On its website, APVEA reminds us that “virtual exchanges are
technology-enabled, sustained, people-to-people education programs”. This
chapter addresses the question of what we exchange when we engage in virtual
exchange by exploring the meaning and value of virtual exchange as
intercultural dialogue, and by considering the impact of the technological
medium on the process. A small group of expert practitioners (N=6) were
consulted for their views on virtual exchange. Their responses sketch a
picture in which virtual exchange stretches beyond transaction into
interaction among and transformation of the participants. The expert
practitioners value virtual exchange for enhancing employability and
foremost for its dialogic qualities. Next, the chapter explores the meaning
of dialogue more deeply from a Bohmian perspective and considers
applications in organizational development (Isaacs, 1999), restorative
justice (Pranis, 2005), and intercultural competence development (Deardorff,
2020). When the intercultural dimension is made salient, this creates
additional chances for realizing the dialogue principles of participation,
coherence, awareness, and unfolding. The chapter then illustrates how
intercultural dialogue is reshaped in a virtual environment as it is
mediated by the technological context in which it is conducted. Specific
attention is paid to the circle, the talking piece, and the facilitator. The
chapter concludes by stating that, although intercultural dialogue will
always be mediated by technology in virtual exchange settings, it makes good
sense to speak of ‘virtual dialogue’ in situations that take the core
principles, practices, and structural components of dialogue as outlined in
this chapter as a starting point for designing online intercultural dialogue
activities.