International Visitor Leadership Program Highlights
Keli'i Kotubetey, Founder and Assistant Executive Director of Paepae o He'eia gave leaders from 21 countries a memorable experience touring the fishpond at He'eia. The visit spanned native Hawaiian culture, knowledge, and customs and gave visitors insight into working with government and the community to preserve tradition and the environment. The group also met with University of Hawaii Sea Grant Center for Sustainable Coastal Tourism, National Park Services at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Lyon Arboretum, and Hanauma Bay Education Program to discuss the protection, stewardship, and sustainable use of natural resources.
Suzanne Fraser, President of Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai‘i (B.E.A.C.H.) explains to Indonesian leaders how to sort debris from Kamilo beach. Kamilo beach on Hawaii Island is known for its accumulation of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The group also met with experts in the field of hazardous waste remediation, including Weston Solutions Hawaii, State of Hawaii Department of Health, U.S. Navy Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii, City & County of Honolulu Department of Environmental Services, and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program.
Twelve visitors from Southeast Asia and the Pacific met with security experts under the program theme of "Law of the Sea: Maritime Security." Here they are being welcomed by U.S. Pacific Fleet's Protocol Officer to the Commander, Lieutenant Zachary Elkin, before touring the U.S. Pacific Fleet's boathouse and embarking on the Remembrance Barge Tour of Pearl Harbor. The group also met with experts from the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Director Patricio Abinales of the University of Hawaii's Center for Philippines Studies.
Australian visitor Matthew Plant works to advance education and health for aboriginal youth. A visit to Ke Kula 'o Samuel M. Kamakau Laboratory Public Charter School allowed him to experience a day in a Hawaiian language immersion school. While at the school, he happily answered students' eager questions about kangaroos and indigenous Australians. Mr. Plant also met with the UHM School of Hawaiian Knowledge & Center for Hawaiian Studies, State of Hawaii Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Mana Maoli, Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, and North Shore EcoTours.