The Rhode Island Foundation Innovation Fellowship has been awarded annually for five years now with a singular goal: to find Rhode Islanders with solutions to Rhode Island challenges. This year, the foundation has selected Raymond Two Hawks Watson and his Providence Cultural Equity Initiative (PCEI) as the recipient of the annual honor, complete with $300,000 over three years to see his project come to fruition.
Watson, who grew up in the Fox Point and Mt. Hope neighborhoods, recognizes that the cultural diversity and rich history of Rhode Island, much like our dining or arts scenes, is itself a resource that can be utilized for attracting visitors.
In a video Watson submitted to the Foundation, he explains that “PCEI seeks to achieve two primary goals; utilizing [cultural history, heritage and diversity] as an innovative and impacting engine for promoting economic development… cultivating and enhancing more social cohesion and cultural equity in the greater Providence area.”
Cultural tourism accounts for more than three-quarters of US travelers. These travelers spend more money and tend to stay longer when visiting. So while it stands to reason that Watson’s plan makes sound economic sense, what’s really important is that our often overlooked minority, immigrant and aborigine communities will be rightly celebrated as another example of what makes our city and state unique.
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