Culture / How Cultures Link is Empowering Immigrant Identity Through its Online Workshops & Programs

How Cultures Link is Empowering Immigrant Identity Through its Online Workshops & Programs

Culture Dec 17, 2024

by Team ANOKHI LIFE

Cultures Link is the first disabled-female-owned online platform dedicated to helping individuals reconnect with their heritage. Through interactive webinars and online workshops, Cultures Link empowers individuals to explore their cultural roots, learn about ethnic entrepreneurship, and build a strong sense of identity. By fostering a supportive community and providing valuable resources, founder Anjana Vaid and her team at Cultures Link are working to bridge the gap between heritage and the modern world.

Anjana Vaid, a passionate advocate for cultural identity and empowerment, founded Cultures Link to address the growing issue of cultural disconnection among immigrant communities. Born in India and raised in Azerbaijan, Anjana’s personal journey has shaped her deep understanding of the challenges faced by individuals who struggle to reconcile their heritage with their modern lives.

Diagnosed with Spina Bifida at birth, Anjana’s early life presented unique challenges. Moving to Azerbaijan as a young child due to her disability, she experienced firsthand the impact of cultural assimilation and the subsequent loss of her Indian identity. It wasn’t until she moved to Spain and immersed herself in a multicultural environment that she realized the importance of reconnecting with her roots.

ANOKHI had the opportunity to chat with Anjana on this wonderful initiative:

ANOKHI LIFE: Could you elaborate on the challenges you faced growing up with Spina Bifida in Azerbaijan?

Anjana Vaid: While growing up, neither my disability nor society posed any issues to me. However, once I started working back in 2017, I really started to notice the difficulties I and other disabled people face living in an inaccessible city.

Not only are you totally dependent on your friends and family to do something as basic as leaving the house, but even if you were equipped with the best mobility devices – the sidewalks are so inaccessible, you practically have no autonomy and you develop a sort of co-dependency towards everyone around you.

This began to gradually take a toll on my mental health until my father and my brother decided that it was best that I moved out of Azerbaijan, and I was fortunate enough to move to the south of Spain in 2022.

AL: How did your experiences in Azerbaijan and Spain shape your career goals?

AV: Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan is a very competitive society to grow up in. From childhood, we are taught the value of money and the importance of being innovative and diligently participating in the workforce.

While this might not be ideal for other cultures, I am very appreciative of it as it truly gave me a competitive edge over several individuals in the Spanish market. After moving to Spain, a country with a more easy-going attitude towards work – partners and employers were surprised by my ambition.

However, getting my degree in Spain not only provided me with a European-standard education which helped enhance my knowledge about Marketing and Business, but it also provided me with the necessary tools I needed to start Cultures Link independently.

AL: What was the driving force behind creating Cultures Link and what inspired you to create a platform specifically focused on cultural reconnection for disabled individuals?

AV: While I do not have any regrets when it comes to embracing Azerbaijani culture as it has shaped my identity ultimately, certain remarks towards my Indian identity growing up truly resulted in me experiencing tremendous amounts of cultural shame and disconnection.

These feelings lingered until I moved to Spain in 2022, and I began to meet individuals from various nationalities and see how they interact with their culture. This made me realize how disconnected I truly am, and after a few tough but necessary therapy sessions, during my last semester at university, I decided to delve into extensive market research and I identified a gap in the market – A market filled with immigrants similar to myself facing tremendous amount of cultural disconnection.

P.S. Cultures Link is for immigrants of all physical or mental abilities – It’s not exclusively for disabled people.

AL: Heritage Reconnection Course: How do you curate the content for each cultural heritage to ensure accuracy and cultural sensitivity?

AV: Currently, our Heritage Reconnection Courses are hosted by Cultural Experts from various countries in South Asia and Africa – Information is curated to batches of 10 participants at a time through a series of 8 live online webinars and covers various aspects of each respective culture ranging from music and art to societal issues and marriage traditions.

My goal for the Heritage Reconnection Course is for people to feel confident about the knowledge they have about their culture so that they can feel self-sufficient, and confidently add to conversations about their identities.

AL: Ethnic Entrepreneurs Program: How are the topics tailored to different cultural backgrounds and entrepreneurial aspirations?

AV: The Ethnic Entrepreneurs Program is a mentorship-based program that is based on the principles of what it takes to build a brand and strategic planning.

Blending elements of creative advertising and business administration, with a sprinkle of cross-cultural management have allowed me to guide attendees through the process of coming up with a cultural brand idea that is not only unique but appeals to Western societies as well.

My reason for not tailoring the EEP to any specific culture is intentional as my goal is to help immigrants come up with cultural business ideas irrespective of where they are from.

AL: Culture Creativity Workshops: How do you select the specific cultural topics and themes for the workshops?

AV: For our Cultural Creativity Workshops, we mainly host these in collaboration with experts from various countries to branch out to a more diverse audience and offer them insight on a range of topics beyond the scope of heritage reconnection and ethnic entrepreneurship.

These workshops range from workshops on career coaching to mental health. Our audience is quite wide for this specific service range as we target any immigrant who might be looking out for further guidance or insight on a specific theme.

AL: Why did you choose to provide your services specifically in an online setting instead of in-person?

AV: Our reason for this is that in today’s fast-paced digital world with so much negativity in the news, I want to foster an online environment where people feel accepted, empowered, and confident to make a difference in their lives in just a few clicks.

We want everyone to be able to access our events irrespective of where they are in the world. While it is still hard to break away from the misconception that online events are not worth one’s time or money, I am confident that we will be able to do this in 2025 with the help of our positive reviews and testimonials.

AL: What are your long-term goals for Cultures Link, and how do you envision Cultures Link evolving and impacting communities in the future?

AV: People often hesitate to invest in resourceful online events but have no issue with spending most of their time online. My goal is to get rid of this stigma on a societal level and encourage users to invest in their cultural identities and self-betterment.

As we don’t only offer online events to address cultural disconnection, we also heavily focus on utilizing one’s cultural identity to develop unique and sustainable business ideas – I envision Cultures Link being the starting point for several thriving immigrant-owned businesses.

AL: What advice would you give to young people who are struggling with their identity or facing similar challenges?

AV: Sometimes we aren’t just pressured by society to be “less South Asian” or whatever ethnic group we’re from, we’re also pressured by our families to be “less white” – This constant back-and-forth can result in us resenting both sides of our identities at times.

My advice to your readers is to please be easy on yourselves and understand that your relationship with your culture is yours to decide and when and how you choose to reconnect with it is also up to you entirely.

Every one of us connects with our cultures differently, so try and see what works for you and if you need further assistance, Cultures Link is always here!

A few other feathers in Anjana’s cap:
– An undergraduate degree in International Marketing from Schellhammer Business School in the South of Spain.
– Nearly a decade of experience in Graphic Design, Consultancy, and Social Media Management.

www.CulturesLink.com.
Images provided by Anjana Vaid and CulturesLink.com.

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How Cultures Link is Empowering Immigrant Identity Through its Online Workshops & Programs

by Team ANOKHI LIFE

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