By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

WITH recent statistics indicating that only 15 percent of local students are speaking the language, a two-day symposium on Carolinian was held at the multi-purpose center in Susupe.
The Carolinian Affairs Office, in close coordination with the Public School System and the Chamorro/Carolinian Language Policy Commission, conducted the symposium which drew nearly 300 participants .
The event’s guest speaker, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, told participants: “I am proud to be a Carolinian!”
“That was the governor’s opening message for all of us here and that truly touched our hearts,” CAO executive director Angie Mangarero said.
Mangarero said Fitial urged them “not to be ashamed of being a Carolinian.”
In his message, the governor said the symposium “is a historic event for the indigenous people of the NMI. In gathering together to protect, preserve, and promote the Carolinian language, participants in this symposium demonstrate a unity of intent and action that is essential to the perpetuation of the Carolinian culture.”
Fitial said the occasion is also significant for Chamorros and other residents who share a history and a future with the Carolinians.
According to Education Commissioner David M. Borja, “there’s a need to celebrate our Carolinian language and culture to pass down the important message to the young generation that without our own indigenous language and culture, we can not know our own identity as individuals and as a people in this world.”
Mangarero said they were “alarmed by the statistics given to us by PSS and the Language Commission that only 15 percent of our children are speaking Carolinian in the classroom. This is a very small percentage and it gave us the green light to go on with this symposium…there’s a need to address this concern.”
He said they will “continue… because we need to hold on to our language. We are asking our young parents to start at home.”