East-West Center Honors Distinguished Alumni

HONOLULU (Nov. 14) – As part of its biennial alumni conference, being held this year in Bali, Indonesia, the East-West Center honored several alumni at a luncheon today for their outstanding personal accomplishments and service toward the Center’s mission of helping to promote better relations and understanding among the peoples of Asia, the Pacific and the United States.

Three individuals received the Center’s biennial Distinguished Alumni Award:

Dr. Riley K. Lee, who is recognized internationally as an outstanding performing artist of the traditional shakuhachi Japanese flute. As the most widely known and influential s hakuhachi performer of non-Japanese ancestry, Dr. Lee is highly respected by Japanese musicians, music critics, scholars and audiences. He has made over fifty commercially released recordings and has performed all over the world.
Dr. Kuldeep Mathur , who has served as rector of India’s Jawaharlal Nehru University and director of the Indian Institute of Public Administration. Dr. Mathur took the lead in expanding the frontiers of public administration to encompass broader issues of governance, including persuading Jawaharlal Nehru University to establish a multi-disciplinary Centre for the Study of Law and Governance. A widely respected senior member of the social science community in India, he served as president of the East-West Center alumni chapter in Delhi for many years.
Dennis C. Zvinakis (posthumous). Mr. Zvinakis gave tirelessly throughout his career as an Agency for International Development (AID) foreign service officer and development professional in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Toward the end of his career, he was the AID representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Asia Environmental Partnership. After retirement, he accepted his greatest challenge by establishing a USAID Mission in Vietnam in 2004, soon after the U.S. and Vietnam began diplomatic relations. His efforts resulted in the development of an historical program in Vietnam, with an emphasis on agricultural development, public health and environmental projects.

In addition, the Center honored a number of individuals and alumni chapters for their outstanding volunteerism and service to the Center and its mission.

The East-West Center Association Makana Award was presented to longtime Indonesia Chapter and EWCA Executive Board leader Didin Sastrapradja. The Makana Award (Makana means “gift” in the Hawaiian language) is given in recognition of life-long dedication to the East-West Center’s mission and service to its alumni. For more than 30 years, Mr. Sastrapradja has provided leadership and advice to the Center’s alumni association, benefitting the association substantially through his gentle and persuasive approach, which is respected by all.

From left to right: Puongpun Sananikone, Chair, EWC Board of Governors, Joseph L. Overton, Claire Koch Langham Richmond, Charles E. Morrison, EWC President, U Maung Maung, and Larry Foster, EWCA President. Click image to enlarge.

Recipients of the Outstanding Volunteer Award were:

U Maung Maung (Burma)
Joseph L. Overton (United States)
Claire Koch Langham Richmond (San Diego, U.S.A.)
A. Seshan (Mumbai, India)

Outstanding Chapter Awards were given to EWC alumni chapters in Bangkok , Thailand and Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The EWC/EWCA 2008 International Conference is being held Nov. 13-15 at Bali’s Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel. The conference is jointly presented by the East-West Center, an internationally recognized education and research institution headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the East-West Center Association, the organization that represents the Center’s 55,000 alumni throughout Asia, the Pacific and the U.S., many of whom now serve in positions of responsibility in their respective fields. Sessions at the conference are focused on current regional issues, including international relations, security, democracy and Islam, global warming, volunteerism, gender issues, innovation, health, business, and social and cultural issues.

The Indonesian chapter of the Center’s alumni association is helping support the conference. Some 2,570 Indonesian scholars, researchers and professionals in business, government, journalism and the arts have participated in East-West Center cooperative programs since the Center was established in 1960.

For more information about the conference, visit: www.eastwestcenter.org/bali2008

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The EAST-WEST CENTER is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. The Center contributes to a peaceful, prosperous and just Asia Pacific community by serving as a vigorous hub for cooperative research, education and dialogue on critical issues of common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States. Funding for the Center comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and the governments of the region.