The paper explores the bridge between intercultural communication theory and its real-world practice within the international academic environment. The main objective is to identify the strategies needed to develop intercultural communicative competence in the multicultural university environment at the Petroleum and Gas University of Ploieşti. The study presents a theoretical framework (including concepts such as cultural identity, culture shock, stereotypes, and intercultural competence) and analyses the challenges international students face: language barriers, distinct social norms, and different communication styles. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology based on a case study design. This strategy was selected because it allows for an in-depth investigation of the socio-cultural adaptation process of international students through their participation in extracurricular activities. The study emphasizes that communication is not merely an exchange of information, but also a process deeply shaped by cultural background, norms, values and perceptions. We focus on the experiences international students have as they navigate the challenges of studying abroad. The paper also examines strategies that facilitate intercultural adaptation: developing cultural empathy, cultivating tolerance, creating academic environments that celebrate diversity. The study highlights the important role of universities in facilitating intercultural communication. Ultimately, the study concludes that cultural diversity can be turned into a resource for learning and collaboration. Intercultural communication serves as a bridge connecting international students across linguistic and cultural boundaries.
This paper examines how university students from families with migration backgrounds in Argeș County, Romania, navigate simultaneous exposure to media from two distinct cultural contexts. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with twelve students whose parents have lived and worked abroad for at least six months, the study applies the polymedia framework (Madianou and Miller, 2012) alongside acculturation theory (Berry, 1997) to explore patterns of media use, language choice, and identity negotiation. Findings indicate that participants do not choose between two competing cultural media environments but construct a hybrid media space in which different platforms serve different identity functions. Romanian-language social media is used primarily for peer interaction and cultural continuity, while media associated with the country of origin is consumed mainly through family-mediated sharing on messaging applications. The tension between these two media streams is rarely experienced as conflict; instead, participants describe a form of selective integration that allows them to maintain multiple cultural orientations simultaneously. These results contribute to the growing literature on transnational media consumption in non-metropolitan, post-migration communities and suggest implications for how communication studies programs in technical universities can address intercultural media literacy.
In a global economy characterised by ongoing corporate internationalisation, digitally-driven communication, evolving migration trends, shifts in advertising practices from locally-focused discourse to multicultural perspectives, and cross-cultural references, the existing literature has mainly examined globalisation and advertising through the lenses of intercultural competence, cultural differences, and the semiotics of local adaptations, cultural appropriations, diversity, and representation. However, there is limited knowledge regarding creativity in advertising, especially as influenced by the dynamics of two or more cultures involved in the creation or amplification of a communication campaign. The exploration is based on a content analysis of 44 advertising case studies that depict the brand story across more than two cultures. These campaigns aired between 2015 and 2025 and received the highest distinction at a global creative advertising festival, earning top recognition within the marketing and communications community. The study contributes to understanding creative advertising rhetoric in cross-cultural communication and examines the role of creativity in promoting intercultural exchanges in advertising narratives through open-access products, solutions, and innovations. The empirical research highlights the nature of cross-cultural intersections in creative discourse, whether in individualistic or collectivist nations, or in vertical (hierarchical) versus horizontal (egalitarian) societies. Limitations include the narrow scope of the analysed dataset and the need for future studies employing a quantitative approach with a broader perspective.
The scientific challenge proposed by the 3rd edition of the International Conference Across Cultures. Intercultural Communication in a Borderless World (Chișinău, 13–15 November 2025) has stimulated predominantly interdisciplinary research through its thematic sections; in this case, “Intercultural Communication” and “Cultural Memory and Identity” intersect with “Media Discourses.” Markers of Interculturality in the Film Mario, Maria, Marinel (2025) and in the Television Format Identitate Basarabia (both directed by Violeta Gorgos) aims to analyze—through the method of documentary research—the main recognizable markers of the cultures of two spaces with Romanian roots, as reflected in contemporary media productions: a film and a regional television format with international reach. Shared elements such as language, traditions, religion, and mentality, shaped over millennia, come to life cinematically and televisually under the directorial vision of Violeta Gorgos.
This paper presents an original research study based on a series of relevant observations, considerations, and suggestions resulting from a careful analysis of master’s dissertations in the field of Institutional Communication, Master’s cycle, at the Cross-Border Faculty of “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galati. Our attention was drawn to several papers that aim to examine communication conflicts with a destructive character. Starting from the premise that people consciously trigger conflicts, many countries have laws designed to combat violence and cruelty, to restrict materials containing indecent language, and, implicitly, to prevent manifestations of verbal aggression. These laws aim to fight for the truthfulness of information and the observance of ethical communication norms. The essence of human aggression, its real causes, and ways to overcome it have long concerned specialists from various fields. Different scientific domains offer various approaches to this concept, depending on which element is considered essential. Aggression has become an object of study for linguists, sociologists, psychologists, educators, and experts from other scientific areas who analyze human thought and behavior. Moreover, verbal aggression, in a broad sense, is also a focus of legal specialists and is regulated by legislation. As a social phenomenon, aggression manifests both physically and verbally. The analysis and detailed description of verbal violence are among the core objectives of sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics, which are rooted in the theory of verbal activity. A substantial number of specialists have examined the various aspects of how aggression manifests in its multiple forms.
