December 22, 2021 – The December meeting of the Council’s board of directors always includes a chance to reflect on the year and celebrate the holiday season with colleagues and friends. This year, though we gathered via Zoom (again), we reflected on a historic year of grantmaking and the variety of opportunities to find connection through the humanities. Below is a curated list with links to revisit some 2021 highlights. We wish you all a safe and healthy New Year and look forward to connecting again in 2022.
2021 Highlights from Council board and staff members:
- Historic year of grantmaking, distributing $761,3703.50 through 112 grants to 93 organizations and three individuals. Watch the major grantee videos here for a glimpse into their work.
- A Celebration of the Humanities that introduced our community to the work of wonderful humanities leaders while offering nice touches behind the scenes to ensure engagement in a virtual environment. Watch the Celebration here. Explore the program book here.
- Why It Matters programming that demonstrated the urgency and necessity of civic engagement – contributing Rhode Island voices to a national conversation that served over 110,000 people live and more than 2.1 million views and listeners stretching across 40 states and three U.S. territories. Check out RI’s contributions here. And visit the WhyCivicMatters.org site to explore programs from across the country.
- Rhode Tours have offered terrific, eye opening connections to different communities! In the past year the app and site grew by 50,000 users. There are now 35 tours and over 340 stories – explore them via the free Rhode Tour app or at rhodetour.org.
- We’ve been responsive to the moment as exemplified by Elizabeth’s op-ed co-authored with the Executive Directors of the Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut humanities councils which articulates the values and value of the humanities for civil society. Read the op-ed here.
- All of us have appreciated the opportunities to gather together (safely) to be part of events during this continued pandemic to engage with the Council’s mission to seed, support, and strengthen public history, cultural heritage, civic education, and community engagement by and for all Rhode Islanders. And look forward to more of it in the New Year!
