Adjiedj Bakas, Trend Watcher, Author, TV Personality, Speaker
Mr. Adjiedj Bakas is an Indo-Caribbean. By profession, Adjiedj is a Trend Watcher, author, TV personality and speaker.
Podcast
Overview
In this episode of The Brand Called You, we are learning about the large percentage of Indian diaspora in the Caribbean and Latin America. Our guest for today, Mr. Adjiedj Bakas, is also an Indo-Caribbean and will help us understand more about his community in the Caribbean. By profession, Adjiedj is a Trend Watcher, author, a TV personality and a speaker.
Indian roots of the Indo-Caribbean people and their economic position
The Indo-Caribbean are the descendents of the Indian immigrants who moved to the Caribbean in the 19th century to work on the plantation of the Dutch, the British and the French islands and mainlands of South America.
Talking about the financial position of the Indian community in the Caribbean, Adjiedj tells us that Indian immigrants originally stated as very poor plantation workers. They had to sign a 5 year binding contract where they had to work on a field for 5 years. After the completion of the contract, they could either renew the contract, go back to India or could get their own land in the Caribbean to start their own farm. Many people chose the latter and settled there. Adjiedj also tells us that people who chose to stay in the Caribbean produced a lot of children so that they could work at the farm. This is how the Indian population multiplied in the country. Today, the percentage of Indian diaspora in the Caribbean countries is about 40 to 50% as per Adjiedj.
As of today, the people of the Indian community have a good position in the Caribbean. They are no more just the plantation workers. They are into businesses, education systems and many of them also have political power.
The state of Indian traditions in Caribbean
Adjiedj tells us that some Indian traditions and festivals have faded away with time, but some are still alive and are loved and celebrated across the country by the people of all religions. He tells us that festivals like Diwali and Padwa are very popular among all the Caribbeans and likewise Indians also celebrate Christmas with other people. Caribbean countries are multicultural now. All the traditions, language and food have become integrated with each other. Indians brought rotis and curries with them, now the whole Caribbean eats rotis as their staple. Indians also brought several spices, flowers and herbs to Caribbeans so that they do not feel homesick. Those things are a part of Caribbean culture now.
Key success factors for Indians in Caribbean
Adjiedj tells us that one of the factors that made the Indian community strong in the Caribbean is their joint family system. Everyone in the family works, puts their money together and uses it wisely. Another major factor Adjiedj talks about is Indians’ focus on education. He says that Indians started their Hindu schools in the Caribbean and always emphasized on giving good education to their children which is fortunate. Because of this emphasis on education, the children grew more and more successful. They got into businesses, got rich and now they hold many seats in the Parliament of different Caribbean countries. Not only that, the Presidents of Guyana and Suriname also belong to the Indian community.
Is Hinduism a strong religion in the Caribbean?
Adjiedj affirms that Hinduism is a prominent religion in the Caribbean. They also have Christianity, Islam and very less Buddhists, but Hinduism is the most practised religion there. They also have a lot of Hindu temples. Adjiedj also tells us a very interesting fact that the people who migrated from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, India, have mixed their language and the new language is called Hindustani.
Scope of Indian youngsters doing business in Caribbean
Adjiedj tells us that the Caribbean countries have arable land in abundance, but they lack the human resources. The cost of the land is also very cheap. So he says that if Indians are willing to farm there with modern methods, they are likely to earn well.
Profile
Adjiedj Bakas (1963) is a highly acclaimed trendwatcher, author and speaker with roots in India, Latin-America and Europe. He researches financial, social, cultural, economic, technological and spiritual trends and interprets these for an array of clients.
Bakas is a much sought-after speaker for conferences, strategy sessions and other business gatherings. He is captivating, stimulating, visionary, humorous, inspirational, challenging, and accessible. He is provocative but always positive, even in these times of economic decline, hence a favourite phrase of his is: ‘A kite rises highest when it flies against the wind’.
He lectures about 200 times per year for businesses including Apple, Credit Suisse, Philips, Air France KLM, DSM, Google, Microsoft, Shell, Capgemini, JP Morgan, MorganStanley, ING, Nike, Adecco, Aegon, Robeco, Rabobank, ABN AMRO, PWC , KPMG, Cisco, Deloitte, E&Y and BMW.
Unorthodox, optimistic, inspirational and animated: he is one of the most appealing speakers currently available.
Bakas has written various bestsellers about the future that have been published in the Netherlands, the US, China, Brazil, England, Norway and other countries. His English language titles include ‘Plenty’, ‘The State of Tomorrow’, ‘The Future of Food’, ‘The Future of Health’, ‘The End of Privacy’, ‘The Future of Faith’ and ‘The Future of Love’. In 2014 he published his first book in German: ‘Deutschland rechnet ab’. Recent Dutch titles include: ‘Megatrends Werk’ and ‘Trends 2020’.
Specialties: He is considered to be ‘exciting’ (Esta), ‘optimistic’ (CNN), ‘inspirational’ (BBC), ‘provocative’ (TV2 Newscast Denmark), ‘festive’ (Quote), ‘a real citizen of the world’ (Times of India), ‘a major trendwatcher’ (China Daily), and ‘an oracle’ (Zero Hora, Brazil).
