Last month, the Board of Directors of Connecticut Humanities (CTH), the state’s affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, awarded Partnership Grants to two cultural nonprofits totaling $50,000.
CTH’s Partnership Grants foster collaboration between non-profit humanities organizations and CTH. They provide programming that broadens the reach of humanities content in our state, extending opportunities for people to connect with the themes, ideas, and skills needed to understand issues in our society. Grants awarded at this time include $25,000 to Hartford’s Connecticut Public Affairs Network (CPAN) for Connecticut History Day and $25,000 to New Haven’s International Festival of Arts and Ideas for their upcoming 2021 Ideas Series.
“CTH values collaborative relationships with partner organizations to offer statewide opportunities for Connecticut’s residents to connect powerfully to the humanities,” explains Dr. Jason Mancini, executive director at Connecticut Humanities. “Both CHD and the Ideas Series encourage people to engage with ideas and issues relevant to our society today by deepening participants’ understanding of the past and providing context in which to view current topics.”
Funding for CTH’s Partnership Grants comes from the Connecticut Humanities Fund, made possible in part by the Connecticut General Assembly.
Led by the CPAN’s Connecticut Democracy Center, Connecticut History Day (CHD) is one of 58 affiliate programs of National History Day. CHD annually engages over 4,000 middle and high school students in historical research, interpretation, and creative expression through project-based learning. The program seeks to bring students, teachers, museums, and scholars together to support young people as they engage in history.
“CT History Day reaches thousands of middle and high school students and prepares them for bright futures: in careers, college, and as citizens. We are so pleased that CT Humanities recognizes the critical importance of this work and its impact on Connecticut students. The value of CTH’s support is incalculable,” says Rebecca Taber-Conover, head of CHD.
The International Festival of Arts and Ideas brings an internationally renowned festival to New Haven and beyond, with world-class artists, thinkers, and leaders. The festival attracts and engages a broad and diverse audience, celebrates, and builds community, and advances economic development.
According to Shelley Quiala, executive director at IFAI, “The International Festival of Arts & Ideas is excited to continue our rich partnership with Connecticut Humanities into 2021. We are grateful to work with such an esteemed organization that reflects our shared core values: elevating and honoring the diverse voices, history, and knowledge of the people in our state for both a local and national audience. This has been especially important as we continue to feel the effects of COVID-19 and other crises facing our community.”
Registration for the 2021 Connecticut History Day contests is open. For more information, visit historydayct.org. The Festival will announce their program for 2021 this spring. For more information, visit artidea.org. To learn more about the Connecticut Humanities Fund, visit https://cthumanities.org/grants/.
