Navigating Recovery: With Pearls of Wisdom and Culture of Care
With the challenges and uncertainties amplified by the pandemic, especially as surges continue to unfold, our Committee has been focused on what we do know and what we have, to help us navigate recovery towards a sustainable shared future! Throughout MicrONEsia, we are small communities where island wisdom or pearls of wisdom is framed with a way of knowing and a way of doing. This culture of care comes with an understanding of our islands’ cultural heritage and histories.
To serve as a source for guidance in navigating towards a post-pandemic voyage to recovery, our PATA Micronesia Chapter’s Education, Marketing and Cultural Heritage and Environment committees presented the Pearls of Wisdom speaker series. In our first program, we featured Dr. Fred Schumann, a local professor of tourism from the UOG School of Business & Public Administration. With his extensive experience in regional tourism and global marketing, Dr. Schumann honed in on our islands’ cultural landscapes and heritage stories to serve as inspiration for cultural products and services that will give visitors touch points to experience Micronesia’s unique sense of place and cultural heritage.
Our second Pearls of Wisdom program featured Dr. David Sanchez from Micronesia and rooted in the Marianas. An Assistant Professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Civil & Environmental Engineering department, Dr. Sanchez also serves as the Associate Director for the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. Dr. Sanchez shared perspectives on Micronesia’s strengths and challenges in its natural and built environment and how its rich cultural heritage can serve as a source of inspiration for identifying sustainable designs on a local and regional scale.
This global pandemic has changed the course of humankind at so many levels. The isolation that we all experienced in one way or another, has truly helped us, willingly or unwillingly, to look from within. Like our ancestors who came before us, it is our responsibility to rethink who we are in terms of our cultural values and utilize them to address challenges and collectively advance the quality of life within our ecosystems.
Within this culture of care framework, let’s connect through partnerships, listen with respect, adapt where necessary, and sustain best practices. Building the capacity of our community within our unique spaces, whether as members of an academic, business, government or social enterprise, is also a great strategy to shift mindsets back to a truly interconnected community that exudes a culture of care that will yield extraordinary results towards regional and global sustainability!
To serve as a source for guidance in navigating towards a post-pandemic voyage to recovery, our PATA Micronesia Chapter’s Education, Marketing and Cultural Heritage and Environment committees presented the Pearls of Wisdom speaker series. In our first program, we featured Dr. Fred Schumann, a local professor of tourism from the UOG School of Business & Public Administration. With his extensive experience in regional tourism and global marketing, Dr. Schumann honed in on our islands’ cultural landscapes and heritage stories to serve as inspiration for cultural products and services that will give visitors touch points to experience Micronesia’s unique sense of place and cultural heritage.
Our second Pearls of Wisdom program featured Dr. David Sanchez from Micronesia and rooted in the Marianas. An Assistant Professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Civil & Environmental Engineering department, Dr. Sanchez also serves as the Associate Director for the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. Dr. Sanchez shared perspectives on Micronesia’s strengths and challenges in its natural and built environment and how its rich cultural heritage can serve as a source of inspiration for identifying sustainable designs on a local and regional scale.
This global pandemic has changed the course of humankind at so many levels. The isolation that we all experienced in one way or another, has truly helped us, willingly or unwillingly, to look from within. Like our ancestors who came before us, it is our responsibility to rethink who we are in terms of our cultural values and utilize them to address challenges and collectively advance the quality of life within our ecosystems.
Within this culture of care framework, let’s connect through partnerships, listen with respect, adapt where necessary, and sustain best practices. Building the capacity of our community within our unique spaces, whether as members of an academic, business, government or social enterprise, is also a great strategy to shift mindsets back to a truly interconnected community that exudes a culture of care that will yield extraordinary results towards regional and global sustainability!