About the author

Santino Zhakata is trained in communication for development and English language teaching, with broad experience in bi-cultural communication. Grounded in both Zimbabwean and Swedish cultural perspectives, he brings a unique blend of professional expertise and lived experience to every cultural exchange.

His academic credentials include a Teacher Diploma from the University of Zimbabwe; a B.A. in Media Studies from Zimbabwe Open University and M.A in Education from Umeå University as well as an M.A. in Communication for Development from University of Malmö, both in Sweden.

As a father of three dual cultural children, issues of identity and culture are part of everyday life - from the dinner table to be playground. Being married to a Swede also means that cultural encounters aren't occasional events, but a natural part of ordinary days.

Santino currently works as an English language teacher and course director for the Training of Teacher´s Assistants Programme at Västerbottens Folkhögskola in Sweden. He travels between Sweden and Zimbabwe, staying engaged with social, educational, and cultural developments in both countries.

This blog is one of Santino´s personal projects to bridge the knowledge gap between Zimbabwean and Swedish cultures as well as everything else in between. His aim is to create sustainable pathways for collaboration, mutual understanding and growth. In addition to the blog, he is developing a Zimbabwe culture guidebook, running a Shona language learning platform , and contributing as guest blogger on articles on life and settlement in Sweden and Zimbabwe.