COMING UP IN MARCH 2002 AT THE EAST-WEST CENTER

• When Cultures Meet: Finding Common Ground March 2
  
• Asia Pacific Executive Forum, in Manila March 5-7
  
• Northeast Asia Economic Forum, in Alaska March 6-8
  
• Demographic Transition March 8-9
  
• Civil Society and Political Change in Asia March 16-19
  
• Joint Commercial Commission March 12
  
• Pacific Island Leaders Standing Committee March 13-14
  
• EWC Board of Governors to Meet March 15
  
• “An International Affair” Annual EWC Dinner March 15
  
• Asian Studies National Conference in Atlanta March 14-16
  
• POSCO Fellowships Extended
  
• Hong Kong Journalism Fellowships
  
• Chinese Carbon Dioxide Emissions
  
• India Classical Music / Arts Forum / Chinese Opera Exhibition
  
• Looking Ahead . . . “Fixing Japan’s Economy”

‘WHEN CULTURES MEET’: March 2 at the EWC

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Hawai’i resident William S. Merwin will set the tone for “When Cultures Meet: Finding Common Ground,” a free public program Saturday evening March 2 at the East-West Center. Following will be a presentation by Hawai’ian storyteller Tai’vi Crouch and comments from Ambassador Rex Horoi, Executive Director of the Foundation for the Peoples of the South Pacific, International in Fiji.

This is the capstone event of the four-day Dr. George E. Taylor Symposium on Cultural Conflict and Mediation February 27 – March 2 at the EWC. Named after a pioneering humanist and Asia scholar, the symposium envisions a meeting of the minds among a variety of creative thinkers deliberating on real scenarios of cross-cultural conflict and posing solutions.

The March 2 program will be from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Center’s Keoni Auditorium in the Hawai’i Imin International Conference Center at Jefferson Hall. Other speakers will be:

Lelei Lelaulu from Counterpart International, a non-profit organization that works with indigenous communities throughout the Pacific Rim, and Patricia Shaw, a specialist in First Nations’ linguistics from the University of British Columbia, Canada. The main presenters will offer their observations of the role that core values, or worldviews, play in cross-cultural communication. Afterwards, respondents Karen Umemoto and Paul Pedersen from the University of Hawai’i will add their perspectives on the presentations, followed by a question and answer period with the audience. The evening will conclude with words from Judge Lorintha Warwick of the Yakama Indian Nation in Washington State.

The symposium and program are presented by the Kluckhohn Center for the Study of Values, based in Bellingham, Washington. Kurt Russo, Kluckhohn executive director, notes that this topic is of special importance to the Pacific Rim, where the growth of the global economy and the need for local self-determination can lead to a clash of cultures. The presentations are designed to inspire new ways of thinking through the consequences of diversity and to foster greater understanding for the cultural “other.” For more information, visit the website at www.valuescenter.org

2nd Asia Pacific Executive Forum, March 5-7 in Manila:
Opportunities and Challenges: Business Strategies
in a Changing Economic Environment

The Asia Pacific Executive Forum is designed to bring together senior executives, government policymakers and East-West Center experts for intensive dialogue on critical issues facing the region and how they impact economics and business. As current events have shown, the region's dynamics require ongoing insight into and analyses of the rapid changes taking place and their impacts on long-term strategic planning for corporate leaders. Topics in the Manila session will include:

• Political and Security Challenges in Asia Pacific
• The Global Economic Crisis and Recovery
• The Future of the Multilateral Trade System
• Prospects for the U.S. Economy and Implications for Asia
• Prospects for Northeast Asia: Japan, Korea and China
• Energy Strategy and Resource Constraints: The Philippine Experience
• India: Growth and Future Prospects
• ASEAN and the New Business Environment

The forum is cosponsored by: The East-West Center and the Asian Institute of Management. Platinum Media Sponsor: Philippine Daily Inquirer. Gold Sponsor: Citibank. Supporting Organizations: 22ban.com,Inc., AccessAsia.com, DigitalFilipino.com, Internet Security Systems, ITPros, Pacific Basin Economic Council, TiS Solutions, U.S. Department of Commerce – Honolulu Export Assistance Center and WorldCom.

CONTACT: EWC Seminars Program (808 )944-7682.
E-mail: seminars@EastWestCenter.org

NORTHEAST ASIA ECONOMIC FORUM

Energy issues will be the primary focus of the 11th international conference of the Northeast Asia Economic Forum March 6-8 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska.

A specific topic will concern natural gas from remote or “stranded” sources and energy for stranded customers. The meeting also includes a special session cosponsored by Japan’s National Institute of Research Advancement (NIRA) on environmentally friendly energy use. A session on communications and information technology will discuss efforts to narrow the “digital divide” in Northeast Asia and the potential lessons of the Alaskan model.

The conference host is the Institute of the North at Alaska Pacific University, with the support and cooperation of 15 other organizations, including the East-West Center, Japan’s Committee for the Promotion of an Asian Energy Community (JCPAEC), the U.S. West Coast-Russian Far East Ad Hoc Working Group, and the Institute for Information Policy at Pennsylvania State University.

The program features experts in the fields of energy, environment, development, information technology, and finance. Among them are a former Korean prime minister, a former Japanese foreign minister, a former Korean minister of finance, the senior executive director of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), officials from China, Russia, and Mongolia, and representatives of industry and international organizations. About 100 registrants have been confirmed, mostly from China, Japan, Mongolia, Russia and South Korea, as well as the U.S. and other countries. Registration is open to the public.

The Northeast Asia Economic Forum is a regional, nongovernmental organization that sponsors and facilitates research, networking, and dialogue relevant to the economic and social development of Northeast Asia. The Forum is also committed to promoting understanding and relations among the peoples of Northeast Asia and North America. Forum membership is extended to interested individuals and institutions, through participation in the Forum's annual international conferences. The Forum’s secretariat is located at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i.

CONTACT: Forum Secretariat. Phone: (808) 944-7443
Fax (808) 944-7446 E-mail: yamanec1@eastwestcenter.org

Patterns and Outcomes. DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION UNDER ONE-PARTY HEGEMONY:

March 8-9 at the EWC. Conference on history and processes of democratic transition, discussing various aspects of governance problems that new governments in Mexico and Taiwan are facing. Also, conjecture about the fate of the Kuomintang or Nationalist Party in Taiwan and the Institutionalized Revolutionary Party in Mexico.
CONTACT: Carolyn Eguchi, (808) 944-7510.
E-mail: EguchiC@EastWestCenter.org

Workshop: CIVIL SOCIETY AND POLITICAL CHANGE IN ASIA

March 16-19 at the EWC. This is the first of two workshops to develop an in-depth understanding of the importance and role of civil society vis a vis other actors (domestic and international) in promoting democratic political change in Asia. Countries to be studied include Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand.
CONTACT: Jane Smith-Martin, (808) 944-7526.
E-mail: smithj@EastWestCenter.org

U.S.-PACIFIC JOINT COMMERCIAL COMMISSION: MARCH 12

The regular political-level meeting of the United States/Pacific Island Nations Joint Commercial Commission Trade and Investment Working Group will take place March 12 at the East-West Center. The Joint Commercial Commission (JCC) was proposed in 1990 by then President George H.W. Bush during the United States-Pacific Island Nations Summit held at the East-West Center. The objective of the JCC is to promote mutually beneficial commercial and economic relations between the United States and the Pacific island nations. Delegates from 13 Pacific island nations and the United States are invited to take part in the March 12 meeting, which serves as the primary mechanism for government-to-government talks on issues that can enhance trade and investment in the region.

CONTACT: Scott Kroeker, (808) 944-7721.
E-mail: kroekers@EastWestCenter.org

PACIFIC ISLAND LEADERS TO MEET AT EAST-WEST CENTER Heads of government and officials from throughout the Pacific will convene March 13-14 at the East-West Center for the 27th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders.

At the conclusion of the Pacific Islands Conference held here in January 2001, Federated States of Micronesia President Leo A. Falcam was elected to lead the regional organization’s Standing Committee for the next three years. His Highness Prince ‘Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, prime minister of Tonga, was elected vice chairman.

The Standing Committee conducts the full 22-member PICL’s business between summit sessions, held every three years. The EWC Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) serves as the secretariat and research arm of the Pacific Islands Conference Standing Committee. The PIDP’s research and training activities are developed as a direct response to the issues identified by the Conference of Leaders. CONTACT: Sitiveni Halapua, PIDP Director, (808) 944-7724.
E-mail: halapuas@EastWestCenter.org

EWC BOARD OF GOVERNORS TO MEET MARCH 15

The East-West Center Board of Governors will meet at 10 a.m. Friday, March 15 in the Pacific Room of the Hawai’i Imin International Conference Center at Jefferson Hall. The meeting is open to the public.

An International Affair 2002
EAST-WEST CENTER FOUNDATION ANNUAL DINNER

A silent auction of unique Asian and Pacific items . . . cuisine prepared by top chefs from India . . . an address by the chairman of India’s largest industrial conglomerate . . . all will be part of An International Affair 2002, the East-West Center Foundation’s annual dinner on Friday, March 15, 2002 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom. Cocktails and the silent auction begin at 6 p.m. followed by the dinner and program at 7 p.m. Individual seats are $100 per person. Contributions exceeding $70 per person are tax deductible as permitted by U.S. law. Honorary chairs are George R. Ariyoshi and Kenneth F. Brown. Chairs of the event are Joan Bickson and Lyn Anzai.

• The event will celebrate the culture of India and feature cuisine prepared by five award-winning chefs from the Taj Mahal Hotel in India who will use spices that they bring with them from Mumbai. Hemant Oberoi, corporate chef-Luxury Division and Executive Chef-The Taj Mahal Hotel, will personally direct the food preparation. In addition to wine, special teas will be served with each course.
  
• The featured speaker will be Ratan N. Tata, chairman of Tata Industries Limited and a member of the East-West Center Board of Governors. He also serves as chairman of Tata Sons Limited, the lead holding company of the 130-year old Tata Group, India’s largest industrial and technological conglomerate. He joined the Tata Group in 1962 and was named chairman of Tata Industries where he was responsible for transforming the company into a group strategy think-tank and promoter of new ventures in high-technology businesses. Tata will be presented with an East-West Center award in recognition of his work in promoting the Center’s mission of building an Asia Pacific community.
  
• Silent auction items include an Indonesian batik hand carved mask, Alexandrite ring in 14k gold and celebrity items such as an autographed guitar from Willie Nelson. Proceeds from the auction will benefit student scholarships to the East-West Center. EWC student participants in national dress from countries throughout Asia and the Pacific and the United States also will attend.

CONTACT: Gary Yoshida, (808) 944-7196. For additional information and a preview of items available for the silent auction, visit the event’s website: An International Affair 2002



Asian Studies National Conference 2002:

This is the 9th annual meeting for Asian Studies Development Program alumni and other interested college faculty. It will be March 14-16, hosted by Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia. Participants will share their strategies for infusing Asian studies into the undergraduate curriculum.

Featured speakers include Diana Eck of Harvard University, a specialist on the comparative study of religion, particularly India; Mary Brown Bullock, President of Agnes Scott College, speaking on 20th century China and US-Asia relations; and Peter Nosco, a Japanese historian from the University of Southern California.

CONTACT: Peter Hershock, (808) 944-7757
E-mail: hershocp@EastWestCenter.org

POSCO PROGRAM ENDOWMENT EXTENDED

The POSCO Visiting Fellowship Program, endowed by the Pohang Iron and Steel Corporation in South Korea, has been extended for five years (2002-06), with an annual grant of $100,000 administered through the Korea Foundation. The purpose of the POSCO Fellowships is to promote discussion, research, and policy dialogue on political, economic, and security issues concerning Korea in the context of Northeast Asia. “During the past five years, the program has supported 45 distinguished and highly qualified scholars and diplomats, mostly from academic and research institutions in North America,” said project principal investigator Lee-Jay Cho of the East-West Center.

POSCO fellowships Coordinator Choong Nam Kim noted that the program provides a significant focus within the EWC for research on Northeast Asia and Korea. The Fellows present their research findings at EWC seminars and publish them in EWC and external publications. The seminars have attracted wide audiences from the Hawai’i community.

HONG KONG JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIPS

The March 15-20 Hong Kong Journalism Fellowships (rescheduled from fall 2001), includes a two-day China Seminar at the East-West Center and a study tour to Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The fellows will meet with business executives, scholars, journalists, political leaders and government officials.

The participants, senior print and broadcast journalists from United States' news media organizations, are: Stephen H. Dunphy, Business Columnist, Seattle Times; Andrea Guthmann, Public Affairs Producer, WTTW-TV, Highland Park, IL, Alec Klein, Business Writer, The Washington Post; Louis Kraar, Editor (Asia), Board of Editors, Fortune Magazine, New York; Avrum D. Lank, Financial Columnist, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Melissa Long, Morning Anchor/Reporter, “Sunrise Live,” WROC-TV Channel 8 , Rochester, NY; Kitty Pilgrim, Anchor and Correspondent, CNN Financial News, New York; and Nicolas B. Tatro, Deputy International Editor, The Associated Press, New York.

The Fellowships, established in 1996, are co-sponsored by the Better Hong Kong Foundation and the East-West Center to promote better public understanding in the United States of the diversity and complexity of political, economic, social and cultural issues in Hong Kong and mainland China.

The Better Hong Kong Foundation was established in 1995 by 21 leading Hong Kong business and community leaders to share their confidence in the future of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) with overseas business, media and political leaders. This is the fourth Hong Kong Journalism Fellowships program co-sponsored by the Better Hong Kong Foundation and the East-West Center.

CONTACT: Marilyn Li , (808) 944-7258.
E-mail: lim@EastWestCenter.org

Research Program Seminar: Environmental Economics and Policy: “Forecasting Chinese Co2 Emissions,” by Richard T. Carson, Department of Economics, University of California, San Diego. Friday, March 1, Noon to 1 p.m., Burns Hall Room 2012.

Concert: Indian Classical Music

Sunday, March 3. Featuring Kartik Seshadri, sitar, and Arup Chattopadhyay, tabla. Imin Center-Jefferson Hall, East-West Center, 4 p.m. General admission: $10, Students, senior citizens, military, FEWC members $8. Tickets available at the UHM Campus Center Box Office (Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Saturdays 8:30 a.m.-12 noon) or charge-by-phone 944-7177.

Sitar, the most popular stringed instrument in India, was introduced to Western audiences by the Beatles and by their guru, Pandit Ravi Shankar. The instrument’s rich and complex sound is made possible by seven main playing strings and thirteen sympathetic resonating strings. As usual, in this concert the sitar is paired with the tabla, a drum set capable of producing various tone colors and complicated rhythmic patterns.

Kartik Seshadri is internationally acclaimed as one of the outstanding sitarists of the present generation of Indian classical musicians and the foremost disciple of Ravi Shankar. Kartik’s prodigious talents were hailed by critics and prominent musicians throughout India when he began performing full-length recitals at the age of 6. Besides concertizing at the most prestigious venues in India, Kartik’s recent performances have included the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, the Asia Society, and museums and universities across the U. S.

Arup Chattopadhyay is one of the most sought after tabla drum artists of the younger generation today. As a premier disciple of the internationally known Pandit Shankar Ghosh, Arup has established himself both as an accompanist and soloist. He has accompanied musicians such as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Rajan and Sajan Mishra, V. G. Jog, Ajoy Chakraborthy, Ashish Khan, and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

CONTACT: William Feltz (808) 944-7612.
E-mail: feltzb@EastWestCenter.org

Arts Forum: “Sounds of Heaven, Songs of Earth”

An Introduction to Chinese Music. Tuesday, March 12, 2002, 5 p.m. A multimedia presentation by Dr. Frederick Lau, ethnomusicologist, UHM Music Department and music director, UHM Kennedy Theatre's production of "Judge Bao and the Case of Qin Zianglian" East-West Center Gallery Admission free.


L o o k i n g A h e a d . . .
Fixing Japan’s Economy, April 8 symposium, National Press Club, Washington, D.C. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with luncheon featuring R. Glenn Hubbard, chair of the Council of Economic Advisors. Registration is $85; or $65 for JIAP members. Moderator: Gillian Tett, former Tokyo correspondent for the Financial Times and currently working on a book on Japanese banking reforms. Speakers will include experts from the European Institute of Japanese Studies, Stockholm School of Economics; University of Chicago; University of California, Berkeley; and East-West Center and U. of Hawai’i.
For Information: Sumner LaCroix, (808) 944-7508
E-mail: lacroixs@EastWestCenter.org


Continuing: Exhibition: “XiQu: The Beauty of Chinese Opera” through April 6. EWC Gallery. Call (808) 944-7612.

April 6: Washington, D.C.: Reception at the Association for Asian Studies meeting, hosted by the Washington, D.C. chapter of the EWC Alumni Association (EWCA).

April 16: Exhibition: "Nature and Spirit: Works by Zhiyuan Cong." Painter and printmaker Cong will be an EWC artist-in-residence during April.

April 28: Spring Jefferson Fellowship Program for Journalists through May 25.

May 30: Annual East-West Summer Seminar on Population – to June 29.

May 12-16: Pacific Island Technical Training Planning Workshop.

May 14-26: 3rd Asia Pacific Journalism Fellowships (in Honolulu, Singapore and Taipei).

June 3-5: Senior Seminar on Environment: Greenhouse Gases.

July 1-4: EWCA/EWC International Alumni Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

August 4-7: Senior Policy Seminar.

September 1 12th New Generation Seminar, through September 15.

September 9-16 Women in Leadership.

October 4-9 Chaplin Fellow in Distinguished Journalism.

October 5-8: 35th Anniversary Jefferson Fellows Alumni Conference.

October 6: Fall Jefferson Fellowships (through November 2).

October 27-30: 3rd Asia Pacific Conference on E-Commerce.

November 10-24: 3rd US-Japan Journalism Exchange (in Honolulu, US mainland and Japan).

November 25: Pacific Island Technical Training Program (through December 5).