The
Jamestown Dialogue raised the issue of volunteerism and how large a role
it plays in the future of their community. Many participants spoke of the
physical beauty of the island and how that helps them define "home"
and appreciate its exceptional status in comparison to other places. The
question of change came up in several guises Ð what kind of a place was
Jamestown in the past, how should the community evaluate changes in contemporary
Jamestown, and how might they deconstruct an ideal past? Some raised the
question of diversity and whether the cost of living on the island has kept
away ethnic diversity. All appeared to agree that the most important issue
for Jamestown is how it should develop. Similar to other Dialogues, the
question of "good" development vs. "bad" development
is on people's minds. There are many ways to approach this question, beginning
with an historical investigation into how earlier populations on the island
dealt with similar issues. Jamestown was interesting because of the ways
participants saw themselves as belonging to their town first and then to
smaller units such as their street or neighborhood. We are looking forward
to reviewing a dynamic proposal for a humanities program.To learn more about Rhode Island Dialogues, please contact the Dialogues coordinator at ourtowns@etal.uri.edu or call RICH at 273-2250.
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| Fund for Community Engagement After each of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns participates in the Dialogues Program, The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH) offers it a one-time Fund for Community Engagement (FCE) award of up to $1,000. The Fund for Community Engagement grant gives each community an opportunity to address--through a public humanities project--issues raised during the Dialogue meeting. Please use the highlighted link here to access the guidelines for Fund for Community Engagement grants. |