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.  

A strong growth area at the East-West Center in recent years has been the Center’s journalism fellowships and exchanges. Since 2005, the range of EWC programs for journalists has doubled, to 10 programs serving about 100 participants per year, with many more attending the biennial international media conferences.

After 25 years of devoted service as a program officer and participant services officer assisting East-West Center’s international students, Rose Nakamura didn’t slow down.  Her retirement from the Center in 1989 opened up new avenues of service.  As Hawaii’s senior population continues to grow and many are isolated, living far away from family on the U.S. mainland, Nakamura saw a need in the community to create a program that provides volunteer assistance to homebound frail elderly and disabled persons to ensure their independence and dignity.

As gas prices soar in the U.S., concerns about energy security take center stage in the international dialogue on economic development. Editors of “ Asia’s Energy Future: Regional Dynamics and Global Implications ,” EWC Senior Fellows Fereidun Fesharaki and Kang Wu, examined this issue in light of Asia’s sharply increasing energy demands, during an EWC briefing in late April on Capitol Hill.

In delivering his formal address on Dec. 10 while accepting a share of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC Chairman and former East-West Center Visiting Senior Fellow Dr. Rajendra Pachauri told the audience at Oslo City Hall that the hazards of climate change are already a reality in some places and present the acute possibility of disaster, especially for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities, but that prompt action by more affluent societies could moderate such impacts.

HONOLULU (August 14)  The EWC welcomed 155 new fellows from 37 countries in traditional Hawaiian style with a lei greeting, a hula dance, and a Hawaiian ole chant during this week’s new student orientation.

The traditional welcoming ceremony was part of a two-week orientation that exposes new students to the unique cross-cultural environment of the EWC and instills an appreciation for the host indigenous Hawaiian culture.