In an effort to preserve the Virgin Islands' culture, a community programme called Kickin It University (KIU) has been launched. Photo: Kickin It

Kickin It, Founder Kyra J. James Douglas said the response to Kickin It University (KIU) and the fundraising campaign has been really positive. Photo: Facebook

Kickin It University (KIU) equips Virgin Islanders to become guardians of their culture. Photo: Kickin It

The initiative has kickstarted with a crowdfunding campaign to support the development and delivery of engaging classes, workshops, and hands-on experiences.

The campaign aims to raise $10,000 to support KIU's mission, which is to keep Virgin Islands culture alive. Through a diverse course catalog, KIU offers Virgin Islanders of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to learn key traditional skills like johnny cake making, basket weaving, folklore dancing and more. KIU is an initiative led by the non-profit, Kickin It.

Speaking on the mission of Kickin It, Founder Kyra J. James Douglas explained, “We believe that knowledge and skill go hand in hand.”

She continued, “By supporting our crowdfunding campaign, you help us create opportunities for Virgin Islanders to access both, which will equip them to share what they’ve learned with future generations. You become a guardian of Virgin Islands culture.”

‘Culture preservation efforts have to evolve’- Kyra J. James

KIU’s class schedules will also include sessions for creative development like content creation, marketing, and artificial intelligence. These are all tools Kickin It believes are key to modern culture preservation efforts.

“We envision a world where Virgin Islands culture is not only alive but thriving,” said Kyra.

She added, “Culture preservation efforts have to evolve in order to survive. This organisation’s goal is to do just that and KIU is one of the ways we plan to do it.”

Funds raised through the crowdfunding campaign will directly support the production of course content, recruitment of instructors and cover the cost of resources needed to create engaging learning environments. In addition to courses, KIU will produce grants and travel opportunities for Virgin Islands creatives to attend conferences abroad.

KIU & crowdfunding get positive response

Kyra told Virgin Islands News Online that the response to KIU and the fundraising campaign has been really positive. “Our launch received lots of comments of excited community members and our first week of registration welcomed almost 100 students!

She added, “In terms of fundraising, we are currently halfway to our goal of $10,000 to get started with year one. Contributors have been a mix of local business and individuals. We still have a little under 3 weeks to go and are hopeful that we’ll meet our goal.”

Kyra, the founder of Kickin It, said the KIU is also seeking partnerships with community leaders to identify cultural beacons that can be instructors for classes based on their expertise. She also said KIU is planning to do another release about some confirmed advisors so far; however, Junior Minister for Culture and Tourism Hon Luce D. Hodge-Smith (R4), Director of Culture Dr Katherine A. Smith, and Mr Dean H. Greenaway are some of the persons already on board.

More information can be found HERE.

Kickin It is a non-profit organisation that takes a modern and sustainable approach to culture preservation.