Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 10, 1 October 2011 — PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING

A group of leaders in community activism and minority rights visited OHA Sept. 1 5 as part of the U.S. State Department-sponsored lnternational Visitor Leadership Program aimed at promoting mutual understanding between the U.S. and other countries. Twelve participants from 1 1 countries - Australia, Burma, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Laos, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, People's Republic of China, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam - spentfour days in Hawai'i to learn about the America's multicultural history and its ramifications, existing policies and strategies to protect and promote minority rights, and how groups work with state and loeal governments to ensure minority rights. The group was welcomed by OHA Chief Advocate Esther Kia'āina, seventh from right, and OHA Chief Operating Officer Richard Pezzulo, behind her. Kia'āina and Pezzulo briefed the group on Hawaiian history and the various avenues for achieving redress and recognition at the federal and state levels, such as the recently enacted state Hawaiian Recognition Bill. - Photo: LisaAsato

OHAIN THE COMMUNITY