The application deadline for the 2008 program has passed.

Each year the East-West Center invites rising young leaders from the United States and Asia Pacific to participate in The New Generation Seminar (NGS), a two-week intensive educational and dialogue program. The program is developed around a thematic focus and provides participants with an opportunity to strengthen their understanding of regional developments and challenges, increase their contacts with counterparts in the region, and to become more effective leaders with an international perspective. The first week of the program is held in Hawaii. In discussions with East-West Center researchers, other experts in the Hawaii community and one another, participants are introduced to key regional policy issues such as international relations, security, economics, population, health and environment. The second week involves field travel to either the United States or Asia Pacific for exploration of the program theme. 

Through a generous grant from the Freeman Foundation, the East-West Center covers all air and ground travel expenses, meals, lodging and other per diem expenses for the participants related to the two-week program.

18th New Generation Seminar

“The Politics of Globalization”
September 21-October 5, 2008
Honolulu, Hawaii; Youngstown, Ohio; and Washington, DC

As Americans prepare to elect new national leadership in November 2008, candidates are already staking their positions in key areas such as security and the economy. An increasing number of Americans are feeling insecure about their personal financial situation and the state of the U.S. economy, fears that are being directed at both politicians and globalization. While most Americans acknowledge that the global economy has brought benefits, real-life financial strains experienced by those who have lost jobs or seen declining pay and benefits coupled with steady headlines about mounting trade deficits, illegal immigration and defective, unsafe products have eroded public support for globalization. How will election-year politics shape and define the American debate on globalization? How will public sentiments affect policies on everything from foreign diplomacy and global trade to domestic concerns such as the economy, education, health care and immigration?

Policy and decision makers in the 18^th New Generation Seminar will spend one week at the East-West Center in Honolulu discussing broad Asia Pacific regional issues in areas such as international relations, economics, security, resource use and environment with local experts and one another. They will then travel to the U.S. mainland to explore the perceptions, politics and realities of the impact of globalization in the United States and throughout the Asia Pacific, and how election-year politics affect popular opinion, shape globalization debates and influence national policies. Participants will examine these issues first hand in a visit to Youngstown, Ohio, a “rust-belt” manufacturing town that is emblematic of the economic, political, social and cultural challenges posed by the global economy. They will proceed to Washington, DC to explore the issues in the broader context of the U.S. presidential election and national level policymaking, especially as it relates to U.S. engagement with other nations throughout the Asia Pacific region.

For full details on the 18th New Generation Seminar program agenda, please download the 18th NGS Background Summary.

The first New Generation Seminar was held in 1988, and since then a total of 262 participants from 24 Asia Pacific countries and the United States have participated in 17 seminars. The continuity of the program has been made possible by generous grants from the Freeman Foundation, which has funded the program for the past 12 years.

Ann Hartman
NGS Program Coordinator
Phone: (808) 944-7619
Fax: (808) 944-7600
E-mail: ngs@eastwestcenter.org