| Summary: | The paper deals with a radical transformation in Iceland’s relationship with the rest of the world during the 20th century, shifting the island from centuries of extreme isolation to a new age of contact and communication. Apparently, multicultural characteristics of Icelandic society in the wake of increasing immigration have tended to provoke negative attitudes towards foreigners. This new situation has posed a challenge to the education system in Iceland which will have to adapt to altered circumstances. There are indications that including intercultural communication courses in teacher education may be an important step towards strengthening the role of intercultural communication in schools, especially in tandem with language teaching. Against a background of globalisation and the rapid advance of Icelandic companies into foreign markets, the world of commerce has been quick to understand the need for intercultural communication training. In marked contrast to the general education sector, business departments at universities appear to be responding to this need as evidenced by a proliferation of culture-related courses at academic level. The twofold character of culturerelated training should be particularly noted, i.e. culture specific instruction to help adjust to a particular society and intercultural communication focusing on the awareness and understanding of cultural differences in general. JEL classification: I20, I21, I23 Keywords: Intercultural communication, immigration, attitudes, education
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