CulturaLinks

Big news! 🎉 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.

Thanks to Somerset Council and the Somerset Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC), we can now offer up to 20 people across Somerset one to one support. That means help with your CV, real practice interviews, getting ready for the big day, and even a gift card for interview clothes if you are invited to interview. We help with travel costs too, and we stay by your side after you start your new job. 💛

This is for adults who are out of work, or working in a job that does not use what they can really do. That includes people who have moved to the UK and are struggling to get their experience recognised here, young people not in education or training, care leavers, and parents coming back to work after time away.

There is also a small separate group, 4 to 5 places just for people living in Bridgwater, thanks to a grant from Town Council. 🙏

Places are limited and go out in small groups across the year, so we cannot promise everyone a spot straight away. But if this sounds like you, or someone you know, get in touch. Visit the Career Runway page at www.culturalinks.co.uk, where you will find our registration form, or use this link to register directly, https://forms.gle/ZFQpXSaPECaZs5RQ6

Message this page any time and we will tell you honestly what is possible.

Let's get people into work that actually fits them. 💪

Somerset Crisis and Resilience Alliance - Somerset Community Foundation What is the crisis and resilience alliance? The Somerset Crisis and Resilience Alliance is a partnership led by Citizens Advice Somerset. It brings together local organisations to provide joined-up support for people in financial crisis, and to help people and families build longer-term financial re...

Big news for CulturaLinks today 🎉

We are now an Approved Provider with The CPD Group. That means an outside organisation checked how we work and said yes, this is good quality.

We started small. Just an idea and a lot of hard work. Now people outside our community can see that our work meets a real standard.

This is not about one course yet. That comes next. This is about CulturaLinks as a whole, and we are proud of it.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey with us. Students, volunteers, partners, you all made this happen 💛

More good news coming soon!

What a day at our AI Hackathon! 🤩

Twenty-six people joined us, and five teams built five working AI tools in only six hours. We were honestly amazed by what they managed to create!

A huge thank you to everyone who took part, voted and supported the event. You brought so much energy to the room. 💛

Congratulations to the winners in all three award categories, and well done to every team! Each project was created to help people in our communities and will be free to use.

Thank you to Mytenko for all your help and support. 🙌

We are already looking forward to our next hackathon. 😊

🔥 15 more places just opened

Our AI Hackathon is this Wednesday and honestly, we cannot wait 🙌

Build an AI Tool in 6 Hours

🗓 Wednesday 5 August, 10:00 to 16:00
📍 Firepool Centre for Digital Innovation, Taunton
Free

Forget the picture in your head of a room full of developers staring at screens. This one is built for everyone. You join a small team, pick a real local problem and by four o'clock you have something that actually works.

And the best teams are always the mixed ones. The person who knows the problem matters just as much as the person who knows the tech.

What happens on the day:
✅ Small mixed teams, no coding needed
✅ Real community problems, not made up exercises
✅ Experts moving round the room all day, helping
✅ Every team shows what they built
✅ Awards, certificates and one very proud group photo

Bring any device you use for AI, plus a charger. Tea, coffee and biscuits from us ☕ Bring your own lunch if you want a proper meal.

Come and build something. Or come and just watch, learn and see what all the fuss is about. Both are very welcome 🙂

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1986582316185

Big thanks to Centre for Digital Innovation for hosting us.

People sometimes ask if our webinars are "for people like them".
Short answer, yes. Newly arrived, or here twenty years and still not sure how the pension thing works. Either way, you're welcome.

One free session a month. No jargon, no selling, just clear answers to things that matter.

Next dates and booking are here: https://www.culturalinks.co.uk/event-calendar
Worst case, you learn something. Not a bad worst case.

Events | CulturaLinks Join CulturaLinks' dynamic community gatherings, workshops, and special programs designed to connect, educate, and inspire. Our diverse calendar features cultural celebrations, professional networking opportunities, skill-building sessions, and collaborative activities for all ages and backgrounds.....

Do I count the actual writing?

The research?

The meetings?

The spreadsheets?

The moments of staring at the screen wondering why I ever thought running a CIC was a good idea? 😄

By the time a funding announcement appears online, we've usually been living with that application for weeks or months.

That's probably why I get more excited about the email saying "Congratulations" than the money itself.

𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝟑 – 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟

We're often kinder to other people than we are to ourselves.

This week's session is all about acceptance.

Not perfection.
Not pretending everything is fine.

Just learning to treat ourselves with a little more understanding.

💜 Free
📍 Taunton or online

𝑇𝑜 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜@𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠.𝑐𝑜.𝑢𝑘

For a while I kept having the same conversation. Someone clever, qualified, experienced, sitting across from me convinced they were the problem.

They weren't. They just didn't know how British workplaces actually run. The stuff nobody teaches, because everyone assumes you already know it.

So I wrote it down. Meetings, emails, small talk, saying no without actually saying no.
It became a book. Cracking the British Office Code. Not a motivational thing. A survival guide.

Because "work hard and you'll be fine" quietly forgets that half the game is knowing the rules.

More here:

Cracking the British Office Code: Survival & Success for Migrants Moving to the UK and stepping into a British workplace isn't just about learning a new language or adding "tea" to your shopping list. It's a leap into a world where "please" and "thank you" can mean anything from "absolutely yes" to "not a chance," where a queue is sacred, and where your new col...