The purpose of this project is to provide a new shared position in southeast Minnesota which will accelerate the adoption of soil health practices by leveraging the existing efforts of the National Resources Conservation Service and other organizations.
The Somali community in Rochester, MN is by far one of the most connected cultural groups in the region. Our project hopes to untangle the rich culture that is often hidden from the public sphere in Rochester, MN. Unity begins with knowing your neighbors. Through the Humanities Center's Cultural Grant we will implement a program to inform and teach our fellow neighbors about the Somali culture. Our platform will be based on speakers, multimedia, tv programming, and print.
This project will connect Somali youth to their rich cultural heritage through arts and language. The Somali Youth Cultural Empowerment project will ensure youth learn their native Somali language and culture through classes taught by Somali teachers and will participate in the cultural tradition of Danta Dance. A dance group will perform at cultural events, with music performed live from previous members of the Somali supergroup, Waaberi, and thus, share Somali art culture with Minnesotans.
The Somali Museum of Minnesota will curate and present two new monthly series of public programs designed to amplify, celebrate, and preserve Somali culture. The first series will be gallery-based and draw from the museum’s collection to offer Somali language, cultural and history instruction targeted to Somali families and school age youth. The second series, designed for a broader audience, will present artist talks and demonstrations, dance performances, exhibitions, and poetry readings.
The Somali Language and Culture Classes Project will honor and preserve Somali culture by first, connecting Somali youth to their rich cultural heritage through arts and language classes and second, by providing a class for others in the mainstream Minnesota community to learn about Somali language and culture. This project will pilot teaching Somali language and culture through utilizing taped sessions with an in-person bi-lingual facilitator in order to allow for future sustainability.
Unite Cloud will join with Farhiya Iman to host 12 Intro to Somali Language and Culture sessions. Also, Farhiya will develop a curriculum for a new class: Advanced Somali Language and Culture. Once the class is built, we will host 9 Advanced classes.
Ka Joog requests funding from the Minnesota Humanities Center to offer songwriting and composition to Somali American youth enrolled in FANKA, our arts education program. We will contract with Nimcaan Hilaac, a renowned Somali American songwriter, singer, and composer. We will offer 210-300 Somali youth in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Saint Cloud songwriting workshops facilitated by Mr. Hilaac. Their learning will culminate in a community-wide event featuring performances by our youth.
Promote water protection and conservation at Middle Spunk Water Festival as an educational Sponsor, update and maintain city web site with water protection and conservation information, promote community awareness and education on Source Water Protection
Update well inventory and seal identified unused wells; Water festival -educate students on wellhead protection; Storage tanks inventory; Newsletter on turf management and fertilizer use; educate residents on proper disposal of household hazardous waste
