IVLP Highlight: Sharing U.S. Best Practices with Thai Journalists

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

When International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) participants learn that they will be traveling to Hawaiʻi as part of their IVLP program, they are often ecstatic, envisioning picture-perfect sunsets, mai tai cocktails on the beach, and a harmonious, unspoiled paradise.  They quickly come to understand through their professional meetings that Hawaiʻi’s communities face their own unique and deeply complex challenges spanning all sectors of society, government, the environment, and the economy. Hawaiʻi’s geographically isolated location means limited resources and one of the highest costs of living in the world. These challenges were exacerbated with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted the state’s tourism-dependent economy, education, and healthcare systems. 

In September 2022, the Pacific & Asian Affairs Council (PAAC) hosted a group of four journalists from Thailand whose IVLP project, “Sharing U.S. Best Practices,” tasked them with observing and learning about case studies across a myriad of sectors in each of the major U.S. cities they visited. In Hawaiʻi, their entire program took place on Oʻahu, where they visited ʻIolani Palace, the official royal residence of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi’s ruling monarchy. Here, they learned about Hawaiʻi’s kānaka maoli (Native Hawaiian population), and the indigenous heritage that continues to shape Hawaiʻi’s culture and society to this day.  The visit, as well as subsequent meetings with representatives of Sierra Club Hawaiʻi and the Honolulu Civil Beat, helped the journalists understand the magnitude of the ongoing “Red Hill Water Crisis,” a public health and environmental crisis currently impacting thousands of residents on Oʻahu. The group also met with East-West Center fellows conducting critical research on vulnerable delta regions throughout Southeast Asia. Drawing parallels between and identifying common challenges experienced by, Hawaiʻi and Thailand’s fragile ecosystems, legal systems, and journalism sectors, the group departed with a far better understanding of the reality faced by local communities. 

While the return to in-person programming has presented the IVLP network with unique challenges, there is no doubting the joy we feel hosting groups in our communities again.  Mahalo to Cultural Vistas, the East-West Center, Sierra Club Hawaii, the Honolulu Civil Beat, and the docents at ʻIolani Palace, for making our journalists’ visit a success. 

For more information on IVLP, contact Erin Hoshibata at iv@paachawaii.org