'What’s Going On?' is a five-week course designed to enhance your understanding of core regional (Asia-Pacific) issues and global trends, and how they impact your area of interest. Each week, we will take a deep dive into specific themes and some signals of change in those areas. We will also use the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate emergency as a lens to understand them.
About the Certificate Series
This series will cover the following themes:
This session takes a deep look at how widespread is the crisis of mis/disinformation. How do we sift through the barrage of information available to us? Who are our trusted sources? How is the landscape changing for where and how we receive information? We will also look at the global trend of misinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic and how it can prepare us for the climate emergency upon us.
Are you living in an aging society, or one that’s reaping the benefits of its demographic dividend? We take a look at how the generational shift is impacting our region. How can generational theory help us understand how different generations relate to global issues, such as climate change? Can this knowledge help us be better leaders for our community?
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to fundamental changes in how we work. In this session, we examine how this has happened and what the future of work looks like. We question why we work to begin with? How many hours a week do we need to work? Is your job even going to exist 50 years from now? We also look at universal basic income as a new economic model to offset the losses from automation.
Floating islands of trash in the Pacific Ocean and heatwaves in Canada should make it clear that our economic models need to change dramatically if we want to survive climate change. In this session, we take a look at how innovative models, such as circular economy and doughnut economy, answer the call for sustainable economic practices. How fragile are global supply chains in the face of raging pandemics and dwindling fossil fuel demand? How are various industries taking up sustainable practices?
In Session Five, the last session of this series, we will review the final deliverables. Participants have the option of choosing one of four mediums for submitting and sharing their final project for this course.
Deliverables:
- Option 1: Submit to the LP team a written reflection of no more than 600 words answering one or all of the questions below.
- Option 2: Prepare an individual presentation of no more than 5 minutes in which you answer the questions below. This presentation will be delivered live during the last session of the course.
- Option 3: Make a video of yourself (no more than 5 minutes) and submit to the LP team your answers to the questions below.
- Option 4: Write and share a blog post or a LinkedIn Article answering the questions below.
- Which of the broad global trends examined in this course applies directly to my work?
- How does it impact my work?
- What actions can I take to prepare for this future?
- What has this course made me curious about?
- Due: Before Session Five
Meet the Facilitator
Hira Siddiqui, APLP G16, is the editor of The Global Tiller newsletter that covers global trends through critical reflection. She has been a journalist and storyteller for over 10 years and has worked extensively in media training and program management. She has an MA in Political Science from the University of Waterloo, Canada.
This five-week course will explore the intersection of peacebuilding and leadership by engaging with a four-quadrant peace leadership model developed by youth from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam. You’ll have the opportunity to learn the basics of several peace leadership skills: nonviolent communication, circle-keeping, and conflict assessment and connect these skills to contemporary issues such as identity, technology, the pandemic, climate change, and political polarization. Peace leadership is practice-based, holistic, reflexive, and highly contextual. As such, come prepared for an interactive and hands-on learning experience.
The last day to sign-up for this certificate is October 1, 2021.
About the Certificate Series
This series will follow the following themes:
Session One – Introduction and Peace Within
What is peace leadership and how does it relate to me? This session will introduce the topic of peace leadership, looking at examples of peace leadership from around the globe. We’ll learn about a four-quadrant peace leadership model developed by Southeast Asian youth, which will be used throughout this course. We’ll then dive into the first quadrant, leading peace within. We’ll consider how our stories, identities, and self-knowledge, including our positionality, form a foundation for honing our peace leadership wisdom and skills.
Session Two – Interpersonal Peace
What does peace leadership look like in the interpersonal context? This session will explore how we can deepen our relationships with others and transform conflicts that arise in our lives. You’ll learn the basics of nonviolent communication and have a chance to practice it with your classmates.
Session Three – Sustaining Peaceful Communities
In this session we’ll turn our attention to communities. What constitutes peace in a community, and how can we make substantive contributions towards sustainable peace in communities? Participants will learn about restorative justice and circle-keeping processes and how they can be utilized as a tool for strengthening communities of practice.
Session Four – Leading Peace in the World
Building off of our peace leadership foundation from the first three sessions, we’ll now shift our gaze to the greater world that we inhabit and share. This session will introduce conflict assessment tools, which can be used to diagnose and potentially intervene in conflicts.
Session Five – Reflection and Final Deliverables
The final class will offer an opportunity for participants to share their final deliverables. This session will also provide space for reflection and critical engagement of the concepts, framing, and practices of peace leadership explored in the course.
Deliverables
- Option 1: Complete a personal peace leadership plan using the four-quadrant model developed in this course. You’re encouraged to visually present the actions you plan to take in each of the quadrants. Due Before Session 5
- Option 2: Complete a conflict assessment using one of the conflict assessment tools that we introduced in Session 4. You can choose to focus on any conflict you like, at any level of society (i.e. individual, community, national/international). Due Before Session 5
- Option 3: Try using nonviolent communication in your daily life and then write a reflection (400-500 words) on your experience including what you learned and any intentions you may have for using nonviolent communication in the future. Due Before Session 5
- Option 4: Make a brief video (1-3 min) of yourself articulating your own personal theory of peace leadership. Draw from your own experiences and the wisdom of your own community, however you may define that. Due Before Session 5
Meet the Facilitator
Wesley Hedden is a PhD student in Peace Studies and Sociology at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame in the United States, where he is exploring social media's impact on interethnic and inter-religious conflict in Southeast Asia. From 2006-2020, Wesley lived in Southeast Asia and founded Sarus, a peacebuilding organization that has run 15 exchange programs between Cambodia and Vietnam, and Bangladesh and Myanmar for over 200 youth leaders. Wesley speaks Spanish, Vietnamese, Khmer, Tagalog, and Burmese. He was a Princeton-in-Asia fellow in 2006, a Rotary Peace Fellow in 2016, and an EWC Asia-Pacific Leadership Fellow in 2016. He earned a BA from Tulane University and an MA in Applied Conflict Transformation Studies from the Paññasastra University of Cambodia.
Gen2: Leadership in a Time of Change
July 28-30, 2021 (July 29-31 in Asia and most of the Pacific Islands)
Save the date, Gen2 is returning! The second annual installment of Gen2 (Gen Squared) is a virtual summit of East-West Center leadership alumni which will bring together people across generations. This generative space showcases and celebrates the variety and diversity in our community. Gen2 offers peer-to-peer collaboration, professional development, leadership learning, inspiration and opportunities to connect.
Visit the Gen2 website!
Humane Artificial Intelligence and Our Collective Future
Dr. Peter D. Hershock, Dr. Emilie Parry, and Dr. Andre Uhl
Thursday, May 6, 2021
4:00 PM-5:30 PM (Hawaii Standard Time | Convert Time)
Machine learning, big data, and Artificial Intelligence are reshaping the human experience. As technology shatters previously foundational certainties and opens entirely new spaces of risk and opportunity, how can we think differently about attention and ethics?
This event will feature a conversation among Dr. Peter Hershock, Director of EWC’s Asian Studies Development Program, and Dr. Andre Uhl and Dr. Emilie Parry, Fellows affiliated with the EWC’s Humane AI Initiative. This talk-story builds from Dr. Hershock’s recently-published book, Buddhism and Intelligent Technology: Toward a More Humane Future, and explores such questions as What are the potential benefits and perils of intelligent technologies? and What can individuals and communities do to counteract the capture and exploitation of our attention and the traces of our intelligent activity—our so-called data exhaust?
This event is relevant for anyone interested in gaining a nuanced perspective of intelligent technology, how we are both shaping and being shaped by it, and what that means for our collective future.
About Buddhism and Intelligent Technology
From the Bloomsbury website: Rather than turning exclusively to cognitive science and contemporary ethical theories, Hershock shows how classical Confucian and Socratic philosophies help to make visible what a history of choices about remaking ourselves through control biased technology has rendered invisible. But it is in Buddhist thought and practice that Hershock finds the tools for valuing and training our attention, resisting the colonization of consciousness, and engendering a more equitable and diversity-enhancing human-technology-world relationship. Focusing on who we need to be present as to avoid a future in which machines prevent us from either making or learning from our own mistakes, Hershock offers a constructive response to the unprecedented perils of intelligent technology and seamlessly blends ancient and contemporary philosophies to envision how to realize its equally unprecedented promises.
Read more about Dr. Hershock's book here.
About the Speakers
Peter Hershock is the Manager of the Asian Studies Development Program (ASDP) and Education Specialist at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai῾i. In his work with ASDP, he designs and directs higher education faculty and institutional development programs that seek to mainstream the study of Asian cultures and societies in the undergraduate classroom. In connection with his work in the Professional Development Program at the Center, he has collaborated in designing and hosting international education leadership programs and research seminars that critically examine the relationships among higher education, globalization, equity and diversity. Most recently, he has helped launch the Center’s initiative on Humane Artificial Intelligence, with a focus on the societal impacts and ethical issues raised by emerging technologies. Trained in Asian and comparative philosophy, his research and writing draw on Buddhist conceptual resources to reflect on and address contemporary issues of global concern.
Emilie Parry is founder of Rootbridge Ecosystems, and co-collaborator / researcher across networks of local, endogenous and Indigenous Peoples engaged around the climate crisis and ecological regeneration. She has bridged praxis, policy and research in the fields of New and Transitioning Markets, ‘Post-Growth’ Economies, social change movements, peace / conflict transformation and transitioning societies, humanitarian and complex emergencies, civilian / child protection, deep ecology, and disaster risk management – in Asia, the Americas, Africa, the UK and Eastern Europe. Emilie recently completed a doctoral-level research degree at the University of Oxford Centre for the Environment, School of Geography & the Environment, seated within the Environmental Change Institute. Her Master’s degree from Brandeis University’s Heller School of Social Policy & Management emphasized sustainable development and conflict transformation, conducted jointly with Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Law School (international rights law, dispute negotiation); Bachelor’s degree is a double major from the University of California at Berkeley in International Development Studies and English. She is a Humane AI fellow with the East West Center.
Andre Uhl is a Humane AI Fellow at the East West Center. His research explores the role of place-based knowledges for the responsible governance of emerging technologies, in particular with regard to deploying Artificial Intelligence in community-based climate action. Andre currently serves as the chair of the IEEE Earth Lab, executive member at the Council on Extended Intelligence (CXI), and technology and innovation fellow at the Planetary Health Alliance. Previously, he was as a reviewer at the Technology and Public Purpose Project at Harvard Kennedy School, founding co-chair of the Sustainable Peace Working Group at Harvard Divinity School, and research fellow at the MIT Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values. Andre is currently completing a PhD in Visual Studies at Harvard University. Previously, he received an MA in New Media from Tokyo University of the Arts under the ‘MEXT’ fellowship program of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and a BA in East Asia Studies and Visual Studies from FU Berlin as a fellow of the German National Academic Foundation.
Courageous Conversations
Gretchen Alther, Scott Nishimoto, José Barzola, and Camaren Ly
Monday, May 10, 2021
3:30 PM-5:00 PM (Hawaii Standard Time | Convert Time)
Leaders are often called upon to facilitate meaningful, civil, and sometimes difficult conversations. Join us to learn about why such conversations are as important as ever, and experience how they can be structured. This highly interactive workshop will include a facilitated courageous conversation and tools for doing this in other spaces. This workshop is relevant for leaders working with teams and communities and anyone wanting to learn more about effective communication in challenging spaces.
About the Speakers
Gretchen Alther builds programs that strengthen individual and community leadership. She is expanding the East-West Center’s leadership programs for women; directs the Center’s flagship residential course, the Asia Pacific Leadership Program; and contributes to other short- and long-term training both in Hawai‘i and across the region. With over 15 years of experience as an international educator and humanitarian, Ms. Alther infuses her program design with a commitment to equity and to grassroots communities. Previously, Ms. Alther designed and managed multimillion-dollar programs to support disaster relief, conflict zone aid, and resilience in marginalized communities in the US, Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, Gaza, Colombia, Haiti and beyond. She has recently worked with the UNFPA Arab States Office to operationalize their resilience framework in Syria and the broader region. Ms. Alther serves on the advisory committee of the Institute for Climate and Peace, and is a founding board member and chairperson of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security. She earned an M.A. from Brandeis University, postgraduate certificates in leadership and peacebuilding from the East-West Center and Chulalongkorn University, respectively, and a B.A. from Texas A&M University.
Scott Nishimoto was born and raised here on the island of O`ahu. He was raised by two incredible storytellers, mentors, and community catalysts – Michiko and Warren, both retired oral historians. The stories they’d bring home to his dinner table about violence, injustice, and inequality inspired him to attend law school to study social justice. There, he became actively involved in community organizing and peace initiatives. After finishing law school, he followed his passion into the non-profit world where he worked with adults with disabilities for nearly seven years at a local non-profit called Abilities Unlimited. In his role as the Vice President of Workforce Development & Community Relations, he was able to develop several innovative programs designed to help adults with disabilities to gain employment, independence, and dignity. Even more than his qualifications, though, Scott believes it’s his identity as a father that shapes his plans and actions for Ceeds of Peace. As the father to his daughter, Elle, he has a deep personal urgency pushing him to bring his community and the world closer to this goal of peace, as distant as it may sometimes seem.
José Barzola has a passion for creating social change through nonviolence, nurturing relationships that transcend cultural barriers, and focusing on issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity. He is a highly organized higher education administrator with almost 20 years of experience and success in administration, student development within academic and student affairs. José has also been an affiliate faculty teaching courses on peace and conflict resolution, a professional mediator and facilitator for almost 10 years both in New York and Hawai῾i. He is currently the Educational Specialist and Affiliate Faculty at the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, a Peace Educator with Ceeds of Peace, a Program Advisor for the Institute for Climate and Peace, and a Board of Director for the Conflict Resolution Alliance, a local nonprofit that aims to develop and support peacebuilders in Hawai'i.
Camaren Ly enhances intercultural communication and develops community as an intern with the East-West Center’s Leadership Program. As one of the first Second Lieutenants to commission into the newly created United States Space Force, Camaren’s previous organizational experiences guide her in innovating creative and authentic leadership programming. Her previous research describes gender in military leadership and examines cultural expectations within niche communities. Camaren holds a B.S. in Foreign Area Studies and Humanities from the United States Air Force Academy, and she is currently pursing research in futures studies and policy reform as an East-West Center Fellow (M.A.) at the University of Hawai῾i at Mānoa.
Caring for Ourselves and Others in Times of Stress
Jenica Wright
Thursday, May 13, 2021
4:00 PM-5:30 PM (Hawaii Standard Time | Convert Time)
Leaders experience stress. The good news is that they can learn to manage it effectively. Resilient leaders have a set of skills and strategies that enable them to engage with the stress of leading. This interactive session will draw on trauma awareness and body stress response to help leaders prepare for and manage stress. This workshop is relevant for those working with teams and communities and for anyone wanting to learn more about effective responses to stress and trauma.
About the Speaker
Jenica Wright is a trauma informed care practitioner focusing on healing centered practices for survivors, activists and helping professionals. She grew up in Honolulu, Hawai῾i and currently lives in Washington, D.C. She strives to contribute to change in the world by providing training and resources on self-care, compassion fatigue, and trauma awareness to individuals and organizations to facilitate healing and help build stronger advocates and communities working for social justice. Learn more about her work here: https://www.jenica-wright.com/
Self-Protection and Mental Coping for EWC Myanmar Alumni
Dr. Miemie Winn Byrd
Saturday, April 3, 2021
9:00 AM-10:30 AM (Myanmar Time)
In response to our Myanmar alumni’s request, Daw Miemie Winn Byrd will provide guidance on how civilians can protect themselves from harm in their day-to-day lives and how to cope mentally in the face of violent threat. She will share expert advice and specific resources with alumni from her 28 years of service in the U.S. Army and 16 years of civilian private-sector and research experience in areas including U.S.-Myanmar (Burma) relations; civil-military operations; and women, peace and security. Dr. Byrd is an East-West Center Adjunct Fellow.
Resources for this session can be found
here.
Word Baskets and Witness Bearing: A Talk Story with Julian Aguon and Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner
Tuesday, April 6, 2020
7:00-8:00 PM HST
The East-West Center welcomes you to a special conversation between authors Julian Aguon and Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner, both alumni of the East-West Center, on their art forms, journey, and the messages they hope to convey through their work. This event celebrates their contributions to the literature of the Pacific Islands, and the release of Julian’s new book, The Properties of Perpetual Light, a collection of soulful ruminations about love, loss, struggle, resilience and power. Join Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner, a poet of international acclaim and member of the Climate Envoy for the Republic of the Marshall Islands government, and Julian Aguon, a human rights lawyer and writer from Guam, for an intimate “talk story” about what motivates them in their work, and what they hope to pass on to younger generations.
About the Speakers
Julian Aguon is an indigenous human rights lawyer and writer from Guam. He is the founder of Blue Ocean Law, a progressive firm that works at the intersection of indigenous rights and environmental justice. He is deeply engaged in the struggles of peoples across Oceania to liberate themselves from colonial rule, defend their sacred sites, and obtain justice for a range of harms inflicted upon them by outside forces—from nuclear weapons testing and non-consensual medical experimentation to extractive industries and climate change. He serves on the Global Advisory Council of Progressive International—a global collective that launched in May 2020 with the mission of mobilizing progressive forces around the world behind a shared vision of social justice.
Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner is a poet of Marshallese ancestry, born in the Marshall Islands and raised in Hawaiʻi. She received international acclaim through her poetry performance at the opening of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in 2014. The University of Arizona Press published her collection of poetry, Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter in 2017. She has created art installations and performances with the Smithsonian and the Queensland Art Gallery, amongst others. In 2019, she was selected as an Obama Asia Pacific Leader Fellow and MIT Director's Media Lab Fellow. She received her Master’s in Pacific Island Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi, and is currently a PhD student at Australia National University. Kathy serves as Climate Envoy for the Republic of the Marshall Islands government and as Director for the Marshall Islands-based youth environmental nonprofit Jo-Jikum.
About the Book
Coming out in March 2021, The Properties of Perpetual Light is a coming-of-age story and a call for justice—for everyone but in particular for indigenous peoples, Aguon's own and others. With bracing prose and bouts of poetry, Aguon weaves together stories from his childhood in the villages of Guam with searing political commentary about everything from nuclear weapons to climate change. Deploying the feminist insight that the personal is political, Aguon culls from the light of his own life experiences, from losing his father to cancer to working for Mother Teresa to meeting Sherman Alexie in a Spokane bookstore, to illuminate a collective path out of the darkness.
About the Event
This event is part of the Distinguished Leaders Speaker Series series hosted by the East-West Center’s Leadership Program. Each month, the series highlights a person leading at the edge of critical issues. This event is co-hosted by the Pacific Islands Development Program; the East-West Center Office of Alumni Engagement, Seminars Program, and Education Program; and the Pacific RISA program at the East-West Center.
Trauma Awareness 101 for Leaders
Jenica Wright
Saturday, April 28, 2021
4:00 - 5:30 PM (Hawaii Standard Time | Convert Time)
The Leadership Program team invites you to register and attend our upcoming April virtual workshop, Trauma Awareness 101 for Leaders with Jenica Wright. Due to the popularity of Jenica's March Trauma Awareness 101 for Leaders session, the Leadership Program is excited to reoffer the session in April. As this is a reoffer, please be aware that the content will be similar to the March session. If you missed it the first time now's your chance!
About the Speaker
Jenica Wright is a trauma informed care practitioner focusing on healing centered practices for survivors, activists and helping professionals. She grew up in Honolulu, HI and currently lives in Washington, D.C. She strives to contribute to change in the world by providing training and resources on self-care, compassion fatigue, and trauma awareness to individuals and organizations to facilitate healing and help build stronger advocates and communities working for social justice. Learn more about her work on her website.
Exploring Feminist Genealogies and Building Democratic Futures to End Violence
Aleyamma Mathew, Ariel Jacobson
Monday, March 8, 2021
1:00-2:30 PM HST
Women can change the course of history. This has been evident in the United States for decades, where even as women of color have suffered most from gendered harassment and violence, they have also been on the frontlines of change. Recently, women of color bookended of one of the most divisive US presidencies ever: The Women’s March marked the beginning of Trump’s presidency, and the votes of women of color marked the end of his presidency. Over this period, Aleyamma Mathew (APLP Generation 5) has continued to amplify the voices and work of women of color as they advocate domestically and build transnational networks for change. Ms. Mathew directs The Collective Future Fund, which identifies, funds, and uplifts distinguished action to eliminate sexual harassment and violence. Join us to hear her talk about why this work is important and the path that has led her to it. She’ll talk about what she has learned along the way, and share some of her biggest questions.
Trauma Awareness 101 for Leaders
Jenica Wright
Tuesday, March 16, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM HST
After a short overview of what trauma is, learn how trauma shows up in our brains and our nervous systems. What are our neuro-biological responses to trauma and what are some practical tools to help us, as leaders and individuals, handle those responses? If you would like to bring modeling clay (or Play-Doh) to this session, and you can make a model of the brain along with Jenica (you will need four different colors).
Applying Trauma Awareness to our Leadership Roles
Jenica Wright
Tuesday, March 23, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM HST
This session will focus on how leaders can apply trauma awareness in their everyday roles. How can leaders who understand trauma responses create a feeling of safety for themselves and their team members? You will learn about regulating the nervous system and creating healing spaces, and have a chance to share with other your ideas on applying these tools.
Trauma Informed Leadership
Jenica Wright
Tuesday, February 16, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM HST
Trauma awareness is increasingly recognized as a core leadership capacity. Join us to learn about trauma, its various forms, and how it shows up in the body. This interactive workshop will include tips for recognizing and dealing with trauma and building resiliency. This workshop is relevant for leaders working with teams and communities and for anyone who wants to learn more about human reactions to trauma.
2021 PILP Alumni Virtual Summit
Pacific Islands Leadership Program
Tuesday, February 23, 2020 - Thursday, February 25, 2020
1:00-3:30 PM HST & 5:00-6:30 PM HST
Due to Covid-19, we are unable to hold the 2021 North Pacific Alumni Summit in-person as originally planned. Instead, we will co-produce a Virtual Summit (online), which means – happily – everyone in the PILP network who wants to join can join. Of course, we would always rather meet in-person, but since this is not possible at present, we will leverage this opportunity to reconnect with as many of you as possible in an interesting, enjoyable and productive way. East-West Center staff have been working from home for the past nine months and, like you, we now have valuable experience running virtual events and interacting online.
We will meet for two sessions per day during work hours with an extended break in-between (excluding the break, that’s approximately 4 hours per day). The first session, hosted by the EWC, will feature advanced leadership training linked to the workplace. After the break, the second session, hosted by PILP alumni in the North Pacific, will feature local Distinguished Leaders from Palau, RMI and FSM discussing local opportunities and challenges which affect the Pacific region as a whole. We welcome ideas and input on all aspects of the event.
Registration for this event is closed to PILP alumni. Click here to visit the 2021 PILP Alumni Summit webpage for more information on this event.
Distinguished Leaders Lecture Series
Amanda Ellis
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
3:00-4:30 PM HST
Achieving gender equality requires learning from best international practices and pinpointing areas for improvement. The Gender Equality and Governance Index (GEGI) taps into some of the world’s best datasets to analyze gender discrimination on a global scale, using five critical pillars: governance, education, work, entrepreneurship, and violence. Join us, along with author and former World Bank Lead Gender Specialist Amanda Ellis, to learn more about the Index, and other tools for accelerating women’s empowerment and ensuring equal rights. The session will include an introduction to these tools and their use, examples of global best practice, and the opportunity to ask questions about pathways to gender equality.
About Amanda Ellis
Amanda Ellis is the President of the East-West Center Association and an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the East-West Center’s Professional Development Program. Her endowment to the EWC provides an annual EWC scholarship for woman leaders. Amanda also serves as the Executive Director of Global Partnerships for the ASU Global Futures Laboratory. She is a former New Zealand Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva (2013-16) and Prime Minister's Special Envoy. An economist by training, Amanda held senior roles at the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and Westpac Banking Corporation. She is a founding member of the Financial Alliance for Women and the recipient of the TIAW Lifetime Achievement Award for services to women's economic empowerment. The author of two best-selling Random House books on women in business, five research titles on gender and growth in the World Bank Directions in Development series, and the co-author of the 2020 Gender Equality and Governance Index, Amanda is the recipient of the TIAW Lifetime Achievement Award for services to women’s economic empowerment.
Endings: Reflective Writing Session
Gretchen Alther
Thursday, December 17, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM HST
Experience a “slow” writing process that encourages reflection in a supportive environment. In response to prompts, you will write for 3-5 minutes, and then choose sections of your writing to read aloud to the whole group. Reflective Writing often reveals new ideas and generates a sense of community. As 2020 draws to a close, this session will explore “endings.” Materials needed: Just pen and paper (writing is done by hand) and an open mind!
Aloha, 2020! Pau Hana
Christina Monroe & Gretchen Alther
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
4:00-6:00 PM HST
Beginnings: Personal Action Planning
Christina Monroe & Gretchen Alther
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
4:00-6:00 PM HST
Guided exercises, using tools developed over 20 years in the Leadership Program, will help you draw on your past and present to consider the future(s). Time will be divided between solo exercises and sharing, as you feel comfortable, with others. Those who have done Personal Action Plans before will benefit from revisiting a familiar exercise or two, while trying out new ones. All welcome!
Gender-Inclusive Leadership Certificate
Gretchen Alther
Part 1: Monday, November 2, 2020, Part 2: Tuesday, November 10, 2020, Part 3: Tuesday, November 17, 2020, Part 4: Tuesday, November 24, 2020
2:00-4:00 PM HST
Gender-balanced teams produce better results, but most organizations lack women and gender minorities at the top. This four-week Gender-Inclusive Leadership course explores leadership within the contexts in which we work and lead. We consider barriers that "non-traditional" leaders may face; look at capacities like influence and emotional intelligence and tools for increasing them; and create action plans for ourselves and our teams.
This course is for anyone--of any gender--interested in exploring and creating gender-inclusive leadership.
Change Leadership
Christina Monroe
Part 1: Wednesday, October 7, 2020 & Part 2: Wednesday, October 14, 2020
10:00-11:30 AM HST
This two-part session offers new insights on change leadership from the fields of organizational development, behavioral sciences, and positive psychology. You will learn new tools to help you manage and even thrive in times of change. We strongly encourage you to join both, but you won’t be turned away at the door (unless you are 15 min late, when we do actually stop admitting)
Recognizing and Using Power & Influence
Gretchen Alther
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
10:00-11:30 AM HST
Influence is a key leadership skill. In this workshop, we will explore sources of power and strategies for influence. We will think about and map out which power sources and influence strategies we have, which we prefer, and which we could grow and practice.
Hula Session
Lori Concepcion
Friday, September 4, 2020
3:30-4:30 PM HST
Why Positive Psychology Should be a Part of Your Life (and everyone else’s too)
Smaranda Ioana Lawrie
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
2:00-3:30 PM HST
This session is for anyone looking to become happier, more resilient, and build a better life (a flourishing life) or improve their organization and community. We’ll cover both the science and practice of Positive Psychology. Empirical work in neuroscience will be provided to explain that change is possible for anyone at any point in their lives. You’ll learn Positive Psychology interventions that you can try out on your own. The second half of the talk will transition away from the individual towards the community, and how it’s been applied in schools and organizations with tremendous results.
Reflective Writing Session on "Love"
Gretchen Alther & Miloni Gandhi
Monday, June 1, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM HST
Experience a “slow” writing process that encourages reflection in a supportive environment. In response to prompts, you will write for 3-6 minutes, and then choose sections of your writing to read aloud. Reflective Writing sessions often reveal new ideas and generate a sense of community. This session will be co-facilitated with LP alum Miloni Gandhi. Materials needed: Just pen, paper, and an open mind!
Gen^2: A Generative Space Across Generations
The Leadership Program Team
Sunday, June 28, 2020 - Saturday, July 4, 2020
Gen^2 (Gen Squared) is a virtual summit for peer-to-peer collaboration and learning that enhances leadership, professional development and celebrates the cultures and arts of the diverse 'Ohana of the EWC leadership alumni. Apply to host a performance, demonstration, workshop, interview, panel, discussion, or a social hour on the topic of your choice.
Purpose:
- People make new connections that seem likely to persist post summit
- People find new ideas that inspire them to do or think something, or learn more, or try something new
- People's perspective of the EWC (and LP) increase in positive ways in terms of things like: relevance to current times, relevance to people's lives (personal and professional), value of the network, desire to be involved with EWC and EWC 'Ohana
- People learned something new of value to their work and/or personal life
- Feel (more) positive about the possibility of communities creating positive change
- Interest in being actively engaged in future events like this, including helping organize one for their own community
Eligibility
Alumni from any East-West Center Leadership Program.
Click here to view the Gen^2 program to learn more about the alumni speakers and sessions.
Reflective Writing Session on "Movement"
Gretchen Alther & Hira Sidiqui
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 & Monday, May 11, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM HST
Experience a “slow” writing process that encourages reflection in a supportive environment. In response to prompts, you will write for 3-6 minutes, and then choose sections of your writing to read aloud. Reflective Writing sessions often reveal new ideas and generate a sense of community. This session will be co-facilitated with LP alum Hira Sidiqui. Materials needed: Just pen, paper, and an open mind! The workshop will be repeated.
Change Leadership Certificate
Christina Monroe
Wednesdays, May 13, 20, 27, and June 3, 2020
4:00-6:00 PM HST
This four-part series offers new insights on change leadership from the fields of organizational development, behavioral sciences and positive psychology. You will learn new tools to help you manage and even thrive in times of change, as well as receive coaching support to make progress within the month on a goal you identify. We recommend you join the certificate together with a colleague/partner who is working with you on the change initiative. This is also a pre-qualification program for upcoming online EWC Innovation Fellows. This certification series is free (estimated value of 2000 USD) but we suggest a donation of 50 USD to an EWC Program of your choice. To meet all qualifications for this certificate, participants need to attend all four sessions.
Power and Influence
Gretchen Alther
Monday, May 18, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM HST
Influence is a key leadership skill. In this live workshop, we'll explore sources of power and also strategies for influence. We’ll think about and map out which power sources and influence strategies we have, which we prefer, and which we could grow and practice.
Yoga Flow
Goi-Chawesa Fischer
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
3:30-4:30 PM HST
Stretch from head to toe with LP alum Goi-Chawesa Fischer. Goi will guide us in a restorative session that gives us time to care for our bodies and minds. The focus will be on relaxing and stretching, with a short meditation and a bit of pranayama (breath exercise). Goi is an experienced online yoga instructor from Thailand who lives with her husband and daughter in Colorado, USA.
Conversation: Environmental Sustainability beyond COVID-19
Ariana Loehr
Monday, May 25, 2020
4:00-5:00 PM HST
Have you noticed any dramatic changes in your environment since the stay-at-home notice was put in place? Join LP alum Ariana Loehr to learn about what impact COVID-19 has had on our environments and discuss future solutions to your sustainability woes.
Leading Hope
Nick Barker
Friday, May 29, 2020
4:00-5:00 PM HST
In times of adversity, we all look for signs of hope. But what is hope? Leaders are under pressure to provide hope for others, but how do you do this? We'll explore the power and pitfalls of hope, map personal sources of hope, and identify ways leaders can broker hope responsibly and effectively. This session will be led by Dr. Nick Barker.
The Futures Series, Continued: Foresight Roadmap for COVID-19
A Discussion with the Founder of Vision Foresight Strategy LLC
Dr. Richard "Kaipo" Lum
Thursday, May 14, 2020
4:00-5:00 PM HST
Join a discussion with Hawaii futurist, Dr. Richard “Kaipo” Lum, as he shares his company’s recently-released U.S. roadmap for COVID-19. Learn why and how they created it, as well as how it can be useful to you and your organization/community in mapping possible and preferred futures. Attendees will get access to the roadmap before the session and submit their own questions and insights, which Dr. Lum will weave into the interactive session.
Four Trajectories for Post-COVID Futures
Alisha Bhagat
Thursday, May 21, 2020
2:00-3:30 PM HST
COVID-19 is exposing many fault lines in the global system and is having strong and unpredictable effects on all aspects of our lives: energy, manufacturing, food supply, finance, science, technology, politics, and social values. As a tool for collective understanding, Forum for the Future (based in NY with offices globally) has outlined four possible post-COVID-19 futures. In this session we will examine these futures and discuss ways to use them in our own organizations. LP alum Alisha Bhagat, a futurist and senior strategist at Forum for the Future, will lead the session.
Reflective Writing Session
Gretchen Alther
Thursday, April 2, 2020 & Tuesday, April 7, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM HST
Experience a “slow” writing process that encourages reflection in a supportive environment. In response to prompts, you will write for 3-5 minutes, and then choose sections of your writing to read aloud to the whole group. Reflective Writing Sessions often reveal new ideas and generate a sense of community. The first sessions will explore “change.” Materials needed: Just pen and paper (writing is done by hand) and an open mind! The workshop will be repeated.
Four Futures Workshop
Christina Monroe
Friday, April 3, 3030 & Wednesday, April 8, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM HST
Need help to think through a goal you want to achieve in the next year? This workshop will help you imagine multiple possible futures and what actions you need to take to achieve your goal in each. It can be a personal, professional or community goal. Bring something to draw with (paper/pen or device) and review this reading (pg 2-7) by Dr Jim Dator on the Four Generic Futures. The workshop will be repeated.
Reflective Writing Session
Gretchen Alther
Tuesday, April 21, 2020 & Wednesday, April 29, 202
4:00-5:30 PM HST
Experience a “slow” writing process that encourages reflection in a supportive environment. In response to prompts, you will write for 3-5 minutes, and then choose sections of your writing to read aloud to the whole group. Reflective Writing Sessions often reveal new ideas and generate a sense of community. These sessions will explore “resilience.” Materials needed: Just pen and paper (writing is done by hand) and an open mind! The workshop will be repeated.
Coaching 101: Learn a quick and easy model for professional and peer coaching
Christina Monroe
Thursday, April 23, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM HST
The GOOD™ model is a simple executive coaching tool that can be used between colleagues or friends in sessions as short as 15 minutes to help get clarity and move forward on something. In the session, we will explain the model, provide guidance on how to use it, then give you the chance to practice coaching and being coached. Some EWC fellows have used the model for ongoing peer coaching sessions after this initial introduction. The model can enhance your listening skills and help you have more productive conversations with friends, partners, colleagues and bosses. EWC staff member Christina Monroe will lead the session. She is certified in well-being and positive psychology coaching from the College of Executive Coaching, founded Dr. Jeff Auerbach, the originator of the GOOD™ model.
Discussion: How Women Overcome Barriers and Make it to the Top
Gretchen Alther
Monday, April 27, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM HST
There is limited information about women leading at the top of organizations because there are so few women there! But those who do overcome structural barriers and reach the top of organizations have things to say about their success. In this session, we’ll discuss some themes and suggestions that come out of the research, and we’ll explore a strengths-based model that may help you see your one leadership strengths in a new light. This session is open to all genders, and is intended to help expand the conversation around leadership away from a dualistic gender perspective.
In preparation for this session, please read the following short article and send either a comment about something in the article that interests you, or a question it raises for you. When you send in your comment/question, we will send you the zoom link for the session. (https://hbr.org/2018/06/in-interviews-female-ceos-say-they-dont-expect-much-support-at-home-or-at-work)
