"We The People" Project 2008
The Virgin Islands Humanities Council launched its “We The People” initiative for 2008 entitled "Virgin Islands Voices: A Literary and Spoken Word Festival". In September 2007, NEH awarded the Virgin Islands Humanities Council a grant of $51, 280.00 to support this state project. The project explored several themes in keeping with the goals of the We the People initiative, which includes self expression, migration and assimilation.
The Virgin Islands Humanities Council in collaboration with the University of the Virgin Islands launched a two–day event to celebrate the diversity of Virgin Islands Voices, to provoke critical thought, and to affirm our collective humanity. The event was also sponsored by the Virgin Islands Department of Tourism and the West Indian Company.
The festival had 300 participants, including Virgin Islands authors, Poets, Storytellers, spoken word artists, school age youth, artisans, and entrepreneurs. The festival also featured interactive workshops and educational displays, as well as a lecture series event aimed at recognizing prolific Virgin Islands writers who migrated to the United States yet maintained their voices through their oral and written works.
The feedback from many of our participants clearly indicated great enthusiasm about the rich literary art forms that exist in the Virgin Islands and expressed an appreciation for the diverse voices expressed in the spoken word presentations. As a result, the Council was successful in achieving the goals and objectives of the program.
- Explored several themes in keeping with the goals of the “We the People” initiative: self-expression, migration, and assimilation.
- Exposed Virgin Islands youth to literary arts and influenced them to participate and learn.
- Encouraged writes and poets to promote their creations
The VIHC received wide media coverage before, during, and after the festival. The Daily News, TV2 and WVWI provided effective and extensive coverage of the event.