Create Caribbean Research Institute has received funding support to expand Dominica State College (DSC) programmes and community partnerships in the Eastern Caribbean. This opportunity is made possible through the Caribbean Digital Scholarship Collective, which has received a US$5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation “to build capacity for digital humanities scholarship on Caribbean and diasporic history and culture in both the United States and the Caribbean through key initiatives, among which are an annual Caribbean Digital Conference; a Caribbean Digital Scholarship Summer Institute; undergraduate programs at the University of Puerto Rico and the Create Caribbean Research Institute; an annual artist’s residency; and at least 12 micro-grants awarded to scholars producing digital content in the field of Caribbean studies.”
Create Caribbean Founder and Director, Dr. Schuyler Esprit is a Co-Principal Investigator on this grant and the Research Institute is one of its sub-awardees. The grant allows Create Caribbean to expand its existing higher education programs in Dominica and the Eastern Caribbean, and to develop new Caribbean projects and partnerships in Caribbean Digital Scholarship. The sub-award allows Create Caribbean to undertake two primary initiatives.
The first is to expand the RTC (Research, Technology, Community) Internship programme at Dominica State College and other regional colleges, to include a Caribbean Digital Studies Certificate, funding for student interns, & apprenticeships with several community partners working on history and culture preservation to apply digital skills to preserving and sharing content. The second is the Community Partners Program that invites agencies and organizations working in areas related to cultural heritage, education and preservation to strengthen content development and local programming using digital technology. This will include a sponsored summer intensive training for community partners.
Dr. Esprit believes that “Create Caribbean has established a leading reputation for developing Caribbean Studies in Dominica and the Eastern Caribbean by placing students at the center of the experience. This has always been a space where students use research and technology to learn more about the Caribbean and to share that knowledge with other students and the public through digital projects. This funding allows us to show the best of what our students have been doing all these years and provides resources for more excellent work and a deeper commitment to uplifting Caribbean studies and Caribbean culture.”
Create Caribbean is an educational nonprofit serving students and scholars in academic research, technology education and Caribbean digital scholarship with a focus on arts and humanities work. The Research Institute has operated from Dominica since 2014 and hosts a range of programmes and activities, including Create and Code Summer Tech Camp. Create Caribbean is the first digital humanities center in the Caribbean. Learn more at http://createcaribbean.org.
The official statement from Barnard College, the lead institution for the Caribbean Digital Studies collective grant, can be found here:
https://barnard.edu/news/barnard-college-receives-5m-grant-andrew-w-mellon-founda
tion?fbclid=IwAR2puRw08rh21h_zTqmeVCOA3cg_jauY-2R8iVFnb0pLJ4kD02S5RoZGQ0k.
I was attracted to this project when it was launched seven years ago and my interest was renewed in the wake of Hurricane Maria. More than ever before Dominica desperately needed creative initiatives and I enquired how someone in the private sector could contribute. The response was non-committal.
I wish Create Caribbean success. However it seems that my hands-on research into creative solutions utilizing Dominica’s natural resources run on different lines.
Congrats Dr Esprit!!! I look forward to seeing more local and culturally appropriate content coming out of this!!