Current Programs

From enriching community conversations to cultural workshops and performances, we offer opportunities for our island communities to connect with Guåhan’s rich heritage. Learn more about the vibrant array of public programs we are currently running and how we're bringing the humanities to life.

  • Civic Reflections Conversations

    GUÅHAN CONNECTS
    As part of our Guåhan Connects program, we have been hosting a series of Civic Reflection Conversations, which invite and engage community members from various backgrounds to participate in exploratory discussions that encourage deep learning and inquiry. Each conversation becomes an opportunity to gain and share knowledge, raise and address important questions on key topics, and encourage civic participation.

  • Motheread/Fatheread

    MOTHEREAD FAMILY LITERACY
    Since 2000, Humanities Guåhan has been supporting island families through its Motheread/Fatheread Family Literacy Program. Working with a dedicated group of educators to engage families through the power of books, this program is designed to strengthen bonds between parents and their children, enhance adult literacy skills, promote school readiness, and encourage parents to value reading not only as an important family activity but also as a pathway to additional educational and employment opportunities. Learn more

  • Community Grants

    Our Community Grant Program offers an opportunity for non-profit organizations to receive financial support for humanities programs dedicated to engaging public audiences. Through our valuable partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Humanities Guåhan is proud to celebrate our commitment to supporting cultural enrichment, meaningful engagement, and thoughtful discussions by providing financial support for a range of local non-profit organizations. Applicants can apply for grants of up to $15,000 in funds for humanities programming. Learn more

  • Kuentusi i Tano'

    SPECIAL PROJECTS
    Kuentusi i Tano' (Speaking to Land) is an ongoing film series that honors the voices and perspectives of Pacific Islanders, highlighting their connections, stories, oral histories, and traditions related to the deep cultural meaning of land. The Kuentusi i Tano' series stems from Humanities Guåhan’s Kuentusi i Hanom (Speaking to Water) film series, which was launched in 2017 and explores connections to water. Together, these series emphasize the importance of place—embracing both i tano' yan i hanom (land and water) as one—and the cultural stories and narratives embedded within these places. Watch here

  • Pacific Islands Humanities Network

    SPECIAL INITIATIVE
    A collaborative initiative led by Humanities Guåhan and its three Pacific Islands partners—the Amerika Samoa Humanities Council, Hawai’i Council for the Humanities, and Northern Marianas Humanities Council—aims to create a vibrant culture of knowledge-sharing and collaboration in the humanities. With three years of supplemental funding support from NEH through its Pacific Islands Cultural Initiative, the network seeks to amplify the voices and experiences of Pacific Islanders, highlighting the rich cultures, histories, and contributions of these communities through an initial series of bi-annual convenings in the US continent and throughout the Pacific. Learn more

  • Marianas History Conference

    SPECIAL PROJECTS
    The Seventh Marianas History Conference (MHC) returns on August 29–31, 2025 to the goals of telling the history and cultivating the connections between the peoples of the Mariana Islands. This conference takes as its point of departure weaving. Generations of Mariana weavers have bound together separate fibers to make useful and beautiful objects: from baskets to ocean-faring vessels. The processes and objects contain and express values central to the peoples of the Marianas. In this spirit, the 7th MHC will provide a space to weave stories, tell our histories, bind ourselves together, and connect to our pasts to remake “One Archipelago.” Learn more