The Cultural Revolution at the National Library of Israel

Muslim women in Egypt are expected to marry young and to stay close to home, and if they do not, they can be subjected to abuse or heavy criticism by men in the household. Save the Children’s Choices program offers educational workshop sessions for boys and girls, ages 10 to 14, which help them explore gender identity. Through discussions, the program hopes to change gender norms.

Focused on the idea of honor and honor killings, activist Khalida Brohi started a program that provides rural women in Pakistan career skills and an income in order to fight the pervasive cultural attitudes about women's education. Brohi has been working for this cause for over a decade now and has done a number of different initiatives along the way. In this episode she shares some of her insights from her work, such as working with the women themselves to change social attitudes rather than the men, or broaching the topic for both men and women using the language of Islam.

Grassroots organizations, like the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, seek to preserve Chinatown’s heritage and fight the displacement of old-time residents by gentrification. The organizations bought an historic hotel to prevent displacement of 100 low-income residents, revitalized commercial spaces such as restaurants to preserve the neighborhood’s heritage and history, and funded programs to support social connections with events such as Majhong socials that bring together over 100 people. While the organizations agree on the goal to preserve Vancouver’s Chinatown, they sometimes disagree on how to get there

Botswanans have deprioritized deeply held tribal identities, created a national identity, and found societal stability by using the practice of randomly assigning civil servants to different parts of the country. Sending the over 120,000 civil servants to work away from friends and family, immersed in a new culture, has led to intercultural exchanges, new friendships, and even many marriages that resulted in children whose parents belong to different tribes. Increasing contact across tribal groups led to thousands of new personal relationships, which reduced prejudices and created a shared national culture.

“UNDSCVRD SF," funded by the SOMA Community Stabilization Fund and produced by the nonprofit Kultivate Labs, is a night market held once a month from July to November that features a range of Filipino vendors. There were over 35,000 attendees in 2019 and it generated $300,000 in sales. It also serves as a testing ground to select businesses for Kultivate Labs’ SEED Accelerator Program and grantees for the SOMA Fund. The former provides bootcamps and one-on-one support for Filipino-owned businesses that are located in, or would like to be located in, a permanent space within the SOMA cultural district.

Led by Native Hawai’ians, Kamehameha Schools owns thousands of acres of land dedicated to stewardship and conservation. The school partners with Native Hawaiian organizations and conducts eco-cultural education programs for students and members of the community to foster connections between them and the environment.

Mexico's Pilot Program for Licensed Physicians brings Mexican doctors to the states to address the lack of culturally relevant healthcare and Spanish-speaking healthcare providers, particularly in rural areas with large immigrant populations. Currently, the program has 30 Mexican doctors working in various counties throughout the state.

Priya Living is an elder-living community focused on Indian culture. Priya Living has four locations throughout the state and is planning to expand in Michigan and Texas. Rent in the condo-style units ranges from $2,000 to $3,000 a month and currently serves over 530 people. This culture-focused community helps the aging population fight loneliness and find a sense of community with people they can relate to through activities and programming like yoga, movie screenings and down time to chat.

Sin Título started as a socially conscious clothing brand but has since evolved into a mutli-faceted brand that hosts mental health discussion panels and other events that aim to amplify marginalized voices and offer healing opportunities for the local Latinx population. One such event is their journaling series, the first of which, “Self Love Journal Club,” attracted about 100 people.

Flare Initiative provides literacy education for students enrolled in Islamic schools, with lessons on the English alphabet, proper sentence construction, and effective communication skills offered in the evenings to avoid disrupting students’ Qur’anic studies. Participants say the program has given them newfound confidence to pursue future careers that require English language proficiency.