.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} Sherry Gupta believes that culture is not something that children, or anyone for that matter, can adequately learn about through textbooks.

Through World of Difference, Gupta leads a local effort to provide hands-on, interactive cultural education for students. World of Difference started about two years ago in Grimes with the goal of helping youths develop skills, readiness and composure for intercultural relations. The organization has a staff of five part-time employees.

“World of Difference wants people to understand that culture is not something that is separate and distinct; it is integral in everything we do,” said Gupta, the organization’s executive director.

Currently, the primary focus of World of Difference is its Culture in the Classroom program. The organization has about 70 local presenters, called “cultural ambassadors,” who visit area classrooms to give 30- to 60-minute presentations related to various topics the students are studying. The cultural ambassadors have firsthand experience with those topics, and have been coached by World of Difference leaders on how to make their presentations memorable.

“We want our ambassadors to understand that we don’t want PowerPoint presentations,” Gupta said. “We want to go beyond what students can learn from research on the Internet and get students involved in the taste, smells and textures of culture. We want to make course curriculum come to life.”

Recent topics of the classroom presentations have included Japanese dining, African drumming, Chinese art and culture and the Indian art of rangoli. In the fall of 2005, World of Difference presenters conducted 16 of these cultural workshops across Greater Des Moines. This spring, they will present an estimated 347 workshops, Gupta said.

Many of the cultural ambassadors on World of Difference’s roster are working professionals who take time off work for their presentations. Gupta is finding that more and more local companies are supporting their employees’ desire to do this type of activity as a means of educating youths in the community about different cultures.

Sponsors of World of Difference include Principal Financial Group Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and Advanced Technologies Group Inc. Bankers Trust Co. is expressing interest in supporting World of Difference through an existing program that provides grants for local schools.