HONOLULU (November 23, 2018) – Strained freshwater supplies, damaged and compromised coastal infrastructure, coral reef death, and greater stresses on native biodiversity and species are among the major concerns and challenges detailed in the Hawai‘i-Pacific Islands chapter of the fourth official US National Climate Assessment, released today. In economic terms, the impacts add up to billions of dollars.

The chapter on Hawai‘i and the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands appears in Volume II of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, the most significant US report to assess the effects of climate change on the US economy and communities. The assessment finds that early action to address these impacts can lower economic, environmental, social, and cultural costs and could help to prevent conflict or displacement from lands and resources.

HONOLULU (Feb. 3, 2020) -- The East-West Center has again been ranked #4 in a University of Pennsylvania institute’s 2019 list of best government-affiliated think tanks worldwide, the same ranking the Center received in last year’s list. It is notable that the only three institutions ranked higher than EWC are affiliated with such large organizations as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and US Congressional Research Service. In addition, the Center ranked ninth in the Best Regional Studies (Free Standing) category.

HONOLULU (April 10, 2019) -- Several former participants in East-West Center programs have been featured in recent editions of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list for young entrepreneurs in Asia who are “leveraging business tools to solve the region's problems.”

HONOLULU (May 30, 2019) -- The East-West Center is pleased to welcome Ambassador Karena Lyons, the former New Zealand Ambassador to the nations of Micronesia and Consul General for Hawai‘i, as the Center’s new Vice President, Executive Director of Research, and Director (designate) of the Pacific Islands Development Program.

HONOLULU (June 13, 2019) -- East-West Center alumnus David R. Stilwell was confirmed by 94-3 vote of the U.S. Senate today as the new U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Stilwell, a retired Air Force Brigadier General, received his master’s degree in Asian studies as an EWC grantee in the 1980s and later was an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Center.

HONOLULU (Aug. 6, 2019) – Juan “Jay” Avecilla, a 16-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, has joined the East-West Center as Diplomat-in-Residence. He will be posted at the Center until June 2020.

Prior to his arrival in Honolulu, Mr. Avecilla served as Management Officer in the U.S. Consulate General in Milan, Italy. Previously, he has served in various management positions at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan and in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs in Washington, D.C.  His other overseas assignments included tours as Consular/Management Officer in Fukuoka, Japan, Consular Officer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Economic Officer in Hanoi, Vietnam.    

Delegations from the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Palau
help chart course for a new era of the Pacific Islands Development Program

HONOLULU (Feb. 7, 2020) – The East-West Center has been awarded a five-year grant totaling $50,000 from the Fish Family Foundation in support of the Center’s Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar and #galswithLEI Forum, which collectively seek to enhance women’s leadership skills and entrepreneurial capacity; experientially explore innovative entrepreneurship; build a sense of self-efficacy; and expand national and regional networks.

As a result of the Fish Family Foundation’s funding, the Changing Faces Seminar will now be able to include female business or social entrepreneurs from Japan each year until 2024. The funding will also substantially increase the Center’s ability to include mainland and international speakers in the associated #galswithLEI Forum.

HONOLULU (Feb 25, 2020) -- The East-West Center has rolled out a major update of its affiliated Pacific Islands Development Program, or PIDP, with the launch yesterday of the program’s new website at PIDP.EastWestCenter.org. The new site highlights refocused priorities and new projects following recent user surveys and strategy dialogues with Pacific Islands leaders and stakeholders.