THE Northern Marianas Humanities Council is excited to announce the launch of the Inafa’måolik-Tipiyeew or IT Matters project, which is funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the United We Stand: Connection Through Culture initiative.
IT Matters was created to examine cultural values, perspectives, and experiences as they relate to biases and conflicts between various social groups within our community. The project aims to reveal the breadth and depth of the community values within the NMI. As well as, promote awareness of the attitudes, perspectives and experiences that contribute to conflict within and between NMI cultural groups.
As part of the project activities, an online community wide survey will be deployed to identify and better understand essential features that define the values within and across NMI cultural groups. Dr. Theresa (Isa) Arriola, will participate as the project’s scholar to assist with designing the survey and interpreting results. The Marianas Values Conference, scheduled on Saipan in July, will provide a forum to review the project’s findings and engage the Chamorro and Carolinian community in conversations that promote understanding of the influence of values on community dynamics.
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to localize a national initiative with the potential to clarify our community values and promote greater harmony and cohesion across our diverse community,” the Humanities Council said.
As part of the project’s data collection activities, the council is seeking 25 high school and/or college students currently living in the CNMI (Saipan, Tinian, and Rota) to form a team that will conduct filmed interviews with members of the Chamorro and Refalúwasch community. Interested students with basic film editing skills are encouraged to submit materials to be considered for this opportunity by Feb. 14, 2024. Selected participants will receive a $500 stipend and training to perform these filmed interviews. For more information about IT Matters and participation requirements visit nmhcouncil.org/it-matters/.
If you would like more information, contact Leeani Villagomez by phone at (670) 235-4786, or email leeani@nmhcouncil.org/.
