In April 2011 Governor Calvo approved the bonds that will build Guam’s first permanent museum. The government can now use $55 million in HOT (Hotel Occupancy  Tax) bond proceeds on a host of cultural and tourism related infrastructure improvements, to include $27 million earmarked for the new museum building to be built by 2014.

The Guam Museum Foundation, Inc. in partnership with the Department of Chamorro Affairs is sponsoring the first museum conference August 30-31, 2011 at the Outrigger Guam Resort.  The theme of this conference is “Heritage Institute Networking…Directing Natural History and Cultural Heritage in Economic Development.” Its purpose is to discuss the status of the Guam Museum building project and to increase partnerships for trade and industry prosperity surrounding the museum. What is at stake with regard to the role of the Guam Museum in economic development and its social responsibility to our diverse community?

Our first program guest is Leona Mendiola Young (leona@guammuseum.com) administrator of the newly formed Guam Museum Foundation,Inc.  Ms. Young brings to this position over 15 years of experience working in non-profit organizations that began with the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association. With her background in administration and finance, she also provided support to Governor Camacho’s museum task force from 2007-2010.

This is followed by an interview with Fanai Castro and Kayoko Kushima who recently completed a University of Guam course on “Theory, History and Practices of Museums in the Pacific.” The class curated a special collection of  Guam photos (1874-1877) by Gustav Riemer which will be on exhibit at the conference. This course was taught by Dr. Tina Delisle (cdelisle@umich.edu), a visiting lecturer with the Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies unit of the Program in American Culture at the University of Michigan where she teaches courses on Museums and Native Pacific Women and Gender.

Ms. Castro (nukefreepacifik@riseup.net) is a native daughter of the Mariana Islands. She graduated with honors from Mills College in 2003 with a BA in Ethnic Studies.  She is a writer, poet, artist, and organizer whose work centers on the movement for a Nuclear-Free and Interdependent Pasifik, community education and sustainability.

Ms. Kushima (kwk@ite.net) is a 2001 graduate of the Micronesian Studies Program at the University of Guam where she completed a thesis entitled “Historiographies of Guam, Discourses of Isolation: Canonical and Alternative Historical Analyses of Guam.” Originally from Miyazaki prefecture in Japan, just  south of  Okinawa, Ms. Kushima has resided in Guam for 16 years and currently teaches Japanese at Southern High School.