approach, you will find references in different languages.

You can find the first post of this series in Deepen Your Gaze: The Inclusion Virtual Library.

Let’s fill the shelves with:

📚 2 new books I’ve read and can’t wait to share with you

📻 1 podcast I recently discovered

🎁 2 resource suggestions from the Inclusion Room community

💌 2 posts selected from the Inclusion Room subscribers that truly resonated with me

📚Books :

Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardino Evaristo

Between the pages of this book, it feels like stepping into the lives of many people, exploring different ways of living and being "the Other." Girl, Woman, Other is a window into varied worlds, inviting the reader to see life through new eyes.

Bernardine Evaristo’s style is exceptionally unique: lacking traditional punctuation, the text flows like a continuous stream of thoughts and actions. This approach transforms the reading experience into a full immersion, almost hypnotic, into the stories of the protagonists.

The book is a powerful and inclusive ode, celebrating women in all their dimensions: mothers, daughters, Black, foreign, gay, hetero… constantly evolving, crossing time and space. Each voice is a piece of a complex and vibrant mosaic, reflecting the infinite shades of human identity.

Girl, Woman, Other inspires one to rise above their circumstances, using resilience and self-determination to carve a path forward.

In particular, one quote that, in my opinion, encapsulates the essence of the book is:

This line from Waris, a Somali woman facing the harshness of life in the context of migration and identity struggles, is a cry of self-determination and a rejection of the labels society seeks to impose on women, particularly those coming from difficult backgrounds.

It’s a common fight to avoid being reduced to stereotypes or victims of circumstances.

This quote has become my mantra.

Le racisme ordinaire au travail - Marie France Custos - Lucidi

This eye-opening book is currently only available in French. Below are some key takeaways, and you will find a detailed review in French further down.

Marie-France Custos-Lucidi, a work psychologist, explores the lives of seven individuals facing racial discrimination at work, highlighting the defense mechanisms they use to cope with this suffering. Through these stories, where class, race, and gender intertwine, the author sheds light on the defense mechanisms that are triggered to protect against suffering at work.In the end, the book offers a sense of hope: the protagonists, without becoming revolutionaries, lose their illusions about the organizations they served and finally find their place in the world.

French review:

Marie-France Custos-Lucidi, psychologue du travail, nous plonge dans le quotidien de sept patients victimes de discriminations raciales en milieu professionnel. À travers ces récits où classe, race et genre s’entrelacent, l’autrice met en lumière les mécanismes de défense qui se déclenchent pour protéger de la souffrance au travail. L'ethnicisation des rapports sociaux dans le monde du travail touche de nombreux salariés, mais reste souvent ignorée, par peur d'être perçue comme de la victimisation ou d'invalider la parole de ceux qui en souffrent. Certains préfèrent se taire plutôt que d’entendre des remarques du type : "Arrête de voir de la discrimination partout", tandis que d'autres refusent de se reconnaître comme victimes, croyant que leur statut social, leurs diplômes ou leurs résultats professionnels les protègent.

Cette lecture nous entraîne dans les méandres de l’esprit humain et des violences, de la plus insidieuse à la plus manifeste. Elle nous laisse avec l'espoir qu'il est possible de sortir du piège, à l'image des protagonistes de ces histoires, qui, loin de devenir révolutionnaires,

Reading this book inspired me to reflect on a personal situation, which I have summarized in this note.

📻Podcast

I recently discovered this bilingual podcast (English and French) that gave me plenty of food for thought during my weekly travels:

In my shoes

Episode 13 provided me with the opportunity to further explore my research on AI and stereotypes.

This episode and the book are in French, but you can find my insights on the topic in this post.

🎁Suggestions from the Community

Special thanks to and for their inspiring suggestions, which I’ve added to my resource list to deepen my perspective on inclusion challenges:

💌 Found on Substack

• From

Better Days

The true cost of wearing a mask.

We’re all villains in someone else’s story…

Read more

2 years ago · 14 likes · 9 comments · Maria Cires

What I loved: The difficult and delicate balance between staying true to oneself in full authenticity while making the effort to adapt across cultures—and all the misunderstandings that can arise from that, resonated deeply with my own experience. You have perhaps read this post: Smile across border

• From

I wish I knew

Multipotentiality: Why Be One Thing When You Can Be Everything?

We’re back for a new issue, this time on the subject of multipotentiality and why atypical multipotentialites might be the future rockstars of the business world. Hope you enjoy it…

Read more

a year ago · 5 likes · 2 comments · Maïssane Benaim

What resonated deeply with me: It’s all in the first chapter—Understanding the True Power of Your Uniqueness as a Multipotentialite. Society often tries to put us in boxes, but we are not all the same. After a long journey, recognizing myself as an explorer has finally allowed me to embrace who I am and thrive in my own way.

Welcome to The Inclusion Room — a space where literature, science, and storytelling meet to unlock the power of diversity, inspiring both personal and professional growth.

Subscribe now

Dear Readers,
I hope this letter finds you well!

One of Inclusion Room’s ambitions is to create a virtual library of books and resources that will bring together knowledge and insights to:

• Outline a path towards collectively ensuring an inclusive society.

• Help individuals recognize their uniqueness as a strength.

Once a month, I will share a selection of resources that have inspired the themes discussed during the month.

I hope that these resources will offer you additional insights to deepen your reflections.

As part of Inclusion Room's DNA and my multicultural approach, you will find references in different languages.

Let’s begin by filling the shelves with the first 2 books:

You know by now that I am passionate about theatre.

While searching for a play about technology and society, I recently came across R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots).

I was absolutely astounded by the foresight of the author!

Written in 1920 by Karel Čapek, R.U.R. introduces the term "robot" and explores themes of dehumanization and the consequences of technological progress.

Helena, a central woman character, is depicted as deeply empathetic towards the robots, to the point that she becomes involved in the development team (composed only by men), significantly influencing the evolution of the machines.

Despite being written over a century ago, R.U.R. anticipates issues that remain highly relevant in today's discussions about AI.

Just as Helena's empathy shaped the robots, the diversity of perspectives in AI teams today is crucial. Without inclusive teams, we risk creating systems that perpetuate biases and harm vulnerable groups.

While making research about AI inclusivity, I came across this book: IA pas sans elle.

Sorry, it is currently only available in French. Below, I will share some recommendations in French, and English speakers can find the key takeaways summarized in my previous post:

Si vous cherchez des références concrètes montrant que:

• l’IA peut amplifier et répandre des discriminations

• pourquoi il est crucial de diversifier les équipes IA

• quelles actions entreprendre pour accroître la présence féminine dans ce domaine

Ce livre est fait pour vous!

Clair, précis et néanmoins détaillé, il trace une trajectoire que nous devons absolument suivre pour éviter que cette technologie n’aggrave les inégalités et rende notre monde encore moins inclusif qu’il ne l’est aujourd’hui.

That's all for today !

I would be delighted to know if any of the suggestions I’ve left along the way in my weekly newsletters have inspired you.

Let me know your thoughts if you read these books, and feel free to share any reading recommendations for the Inclusion Room.

I’d love to hear your suggestions and continue exploring new perspectives together!

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