In honor of the East-West Center’s 50th anniversary, the commemorative video, “A Priceless Legacy,” was featured at the recent dinner launching the year’s celebrations. In the video, the Center’s history unfolds through a series of interviews with key leaders and current East-West Center participants who share their reflections.
His Majesty King George Tupou V of the Kingdom of Tonga recently visited the East-West Center, meeting with leaders from the Center and planting a native Hawaiian ‘Ohia tree in the Center’s courtyard as part of the 50th anniversary year celebration. His Majesty was joined by East-West Center President Charles E. Morrison, who noted the Center’s close ties with the Kingdom through the EWC’s Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP).
The East-West Center in Washington, D.C. is growing.
There are new publications, expanded outreach efforts and other initiatives under the leadership of Director Satu Limaye, who joined the office in February.
Highlights include:
(Note: This commentary first appeared in The Honolulu Advertiser on July 31, 2011.)
The East-West Center is a Hawai‘i-based, federally-supported institution, long a key part of U.S. outreach to the countries of the Asia and the Pacific and a fixture in Honolulu.
When a House committee recently voted to eliminate the 1960 authorizing legislation for the Center, friends and alumni were alarmed, even though few observers believe the bill has any likelihood of becoming law.
The East-West Center community is saddened by news of the recent passing of the Center’s first leader, Murray Turnbull, and longtime arts and exhibits coordinator Jeanette "Benji" Bennington.
"Murray Turnbull was the father of the concept of bringing the young people of the Asia Pacific region together, and the East-West Center was established because of him," said EWC President Charles E. Morrison. "And Benji was an incredible, invaluable resource during her decades of service at the Center. She embodied the EWC spirit, and her legacy remains with us all.”
By Charles E. Morrison
Keynote address at the EWC/EWCA International Conference
Naha, Okinawa
17 September 2014
Thank you Puongpun, for a generous introduction. I also want to thank the Friends of the East-West Center for inviting me to speak and all of you for coming.
On May 14, 1960, US President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law the act of Congress that established the East-West Center as a place “where scholars and students in various fields from the nations of the East and West may study, give and receive training, (and) exchange ideas and views.”
HONOLULU (Sept. 24, 2010) – Daniel F. Romano , a Management Officer at the U.S. Department of State, has joined the East-West Center for a one-year post as a visiting research fellow and diplomat-in-residence.
He most recently served as Supervisory General Services Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, where he completed a key property exchange agreement for a new embassy site. His previous posts include Beijing, Jakarta, Dubai, Berlin and Krakow.
HONOLULU (June 17, 2010)
Admission is free and open to the public. Parking will be available on the UH Manoa campus.
This year's fest, themed Connecting Diversities, will also celebrate the East West Center’s 50th anniversary. Students from throughout the Asia Pacific region – many dressed in colorful national attire – will present cultural performances, activities and displays. Highlights of the performance lineup include dances, songs from Bangladesh, USA, China, The Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Nepal, Italy, Iran, Pacific Islands, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, and many more.
Under an agreement recently signed with the Center, Dr. Fesharaki has pledged to donate his full monthly take home EWC salary, which will exceed the $25,000 necessary to establish a scholarship fund. The Fesharaki Scholarship Fund will be used to fund awards of at least $1,000 each year for one or more students, with a preference for (but not limited to) Iranian students from Iran or elsewhere outside the United States. Awards will be granted based on financial need, leadership experience, educational achievement, and funding availability.
“Pakistan is a Muslim country of 164 million people, and a nuclear power,” said project leader Shabbir Cheema, Director of the East-West Center’s Asia-Pacific Governance and Democracy Initiative. “But a weak Parliament, lack of trust in electoral processes and weak civil society institutions have constrained the deepening and consolidation of democracy in the country.”
Multi-article Journal Cover Story Highlights Economics, Security, and Foreign Affairs in Southeast Asia
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 27) — The Fall 2009 edition of Global Asia , the East Asia Foundation’s journal on international affairs, has just been released, highlighting the multi-article cover story “In the National Interest: Economics, Security and Foreign Affairs in Southeast Asia.”
An East-West Center 50th Anniversary Event
As part of the East-West Center's 50th anniversary events, the Center's Asia Pacific Center for Journalists and local co-sponsor the University of Hong Kong Journalism and Media Studies Centre have announced plans for the EWC’s the at the East-West Center's second biennial international media conference .
This 12-day exchange program, co-sponsored by the East-West Center and Nihon Shinbun Kyokai (NSK), sends six to seven Japanese journalists to the United States and an equal number of U.S. journalists to Japan to broaden the journalists’ knowledge of the relationship and challenges faced between the two countries.
As part of the 50 th anniversary celebrations, a series of special events will be held throughout the year, including lectures, publications, and a large international conference in Honolulu during the first week of July, 2010.
To commemorate this milestone, the EWC plans to create a special promotional logo for all EWC materials and activities associated with the Center’s 50 th anniversary.
HONOLULU (Jan. 28, 2009) – The East-West Center and an EWC alumni group have signed the agreement which establishes a new scholarship fund to assist Thai students at the Center. Interest earnings from the Royal Sala Thai Scholarship Fund will help cover travel and living expenses for qualified graduate students from Thailand studying in Hawai‘i on East-West Center grants.
Ten months ago, the Australian Labor Party under Kevin Rudd defeated the decade-long conservative coalition government of John Howard. This November, the U.S. election will bring in a new American president. These political transitions bring a new era to U.S.-Australian relations.
Dr. Morrison will review critical issues, challenges and opportunities in U.S. relations with the Asia-Pacific region as we face an election and new U.S. leadership. Members of the public are welcome to attend.
Cost for the luncheon is $36, inclusive of service charge, tax and parking. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m., with the luncheon program commencing at noon. To make a reservation, contact (808) 944-7111/ 944-7691, or Friends@eastwestcenter.org .
HONOLULU (Sept. 4) – Jonathan Henick , a 15-year veteran of the State Department’s Foreign Service, has joined the East-West Center for a one-year post as a visiting research fellow and diplomat-in-residence. Henick will be at the Center through the end of July, 2009, at which time he will assume the post of Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S.Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste (East Timor).
Mr. Henick most recently served as the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he was the embassy spokesperson and was responsible for all cultural, educational, civil-society and English-language programs.
HONOLULU (Aug. 18) – East-West Center President Charles E. Morrison was unanimously elected to a second term as chair of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) at a PECC Standing Committee meeting in Bangkok on July 26. He is the first chair to have served a three-year term and the first American to chair PECC since 1993. PECC also named Mr. Jusuf Wanandi of Indonesia as the Asia co-chair, beginning in 2009. Mr. Wanandi has served on the EWC’s Board of Governors and has chaired its International Advisory Panel.
The joint project, “Energy Security in the North Pacific,” stems from the Korean government’s newly launched program to strengthen Korea-U.S. relations and establish a partnership on energy diplomacy. The collaboration between the EWC and KEEI supports that goal by improving the networking and research cooperation between the two countries, assisting in the development of an Asia Pacific energy security framework, and contributing to the design of Korea’s energy security strategy.
Media Contact:
Derek Ferrar
Media Relations Specialist
East-West Center
808-944-7204
ferrard@eastwestcenter.org
HONOLULU (April 30) -- Zacarias Albano da Costa, Foreign Affairs Minister of Timor-Leste (East Timor), will participate in a free public panel discussion at the East-West Center on the morning of Monday, May 5, along with U.S. Ambassador to Timor-Leste Hans G. Klemm, and Constâncio C. Pinto, acting Chargé d'Affaires of Timor-Leste’s embassy in the U.S.
Jefferson Fellowships:
Ann Hartman, Jefferson Fellowships Coordinator
Tel: (808) 944-7600
Email: jefferson@eastwestcenter.org
Hong Kong Fellowships:
Marilyn Li, Seminars Specialist
Tel: (808) 944-7258
Email: seminars@eastwestcenter.org
HONOLULU (March 19) – The East-West Center’s Board of Governors has re-elected one of its members, the Hon. Tun Daim Zainuddin, to another three-year term. At a meeting on Feb. 29, the board members unanimously elected Daim to his third term on the board, which will extend until March 2011.
Media Contact:
Derek Ferrar
Media Relations Specialist
East-West Center
Phone: (808) 944-7204
Email: ferrard@EastWestCenter.org
HONOLULU (Feb. 7) -- Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand will be the guest of honor at the East-West Center’s annual dinner, “An International Affair,” set for Feb. 29 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village’s Coral Ballroom. The princess will be accepting the Center’s Asia Pacific Community Building Award on behalf of her father, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in recognition of His Majesty’s dedicated work toward the welfare of the people of Thailand.
Media Contact:
Derek Ferrar
Media Relations Specialist
East-West Center
Phone: (808) 944-7204
Email: ferrard@EastWestCenter.org
HONOLULU (Jan. 9, 2008) – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently appointed four new members to three-year terms on the East-West Center’s Board of Governors. The new members are: Lori Forman, Microsoft director of community affairs for Asia; Theodore B. Lee, president of the Urban Land Company in San Francisco and Las Vegas; S. Linn Williams, executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer of the Mirant Corporation; and Michael K. Young, president of the University of Utah.
In addition, Rice re-appointed former U.S. Rep. for Hawaii Patricia F. Saiki to a second term on the board.
