Federation of State Humanities Councils

National Humanities conference - established in 1978 by the Federation, the national Humanities conference was originally designed as a resource to bring together the nationwide network of the State and jurisdictional Humanities Councils and those interested in advancing the work of the public Humanities. In 2015, the Federation and the national Humanities alliance ("nha") partnered to make the conference available to both public and academic Humanities practitioners to address local and national challenges through the lens of the Humanities and to spark innovative collaborations, conversations, and research while broadening the impact and relevance of the Humanities in everyday american life.

Special projects and other programs - these programs promote working with other organizations to support the public Humanities and relate to discrete projects, which are carried out within a specified time.democracy and the informed citizen - in 2019, the Federation applied for and received a grant from the mellon foundation to support phase ii of the democracy and the informed citizen project and issued a call to the Councils to apply for funds to design and carry out programs in their respective communities. The stated aims of the initiative are to deepen the public's understanding of the relationship between democracy, the Humanities, journalism and an informed citizenry; increase media literacy by engaging the public in discussions with pulitzer prize winners and other professional journalists; and explore obstacles to sustaining high-quality journalism. Funding was provided to 46 Councils to carry out programs through june 30, 2020, during phase i. Phase ii of the project was completed in 2022 and, in light of the covid-19 restrictions on public gatherings, the deadline for reporting was extended through june 30, 2022. Humanities in american life - this multimedia and public awareness project launched in 2017 with the creation of a comprehensive repository of data and narratives that resulted in visually-engaging briefing papers on the work of the Federation's membership, a series of short videos, and in 2021, culminated with the Federation's first-ever national podcast, "making meaning: why Humanities matter." This project was generously supported by the mellon foundation.making meaning: why Humanities matter - the centerpiece of the Federation's "Humanities in american life" initiative, this first-ever podcast discusses the role the Humanities have played during the pandemic and in the subsequent recovery. This six-episode season includes 12 interviews and features stories from african americans, asian americans, cuban americans, native americans, and an immigrant from pohnpei in the federated states of micronesia and features Humanities programming from 19 states and jurisdictional territories. The podcast ranked in the top 30% of downloads worldwide in 2021 and earned international listeners across major platforms including apple, stitcher, and spotify. Neh-funded equitable access grants for the national Humanities conference (nhc) in 2022, neh funded 15 humanists to attend nhc in los angeles, California. Grant funds supported travel, registration, and lodging for 15 conference attendees from previously underrepresented groups at the conference to participate in conference proceedings and meet with neh senior leadership, including the chair of neh.why it matters: civic and electoral participation provides free Humanities programs by 43 Humanities Councils that engage the public in a better understanding of the electoral process, the societal conditions and institutions that influence citizen engagement, and voting as a fundamental civic act. Programs also investigate broader issues of civic participation and engagement that have continued through the 2021 inauguration and in the aftermath of the 2020 election. The deadline for programming was extended to january 15, 2023 and the final report deadline to march 31, 2023.

Information exchange -the Federation hosts several internal listservs for its membership as well as a more general one that connects members with major partners, including the national endowment for the Humanities ("neh") and nha. Additionally, the Federation supports a number of newsletters that bring information about the national Humanities conference, advocacy, Humanities community, and Federation to its members. In 2018, the Federation began collaborating with nha to develop and distribute a joint congressional newsletter that features news about nha and Federation members, neh, and other major Humanities community information. This newsletter is distributed to staff members in the house Humanities and senate cultural caucuses.humanities on the hill ("hoh") - the Federation's annual advocacy event, which brings Humanities council advocates together from across the country to demonstrate the importance of funding for neh and the neh federal/state partnership, is a three-day event that includes a members orientation and briefing, congressional reception, and a members only debrief. This event provides an opportunity for Federation members to meet with their congressional representatives, share advocacy best practices together, and present a united message about the value of the Humanities. Often, congressional representatives and staffers share remarks at the briefing and congressional reception.