The mission of the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency (CAHA) as mandated by Public Law 16-122 is to foster opportunity for participation in arts and humanities programs to benefit citizens of all ages and from every community on the island.

The following goals and objectives were set out to accomplish the needs of our island relative to CAHA's mission:

GOAL 1: To continue efforts toward presenting the highest quality of the arts available for the benefit of all citizens of the territory and to continue developing public interest, participation and support of the arts.

Objectives:

• To foster and develop local, national, regional, and international opportunities for artists of all disciplines to participate in cultural and contemporary presentations, exhibits and exchanges;
• To develop programs through the KAHA Art Gallery and the Southern High School Theater for presentations in the visual and performing arts, including local productions, cultural exchange projects and touring programs from off-island;
• To continue strategies at promoting the arts through the development of the KAHA website and production of other arts related materials including posters, brochures, and other informational packets;
• To increase staff skills through training for providing technical assistance for the benefit of artists, arts organizations, and the community as a whole.

GOAL 2: To develop and heighten public awareness of the value and importance of programs in the arts which service underserved communities and their overall impact to the Island community.

Objectives:

• To increase access and opportunities for participation in arts programming as alternatives to social problems by providing services to organizations who work with ìat risk youthî and after school programs;
• To develop arts programming for those incarcerated at youth and adult facilities in an effort to provide alternative activities;
• To encourage and develop programs for access to the arts for senior citizens and individuals with disabilities within the Island of Guam and increase participation in the arts.

Objectives:

• Provide more opportunities for professional training and practice of the arts and humanities, including workshops in arts education programming;
• To help develop and sustain existing independent institutions of the arts by providing technical assistance;
• To coordinate and encourage schools, organizations, and individuals in their several artistic and cultural activities.

GOAL 4: To encourage opportunities for the perpetuation of folk arts traditions.

Objectives:

• To increase apprenticeship programs, documentation of traditions, and encouraging growth and development of heritage programs;
• To increase opportunities for contemporary and traditional presentations of all cultural groups on Island .
• To continue regional cultural exchange for the mutual benefit of traditional artists within Micronesia and the Pacific.

GOAL 5:   To continue partnerships with organizations who promote the growth and development of the arts on Island .

Objectives:

• To broaden partnership opportunities through the Guam Cultural Tourism Council for funding or programming support of the arts whenever possible for the benefit of artists, arts organizations and the public.
• To establish partnerships with non-profit organizations and corporate sponsors for development of fellowship programs and artists' material fund support;
• To stimulate the economic growth of the Territory through cultural activities.

About Guam

Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific.