Sept 19 (Week 1): Bridge Building
In this session, we will be looking back at the experiences of previous and current East-West Center participants, scholars, and leaders. By looking at this collective knowledge, we will integrate these various cultures, experiences, and perspectives into our own lives. By doing this, we will allow these experiences to connect the East-West Center's past to the present and future generations in a meaningful way.
Speakers and Performers
Speaker: President Suzanne Vares-Lum
President Suzanne Vares-Lum is the first woman and Native Hawaiian chosen to be president of the East-West Center. She brings leadership and planning experience that spans past several decades, and brings five years serving with the most senior officals at US Indo-Pacific Command, where she cultivated and maintained key relationships with nations throughout the Indo-Pacific region. In this session, she will be discussing the importance of people-to-people understanding and culturally informed expertise. In relationship to our theme, she will be discussing the mat weaving metaphor to show that in weaving, we begin at the center. As Vares-Lum has said in her initiation ceremony to our center, "In weaving you begin at the piko, or center. What is our Center's piko? It is our shared values of respect, equality, service, quietly working toward peace on a person-to-person level. It is our all-of-society focus: harnessing research, education, and training across sectors, cultures, and professions. And it is our common aspirations—what we work to accomplish together: combatting the effects of the pandemic and climate change; supporting effective governance; public accountability, and human rights; and creating new knowledge and fostering new ideas to promote freedom, prosperity, peace, and dignity." |
Performers: Ku'uleilani Reyes, Meleanna Meyer, Noelle Kahanu, Karen Kosasa, Eric Chang, and Annie Reynolds.
Join in the first large scale screening of Weaving a Net(work) of Care, a short film by Justyn Ah Chong that follows a Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Museum Institute as it unfolded over the course of one month this past July, 2022. The film shares the story of how this National Endowment for the Humanities-funded institute came to be through interviews with planning team members from the University of Hawai’i and the East-West Center. It also follows the 17 participants from 13 island communities throughout Oceania as they attend various workshops, lectures, and field trips to museums and culminates in an exhibition that opened on the last day fo the institute. Film screening will be followed by a brief talk story and Q&A session with: institute participant Ku'uleilani Reyes (Kamehameha Schools), facilitating artist Meleanna Meyer, and members of the planning committee: Noelle Kahanu & Karen Kosasa (UHM), and Eric Chang & Annie Reynolds (EWC) |
Sept 26 (Week 2): Okinawa
Connecting with Okinawa, which is the southernmost island of Japan. Hawaii and Okinawa have a strong connection in terms of historical, traditional, and educational perspective. At the East-West Center, it is essential to maintain strong relations with other countries, especially Japan. In this session, we will explore the historical origins of the connections between Okinawa and Hawai’i, and particularly about the period following World War II. Dr. Masato Ishida, the Director of the Center for Okinawan Studies will be sharing his insights on the rich connections between Okinawa and Hawai'i, including his role within the East-West Center and the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa.
Speakers and Performers
Speaker: Dr. Masato Ishida
The East-West Center has a long, multi-faceted relationship with the people, culture and history of Okinawa dating to the founding days of the Center. In this session, Dr. Masato Ishida, the Director of the Center for Okinawan Studies, will share his insights on the rich connections between Okinawa and Hawai'i, including his role within the EWC and UH Manoa.. An Associate Professor of Philosophy at UH Manoa, Dr. Ishida specializes in classical American philosophy, history and philosophy of logic, and traditional Japanese philosophy. In 2021, Dr. Ishida was honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award from UH Manoa, Dr. Ishida received his academic training in Japan, Canada, and the United States (PhD, Pennsylvania State University).
Performer: Senju Kai
Tamagusuku Ryu Senjukai Frances Nakachi Ryubu Dojo, also known as Senju Kai Hawaii is an Okinawan Dance Academy which was established over 25 years ago by Frances Nakachi Kuba Sensei. Their mission is “Heartfelt Artistry.” Promoting, Preserving and perpetuating their rich Okinawan culture through the Heartfelt Artistry. They take great pride in perpetuating the Okinawan culture and create a positive environment by supporting the communities through the dance projects.
Currently, the students range from 3 to 82 years young and their dance studio is located at the Manoa Japanese Language School. For more information about the dance academy, visit their website at www.senjukaihawaii.com. |
oct 3 (week 3): Pacific Connections
Pacific Islanders preserve their culture by sharing their knowledge and traditions through connections with one another and storytelling. These connections and stories are essential for the development of people in present times. Today we see the preservation of culture and traditions of Pacific Islanders expressed through contemporary practices, such as poetry. In this way, Pacific Islanders weave the practices of their ancestors into their livelihoods and provide valuable insights about their history, respect for the land, and connection with one another.
Speakers and Performers
Speakers and Performers
Speaker: Dr. James Perez Viernes
Dr. James Perez Viernes is Deputy Director of the Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP). As the Deputy Director, James provides strategic leadership and management support to the program. He also supervises all aspects of regional and community engagement, serves as the primary liaison with members of the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders (PICL) and the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP), and assists in the overall planning, direction, budgeting, operation, and evaluation on a diverse range of activities the program executes for the Pacific Islands region. Dr. Viernes was previously Outreach Director (Associate Faculty Specialist) on the core faculty of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM). Prior to this, he was Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Chamorro Studies and Research Faculty of the Micronesian Area Research Center at the University of Guam. He is a Graduate Degree Fellow alum of the East-West Center where he also served as President of the Pan Pacific Association. Performer: Daniel Kauwila Mahi
Daniel Kauwila Mahi is an Ōiwi Hawaii visual artist, researcher, video game designer, and composer from Honolulu, Hawaii who has exhibited internationally in the United States, Canada, and Aotearoa. Kauwila embodies genealogical rhythms of sovereignty, solidarity, ceremony, and contested governance through ōlelo Hawaii. He has also served as a sound designer and sound design mentor in Award Winning Ōlelo Hawaii Video Games, He Ao Hou and Wao Kanaka. Kauwilas work with sound resides in the margins of Aloha Āina traversing an Indigenous future, while refusing state-sponsored, violent reproductions of militourism and missionaries. His music and sound design interpolates and remixes ancestral chants, stories, acoustemologies, and instrumentation underscoring the rhythm of the underbelly of Hawaii. Their work is heavily inspired by his matriarchal genealogy of lei makers, feather workers, and Hawaiian Sovereignty photographers. |
Oct 17 (Week 4): Connecting through Voyaging
Embedded in Pacific Islander history and culture is the tradition of voyaging, which was almost lost. Initially started at the East-West Center, the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s purpose is to restore their relationship with the ocean through their traditional navigation and exploration by canoes. Preserving the tradition of voyaging weaves this ancestral practice to modern day voyaging and voyagers. This session will explore how Pacific ancestors navigated the ocean, discovered islands and settled around the Pacific.
Speakers and Performers
Speaker: H. Larry Raigetal
H. Larry Raigetal is co-founder and project coordinator of Waa’gey, a non-profit organization in Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) which works with communities to promote cultural heritage of the Reimethau Indigenous people of the central Caroline Islands. An accomplished Senap master canoe carver of the traditional Taan Gech school, Raigetal is an instructor in traditional Micronesian seafaring and celestial navigation. Raigetal has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the FSM national government, and as Director of the Department of Youth and Civic Affairs for the Yap State government. Raigetal holds a graduate degree from Oxford University where he was a Chevening Scholar and an undergraduate degree from the University of San Francisco. Currently, Raigetal is an Assistant Professor for the University of Guam at the Micronesian Area Research Center.
Performer: Carol Ann Carl
Carol Ann Carl is a daughter of the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. Carol Ann has lived the majority of her life in Honolulu, HI. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Storytelling and writing are personal forms of pedagogical healing. Professionally and creatively, Carol Ann leans into the intersectionality of her identity - indigeneity, science, health, and civic advocacy - to develop narratives of empowerment for the Micronesian community in Hawaii and the wider Pacific Islander community abroad. Currently, Carol Ann works as a Research Associate with Māpuna Lab with the UH Manoa Department of Social Work. She also virtually teaches a Micronesian Civics curriculum she developed at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School in Pohnpei and is a cultural advisor for storytelling organizations such as Nia Tero and Soused Productions.
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0ct 24 (Week 5): Hawai'i International Film Festival
The legacy of the East-West Center extends to the Hawaiian International Film Festival (HIFF) which developed as a project and later transitioned to its own independent organization. The HIFF takes place in the Pacific and has attracted around 50,000 people globally that are interested in films. Founded by Jeanette Paulson Hereniko, the HIFF has transformed into a premier cinematic event. In this session, we will be exploring the history of the HIFF and how it has expanded past the East-West Center to reach 1.4 million people globally.
Speakers and Performers
Speakers: Jeannette Paulson Hereniko
and Vilsoni Hereniko Jeannette Paulson Hereniko and Vilsoni Hereniko have distinguished connections to the East-West Center spanning decades and the Center is where they met over 30 years ago. In 1980 Jeannette joined the EWC as a Community Relations Coordinator and Educational Specialist. In 1981 Jeannette founded the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival (HIFF) as a project of the Center and served as Founding Director of HIFF until 1996. In 1990, Vilsoni came to the EWC on a scholarship to complete his Ph.D. on indigenous theater of Polynesia. In November of that year Jeannette invited Vilsoni to serve on the international jury of the HIFF and, from there, their partnership began. In addition to their connections to the EWC and their work with HIFF, Jeannette served as first executive director of the Palm Springs International Film Festival; founding board member of NETPAC international (Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema); founding President of NETPAC/USA; founder/owner of Asia Pacific Films.com; and a writer, director, and producer of television, film and podcasts. Vilsoni is an award-winning film director, playwright, and professor at UH Mānoa’s Academy for Creative Media where he teaches courses on screenwriting, film production, indigenous aesthetics, and sustainability in the motion picture industry. Additionally, Vilsoni is former director of both the UHM Center for Pacific Island Studies and the Oceania Center at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. Moreover, he is editor of the interdisciplinary journal, The Contemporary Pacific. This year’s Honolulu International Film Festival will screen films from throughout Asia, Pacific and the USA starting November 3. See hiff.org for information and tickets, which are selling fast. |
Performer: Lili‘u Project
The Lili‘u Project is an ongoing endeavor started in 2013. This collaborative undertaking explores the artistic legacy of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s last reigning sovereign, Queen Lili‘uokalani. The ensemble is composed primarily of former Leeward Community College students, while members of the film team have ties to UH Mānoa. The various arms of the project include educational and community outreach, recording, film documentary, and live performance. The ensemble has shared Lili‘uokalani’s music at the National Museum of the American Indian (Washington DC), Festival À Corps (Poitiers, France), and Soul Force Sacred Music Festival (Pasadena, CA). Community and education outreach includes collaborations with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, Lili‘uokalani Trust, CEEDS of Peace, and The Peace Studio.The Lili‘u Project maintains a clear conviction that Queen Lili‘uokalani is among Hawai‘i’s most significant and influential composers, and that her song texts continue to inspire contemplation on themes that are universally articulated and understood. |
Oct 31 (Week 6): Environment
This session will be exploring the importance of understanding the impacts of our technology, specifically surrounding cook stoves. In most homes, people cook and heat their foods utilizing these air-polluting fuels such as wood, coal, dung, and kerosene. This is not only detrimental to the environment but impacts the health of people exposed to these pollutants. While these acts of these types of cooking may seem small, it can easily intensify to a larger issue of the environment and health. Through East-West Center's Research Fellow Sumeet Saksena, we will explore these impacts. The goal of this session is to educate and change participants' daily habits to improve the environment and prevent health risks from our actions.
Speakers and Performers
Speaker: Dr. Sumeet Saksena
Dr. Sumeet Saksena is Senior Fellow at the East-West Center, Honolulu. He conducts highly interdisciplinary research in: Environmental Risk Analysis; Exposure Assessment; Environmental Health; Household Air Pollution; Emerging Infectious Diseases, Environmental Justice and Disparities, Impacts of Peri-urbanization; and Public Perceptions of Environmental Risks. His current interests related to methods include Citizen Science and its role in Community Engaged Research. He has considerable experience with field-based research in India, Viet Nam, Pakistan, Nepal, and The Philippines. Prior to joining the EWC in 2001, he was at The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi, India. He has a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India. |
Performer: Benjamin Fairfield
Benjamin Fairfield served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 2007-2009 and received his PhD and MA in Ethnomusicology from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. His ongoing research focuses on ethnic identity in northern Thailand as mediated by music with a particular emphasis on participatory genres, materiality, and ecomusicology. He currently serves as affiliate faculty at the University of Hawai‘i Music department, works in the East-West Center Education Program, and collaborates with Karen (Pgaz k’Nyaw) musician, activist, and scholar Chi Suwichan Phatthaphraiwan on various academic and creative projects. You can hear and see more of his recycled instrument projects on Instagram (#MUS311) |
NOV 7 (Week 7): Mekong Delta
Starting in the Tibetan Himalayas, the Mekong River travels southeast through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, before eventually flowing into the South China Sea via the Mekong Delta. Recognizing that water is finite yet critical to life, there is broad recognition among people of the importance of good governance of the Mekong Delta yet debate on how best to do this. In this session, Dr. Ming Li Yong, East-West Center Research Fellow and expert on the Mekong Delta, will discuss hydropower and environmental governance of the Mekong River. By weaving this concept into our own lives, we can ask, “How can we govern the water sources in our home countries?”
Speakers and Performers
Speaker: Dr. Ming Li Yong
Dr. Ming Li Yong is currently a Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. She researches transboundary water governance in the Mekong River Basin, particularly issues relating to community-based natural resource management, civil society movements and strategies, public participation, and the institutional arrangements that influence the politics of water resources development. She obtained her Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Sydney in 2019, and has taught courses on environmental ethics, food, and sustainability as a Part-Time Lecturer at the National Institute of Education in Singapore, and as a Lecturer at The School for Field Studies’ Center for Conservation Studies and Development and the Pannasastra University of Cambodia in Siem Reap. |
Performer: Virginia Prak
Virginia Prak is a traditional Cambodian classical and folk dancer with over 21 years of training with the Angkor Dance Troupe in her hometown of Lowell, MA. Currently residing and teaching Cambodian dance to kids in Honolulu, Prak has trained with esteemed master teachers from the Royal University of Fine Arts, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and performed across the U.S, and worldwide, including in The Philippines, Cambodia, and France. Khmer dance has allowed Prak to become culturally aware of the arts as well as connect with her own Cambodian American identity and the larger Cambodian diaspora. For Prak, learning about her cultural roots has substantially impacted her personally, the diasporic community, and most importantly, the youth she teaches. Prak believes Khmer dance inspires youth by the many opportunities it brings as well as encourages good character, determination and hard work. She also believes it bears peace; that with passion and love, dance can wondrously connect people together no matter where in the world they live. |
NOV 14 (Week 8): Connecting with Ourselves
The future of East-West Center is dependent on the actions of today's generation of participants. By reflecting on the past experiences of EWC, we can develop ourselves to make our own impact within this world. Current participants will be asked to think, "How can we utilize our collective knowledge and traditions to make our own impact on this world?" By weaving our collective experiences and knowledge, we create a mat that stays connected and grows indefinitely, while giving our future generations a road map to do the same.
Speakers and Performers
Malia Michelle Kaio, MSW
A daughter, sister, mother, and aunt, Malia Michelle Kaio is a Kanaka Maoli Wahine with roots in both Wahiawā, Oahu, and Keaukaha, Hawaii Island. Malia is a social worker and ‘āina-based healer who practices decolonizing methodologies to help people heal themselves, their relationships with others, and with the living environment. Currently a program coordinator at the UH Mānoa Women’s Center, Malia seeks to support students who experience gender-related disparity and injustice; creates innovative, culturally-grounded opportunities for students to reflect, learn, and heal; and invites students to learn about and engage in Native Hawaiian cultural practices while providing a safe environment for students to explore decolonizing perspectives that can help them face complex challenges in their academic institution and their lives. In these ways Malia hopes to continue blending theory with cultural practice to help students and our communities to holistically heal and enjoy wellness. ʻAʻohe pau ka ʻike i ka halau hoʻokahi. #203 ʻŌlelo Noʻeau All knowledge is not taught in the same school. One can learn from many sources. |
Laʻameaakainoapo Paleka, Mea Himeni
Ka mo’opuna I ke alo. The grandchild in the presence. Blessed with the genes of music from her kupuna and makuahine. La’amea Paleka was born and raised in Makiki, Kona, O’ahu and now resides in the Papakolea Homestead. She carries the music legacy of both her ʻOhana the Kidder’s, from Waianae, and the Paleka’s, from Molokaʻi. She is known as the songbird of her time. From a young age she learned to play the upright bass, electric bass, guitar, ukulele, to sing and harmonize. Now as a full-time musician, she strives to find balance in performing, learning, writing and teaching her ʻOhana about the music and culture of our kupuna. Her goal is to preserve and perpetuate our Hawaiian language, through songs, stories, hula & hana no’eau (arts & crafts) and most of all with the essence of Aloha. |