Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Mauritania and their partners

Benefits of Attendance

This seminar aims at significantly improving the ability of the participants to meet the challenges of living and working abroad. The objective is to enable them to identify the stumbling blocks that lie ahead and to be able to adapt and integrate in Mauritania.

At the end of this training, participants will have acquired insights and techniques to:

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Mauritanian context and culture
• Analyse situations in which misunderstandings may arise and identify ways of communicating more effectively
• Reduce and manage the symptoms of culture shock
• Understand Mauritanian mindset, work practices, decision-making processes and negotiating styles
• Strike the right balance between personal et professional lives

Training Approach

• A cross-cultural approach of International Mobility
• Country specific trainers
• Personalized and familiy focused action plan
• Access to the Nomad’ Network, an exclusive online tool for Akteos’ clients and experts:  find resources, exchange experiences, knowledge and insights

Programme Outline

Module 1 : Successful personnal integration in Mauritania

1. Cross-cultural awareness : the key to a successful expatriation

• Taking stock of one's own cultural baggage
• Culture shock and the integration process
• Identifying and going beyond cultural stereotypes

2. Key aspects of Mauritanian culture

• A country of the Maghreb region, an Islamic civilisation, the impact of colonisation
• A multifaceted society: black Africans, Moors and Tuaregs
• An outstanding cultural heritage
• A country experiencing major difficulties despite its massive resources
• The challenges of development and the fight against poverty

3. Mauritanian values and behaviour patterns

• The values of Sunni Islam and the sharia system
• The influence of primitive beliefs
• The family and the community: cornerstones of society
• Ethnic origin, tribes and castes: community influences
• A reverence for religion and spiritual guides
• Meals and tea: a sign of integration
• Respect for age and status
• Women in Mauritania: wives, mothers and men’s “other halves”.
• Attitudes to risk and uncertainty

4. Practical day-to-day information

• Focus on the host town
• Transport, administration, housing, security, hygiene and healthcare
• Social life, leisure activities, schools, extracurricular activities, sport

Module 2 : Successful professionnal integration in Mauritania

1. The Mauritanian corporate world

• Sunni Islam and the business world
• Hierarchical and collective decision making
• The influence of the state, of the army and of foreign investment

2. Effective communication with the Mauritanians

• Paying care and attention to protocol and greetings
• Hassaniya Arabic, dialects and the French language
• Understanding spoken language
• Successfully joining networks

3. Working with Mauritanian teams

• Effective management: giving, listening and observing
• Operational skills: patience, respect and empathy
• Building trust and confidence
• Motivating, delegating, providing feedback, boosting self-esteem and handling conflicts

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Mauritanians

• The preparation phase
• Identifying decision makers and showing respect for rank
• Time and deadline management
• Written contracts, their interpretation and implications

5. Final handy tips

• Caution, patience and humility
• Social standards, gifts, business cards, dress code
• Sensitive subjects: politics, history, religion
• Humour: a double-edged sword