About
Dr. Christina Merl, Founder of TalkShop/2CG®
Dr. Christina Merl works with leaders, educators, and communities who are looking for humane ways of navigating change - not through fixed answers, but by creating spaces where new thinking can emerge. With a background in translation studies, ethnographic research, and communities of practice, she has developed a practice that brings together collaborative learning, creative process, wellbeing, and thoughtful structure. ​
Christina is the developer of the transformative and arts-inspired 2CG® (Content- and Context) educational approach that fosters the skills that are becoming essential in the 21st century: complexity thinking, relational intelligence, climate and AI literacy, as well as a grounded understanding of wellbeing in professional life. In her research, she puts the focus on critical engagement and ethical framing and explores how human imagination and machine capabilities can meet in ways that support shared learning and collective insight.
My passion and my purpose is to cultivate community and culture; bring art to the people, and help them cultivate future skills.
Research Topics
21st Century Skills, Communities of Practice, Ethnographic Methods, and Action Research
Christina Merl's academic papers and press articles have been published in peer-reviewed, national and international journals, newspapers, and magazines. Her doctoral thesis (2006) on the role of communities of practice in a hybrid cross-cultural business and learning setting was published as a book in 2009. Her master thesis - the first terminology work on the metabolism of the antroposphere - was translated into many languages. Christina Merl regularly presents at academic conferences, is a reviewer for IELA, iJAC, and the Australian Journal of Environmental Education, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Learning Ideas Conference, NYC.
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Academic reference: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4268-6336
Short Bio & Professional Focus
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Born and raised in the cross-border region of Austria, Italy and Slovenia
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Translation & Intercultural Communication Studies at University of Vienna (with a special focus on environmental topics and the terminology of the metabolism of the anthroposphere, Technical University of Vienna)
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Career in Journalism, Corporate Training, Teaching and Learning Design at University Level
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PhD and Book Author in Cross-cultural Communication and the Role of Communities of Practice in Organisational Learning and Development (Ethnographic Study of International Company based in Amsterdam)
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Founder of TalkShop/2CG® and Poetry in Business
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Specialised in 21st Century Skills Coaching and Organisational Culture with the AI-enhanced 2CG® Multi-Method Approach, using inspirational input from the arts as disruptive element
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Social Collaborative and Participatory Learning Design and Community of Practice Facilitation
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Certified Wellbeing Coach from the British School of Coaching
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Member of Executive Committee of The Learning Ideas Conference (NYC)
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Reviewer for the International E-Learning Association
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"Organisations, schools, and societies need more experiential, transdisciplinary, and art-inspired spaces where leaders and their teams, teachers and students, youth, and open-minded individuals can improve their professional practice while exploring new ways of thinking and doing."