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Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world? Remember, everyone not only belongs, but thrives. You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo and share stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show.

So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites.

And today is episode 171 with the title Belonging Across Borders. And I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome Mina Sharif. Mina is a writer, media producer and passionate advocate for building bridges between cultures through storytelling and empowerment. And when I asked Mina to describe her superpower, she said that it is seeing the unseen and amplifying voices caught between worlds. Hello, Mina. Welcome to the show.

Hello, Joanne. Thank you for having me here.

I'm writing, saying you're based in Canada, is that right, somewhere?

That's right. I'm in Toronto, Canada, where I. Where I was raised as well and where I returned to in 2019.

And you've just got a new Prime Minister.

Yeah, we're hopeful. Yeah, yeah. I mean, remaining hopeful is all anyone can do politically.

Former governor of the bank of England, Mark Carney, isn't it?

His economic background is quite welcome all the time.

So us Brits know of him very well. We used to see him on the news regularly over here. So. Yeah. Well, good luck. Yeah, it's good luck.

Thank you.

Mina, your journey spans two worlds. So you grew up in Canada, as you just said, but you've also built communities in Afghanistan. So how's that kind of experience shaped your passion for creating culture and connection and belonging across culture?

Yeah, it's a wonderful question. Thank you. I think my entire life might have been shaped by that experience or by how I arrived between these two worlds and that bridge that I live on. I was born in Afghanistan and I was raised in Canada. My family were refugees in exile, as many, many Afghans are all around the world. And I did not grow up necessarily assuming that I would have a personal and direct connection to Afghanistan. The country itself was Always really behind the headlines of war. And when I was growing up in Canada and as a child, I did not necessarily have any problem with my identity or any feeling of lacking.

But in 2005 I was able to go back to Afghanistan, initially as a volunteer, and I ended up staying for 15 years. And when that happened, I became someone who had a childhood in Canada that shaped me and now a good chunk of my adulthood that was shaping me further. And I somehow realised that I kind of live now between both worlds, neither fully in the Canadian sort of childhood that I had been brought up with, not necessarily fully connected anymore, and neither was I fully connected to Afghanistan. And the way that people had been born and raised there might have felt. I felt that I was now in the role of observer. Whether I was in Canada as a, you know, someone with an Afghan background or whether I was in Afghanistan with someone as a Canadian raised background. It really offered me a lot of opportunity to see disconnects and to see where we could connect in ways that we aren't. And that's really just shaped the path of, of many projects I've done and that I want to do in my life.

So I've spoken to many people over the years and when you are living somewhere outside of your birth community, all those, all those roots or that heritage, sometimes your own sense of culture becomes diluted by the new culture. How long does it take you to become kind of bridged in that sort of security about who you were and your heritage versus trying to also embrace the Canadian lifestyle as well?