COMING UP IN MARCH 2003

CLIMATE IN TRANSITION
Moving past being victims to becoming informed planners

INTERNAL CONFLICTS IN ASIA
Exploring strategies and solutions for peaceful settlement

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION DAY – March 12
Featuring Veteran Newsman Sander Vanocur

HONG KONG JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIPS
Analyzing complex political, social, economic and cultural issues

ASIAN STUDIES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
National Conference; China and the Carolina Connection

EWC FOUNDATION DINNER RESCHEDULED
Annual event to be held July 14

IN THE ARTS . . . “HIDDEN PASSION”
Metalwork by Women Artists of Japan, Korea, Taiwan & Hawaii

LOOKING AHEAD
Events from next month to 2006

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LIVING WITH A CLIMATE IN TRANSITION

Earth's climate is in a state of flux. Losses due to weather-related disasters have soared recently—especially in the Pacific, where island environments, societies, and infrastructures are particularly vulnerable.

Whether in terms of relatively short-term shifts (climate variability) or long-term climate change associated with greenhouse gases, the consequences of changing climate conditions appear to be unprecedented.

Eileen Shea, East-West Center climate projects coordinator, notes that for generations, human response to climate events has been just that: response after the fact to phenomena that neither residents nor scientists adequately understood. Now, a growing body of information about the causes of climate events is enabling Pacific Islanders and others to anticipate events and move past being victims to become informed planners.

This new knowledge can only be successfully applied via dynamic partnerships between science and society, Shea says. Particularly promising is the emerging field of climate risk management, in which disaster management and climate science communities unite, forming model partnerships to plan for the inevitabilities linked with the planet's variable and changing climate.

• Shea discusses these issues in a new EWC publication: “Living with a Climate in Transition: Pacific Communities Plan for Today and Tomorrow” AsiaPacific Issues No. 66, 8 pages. PDF file: Living with a Climate in Transition.

Shea was the founder and executive director of the Center for the Application of Research on the Environment, located in Calverton, Maryland. Earlier she served as the deputy director of the Climate and Global Change Program of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
She can be reached at: (808) 944-7253. E-mail: SheaE@EastWestCenter.org

INTERNAL CONFLICTS IN ASIA

This multiyear project (2002-2007) investigates the domestic, transnational, and international dynamics of internal conflicts in the Asia Pacific and explores strategies and solutions for the peaceful management and eventual settlement of these conflicts.

Funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the first phase (2002-2004) investigates internal conflicts arising from the political consciousness of minority communities in response to the nation- and state-building projects of the national elite in China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The first meeting was held in Virginia last fall.

The second round of workshops will be held separately for each study group.

• The Aceh and Papua study group will meet March 19-21 in Bali and Jakarta, Indonesia.
• The Southern Philippine study group will meet in Manila March 24-25.
• The Tibet and Xinjiang study group will meet May 5-6 at a location to be announced.

Based on discussions throughout the meetings, 5 books and 20 policy papers have been commissioned.

PROJECT DIRECTOR: Muthiah Alagappa, EWC Washington.
Phone: (202) 293-3995, ext. 20. E-mail: alagappm@EastWestCenter.org

ANNUAL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION DAY LUNCHEON
“Can Democracy Survive Mass Media?”
with Sander Vanocur

Wednesday, March 12 at the East-West Center, Hawaii Imin International Conference Center at Jefferson Hall. 11:30 a.m. registration. Noon luncheon. Cost: $14. Parking: $3. For information and registration call the East-West Center at (808) 944-7111.

Sponsors: The Honolulu Community-Media Council, East-West Center, Society of Professional Journalists and the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council.

Vanocur is a veteran of more than 40 years in print, radio and television journalism. He joined NBC News in 1957 and served as White House correspondent and National Political correspondent. He was Washington correspondent for the Today Show and a contributing editor to the Huntley-Brinkley Report. In 1971 he became senior correspondent for the National Public Affairs Center for Television of PBS. He also has been with the Washington Post and ABC News. He recently completed a video series on the post-war Congress and the media, and a video series on television and the President.

HONG KONG JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIPS

March 18 - April 2. The Hong Kong Journalism 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 Fellows invited for this program are senior print and broadcast journalists from United States' news media organizations.

The program includes a two-day China Seminar at the East-West Center and a 10-day study tour to China and Hong Kong. The Fellows will engage in group meetings with business executives, scholars, journalists, political leaders and government officials.

Participating will be:

• Andrew W. Cassel, Business Columnist, The Philadelphia Inquirer
• Stuart A. Drown, City Editor, The Sacramento Bee
• Stephanie G. Genkin, Segment Producer, CNN Lou Dobbs Moneyline
• Sara K. Goo, Reporter, The Washington Post
• James P. O’Toole, Political Editor, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Carol A. Pucci, Travel Writer/Editor, The Seattle Times

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

ASIAN STUDIES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:

Ninth Annual National Conference, March 6-9, Scottsdale, Arizona, hosted by Paradise Valley Community College. Discussion topics will include Pacific Rim Dynamics, Asia in Global Connections, Interactions of and with Asian Religions, Confucius and Confucianism, and Identity Politics.

East-West: China and the Carolina Connection. March 23 – 26, Charleston, South Carolina. Workshop for scholars and educators to address issues related to the knowledge and understanding of connections between the societies and cultures of East Asia and the people of the Southeast United States. The workshop will include lectures, panel discussions, and exhibits to explore cultural and economic influences in South Carolina today as a result of the history of interaction between Asia and the Deep South. Participation by invitation. Outside funding: The Freeman Foundation. Sponsored by EWC Education Program: Asian Studies Development Program (ASDP) and cosponsored by Trident Technical College in Charleston, South Carolina.

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

FOUNDATION DINNER RESCHEDULED FOR JULY

The East-West Center Foundation postponed its annual dinner, scheduled for February 12, due to the death of the honoree’s son. The dinner, called “An International Affair,” has been rescheduled for July 14 according to Gary Yoshida, EWC development officer. For information, call (808) 944-7105. The decision to postpone was a result of the sudden death of Dr. Genshitsu (Soshitsu XV) Sen's son, Izumi Soko Masakazu, 44, on February 2. Dr. Sen, former Grand Master of Urasenke, was to receive the Asia Pacific Community Building Award of the East-West Center in recognition of his global promotion both of the culture embraced by the Way of the Tea and of world peace.

In the Arts . . .
“Hidden Passion: Metalwork by Women Artists
of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Hawaii”

Through March 28 in the East-West Center Gallery. Women metalwork artists in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan over the past decade have been joining together to "promote professional bonds and friendships, to share technical approaches, and to expand the scope of cross-cultural appreciation of their different heritages, creative passions and esthetic sensibilities," according to Komelia Hongja Okim, international traveling exhibition coordinator.

This year, the Korean Centennial in Hawai’i, the EWC is showcasing work of 70 Asia-based women metalsmiths with metalwork by Hawai’i women artists.

For further information, and to schedule group tours, call (808) 944-7584.

EWC arts programs are made possible by support from the Hawai'i Pacific Rim Society, the Hawai'i Community Foundation, the Jackie Chan Foundation, the Arthur Goodfriend Fund, Hawaiian Airlines, and by generous contributions to the EWC Foundation.

Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday Noon-4 p.m. Closed Saturdays and holidays. Admission is free. Visitor parking on the adjacent UH campus is $3 and is usually easily available after 4 p.m. weekdays; Sunday parking is normally free and ample.

EWC ARTS CONTACTS: Pattie Dunn (808) 944-7584 or William Feltz, E-mail: feltzb@EastWestCenter.org

L o o k i n g A h e a d . . .

2003

April 9-13: Regional Workshop on Traditions of Dissent in Asian Societies. National Endowment for the Humanities.

April 28 & May 1: Asia Pacific Executive Forum Workshops (Atlanta and Miami).

May 4-31: Spring 2003 Jefferson Fellowships (at EWC April 4-11).

May 5-6: Internal Conflicts in Asia: II (Xinjiang and Tibet Study Groups, Mongolia, China or Singapore).

May 21-23 (tentative): Climate Policy After Marrakesh: Towards Global Participation

May 29 – June 28: 34th Summer Seminar on Population.

June 1 - 28: 10th Workshop on Community-based Management of Forest Lands/ Bangkok.

June 19-22: Annual Meeting of Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast hosted by the EWC Association, EWC, and UH (at EWC).

June 25 – 27: (tentative) Mayor’s Asia Pacific Environmental Summit (MAPES) - Disaster Management in Asia Pacific.

June 29 - July 12: AsiaPacificEd Institute for Teachers (For additional information: AsiaPacificEd Institute

June 29 – July 26: AsiaPacificEd Travel Seminar for Educators. (For additional information: AsiaPacificEd Travel Seminar

June (TBA): U.S.-Japan Overseas Development Agency Dialog Seminar (2 ½ days at EWC).

July 14: “An International Affair,” EWC Foundation annual dinner.

July 23-August 1: Building the Foundation: Professional Development Program for Asia Pacific Resource Managers (at EWC).

August 11-23: The Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Program (at EWC and Sydney, Australia).

August 17-19: 5th Senior Policy Seminar (at EWC).

August 19-23: Internal Conflicts in Asia: III (at EWC).

August 28-29: Asian Global Energy Markets Conference (at EWC).

September 1-14: 13th New Generation Seminar (EWC 9/1-6, Asia 9/7-14).

October 5 – Nov. 1: Fall 2003 Jefferson Fellowships.

November 10-14: 30th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (ISRSE) (with Pacific Disaster Center, in Honolulu).

November 14-19: EWCA Reunion for 1960s Grantees.

2004

March: 3rd Asia Pacific Executive Forum (2-3 days, New Delhi, India).

April: Asia Pacific Conference on Information and Communication Technology (Seoul, 2 ½ days).

August 1–4: EWC/EWCA 2004 International Conference in Tokyo.

2006

July 10-14: EWC/EWCA 2006 International Conference in Taipei.