No Communication Without Coffee

Personal Contact is an Important Success Factor

Doris Geml

Drinking coffee is simply good form. Over a quick cup of the dark brew, strategies or common objectives can be discussed and new projects agreed upon.

A cup of coffee at the end of a discussion is an important symbol of good communication. We’re not talking about customs in Italy here, but about those in the small, three-million-strong country on the opposite coast of the Adriatic Sea: Albania.

Sabine Schubert, who assumed her post as Austrian educational coordinator in Tirana over three years ago, emphasises the importance of personal contact time and again. It no longer surprises her that in her early days in Tirana, most of her e-mails went unanswered. Information was exchanged by telephone, post or fax, but only seldom electronically. A great deal has changed since then. “My e-mails all get answered now,” Schubert says with a laugh, “but an enquiry or reminder by phone is still extremely important.” In Albania, she explains, personal contact is, to a certain extent, a form of courtesy and the basis of all good communication and every working relationship – more than it would be in Austria. At a personal meeting, the participants frequently offer the names of other important contact persons. It is also noticeable, says Schubert, that in a way there is less “privacy” in Albania than in Austria and that personal contact data are passed on very quickly to third parties.

As an Austrian educational coordinator, Sabine Schubert communicates with contact persons and project partners from a variety of institutions. At the k-education office where she works, and with most representatives of the Albanian Ministry of Education and other large organisations, she speaks English. At the school level, where she deals with principals and teachers, her Albanian assistant interprets for her. “In this case, good coordination between my assistant and myself is important, in order to ensure that we’re really on the same wavelength and that no details get lost,” Schubert emphasises.

Her own knowledge of Albanian suffices only for small talk at the moment. For this reason, Sabine Schubert regularly attends Albanian language courses. Her efforts to learn the language of the country where she works are highly appreciated and considered an indication of her great interest in Albania’s life and culture. And of course – how could it be otherwise? – at the end of each language class, teacher and students drink a cup of coffee together.

Sabine Schubert has headed the k-education project office in Tirana (Albania) since 2009. Previously, she was a teacher for 17 years. Sabine Schubert studied teacher education for general secondary schools at the Academy of Teacher Education, with mathematics and art education as her main subjects of instruction, as well as teacher education, special needs education and curative education at the University of Vienna.

www.k-education.at