Program areas at Northern Marianas Humanities Council
Marianas History Conference- The 6th Marianas History Conference was held in the island of Saipan for the first time in person and online for the first time in 4 years due to COVID-19. The information was presented in a hybrid format where presenters presented remotely and in person and viewers and participants were able to view presentations via live stream provided by the Northern Marianas College IT team. Of the 328 participants, 28 attended virtually. Each session was uploaded and viewable via the Whova application. The 2023 MHC logged the highest number of participants and presenters. Positive feedback was given throughout the 3 day conference which ended with 3 experiential sessions with cultural demonstrations, historical tours, and an amot traditional medicinal walk. 93 percent of participants used the Whova app to share information, meet up, view presentations and schedules, and share pictures from the conference.
The Satawal Pwo Ceremony Documentary project documents the tasks and responsibilities carried out by both women and men to prepare individuals for mastery in the areas of celestial navigation, sailing, canoe construction, canoe house construction, traditional healing, predicting the weather, and interpreting ocean currents, wave patterns, and the behaviors of birds and sea life. The pwo ceremonial structure and protocols, as well as the knowledge and wisdom conferred by various cultural experts to pwo initiates were a key element to the film.
Your Humanities Half Hour is weekly thirty-minute talk show that airs on the radio reaching listeners throughout the CNMI. The show is recorded and uploaded to the Councils youtube channel allowing a wider reach of subscribers and individuals accross the world. This reporting year, YHHH aired 52 episodes featuring book authors, community leaders, cultural practitioners, humanities scholars, and Governors Humanities Award awardees. Humanities topics featured include Chamorro Heritage Studies, Micronesian Maritime Heritage Storytelling, The Psychology of Fitness and Health, Womens Entrepreneur Project to name a few. Views on Youtube range from 480 to 6,100.