The East-West Center Association Blog

A battle is being waged in wheat fields across the world to stave off an impending calamity that can ravage global food security

By Sarosh Bana, Executive Editor of Business India magazine and EWCA Mumbai Chapter President

(Note: This article originally appeared in Business India magazine on April 1, 2013.)

South Asian countries, where wheat is a staple cereal for many, is vulnerably poised in the path of an exceptionally virulent fungus that can wipe out entire farmlands.

Farmers and agriculturist scientists in the region are hunkering down to fortify themselves against this peril that can undermine the food security of millions.

Wheat stem rust fungus.

More than 20 wheat scientists from five South Asian countries – India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bhutan – participated last fortnight in a comprehensive training programme in Kathmandu on wheat rust monitoring and disease management.

Designed to raise a new generation of agro-scientists equipped to identify the more virulent stem, leaf and yellow rusts that can devastate entire farmlands and to create wheat strains that can withstand this scourge, the 2013 SAARC Wheat Rust Surveillance Workshop and Training Programme was the fourth such annual event to be held in South Asia. It was organised by the Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat (DRRW) Project, managed by the US’s Cornell University. Continue Reading »

EWC Education Project Specialist Christina Monroe writes:

Just as quickly as you can end the previously hours-long debate on ‘what countries border Moldova’ with a Google search on your smartphone, human rights activists can now eliminate doubts that abuses are happening.

It’s a new open source transparency. But instead of sharing software for free, scientists and NGO workers are sharing tools to document events. These events used to happen in secrecy, but now they’re in the public domain for all to see. These tools, in the hands of willing citizens, can force public accountability and ultimately more transparency from powerful players in every society.

I recently took part in a briefing for East-West Center’s Asia Pacific Leadership Program fellows with the Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, DC. I’m fascinated by how they use GIS and remote sensing to support human rights organizations.

An analysis of high-resolution satellite images of Aleppo, Syria, appears to reveal the deployment of heavy armored vehicles in civilian neighborhoods as well 117 instances of damage to buildings and infrastructure. Source: American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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EWC international fellows take home lessons from the storm

Christina Monroe, EWC Education Project Specialist & Asia Pacific Leadership Program alumna

(APLP fellows in NYC during Hurricane Sandy witness resilience of the American people.)

It seemed the worst place to be on Oct 29^th, but for fellows trying to understand America, New York City was the perfect spot.
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President Obama and his family paid a New Year’s Day visit to the East-West Center to view an exhibition on the anthropological field work that the president’s late mother, EWC Alumna Ann Dunham, conducted in Indonesia. The family also visited the Center’s well-known Japanese garden.

The president, his wife and daughters, and his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng and her family spent about half an hour in a private viewing of the East-West Center Gallery exhibition, which includes photographs and notebooks from Dunham’s years of field research, as well as artifacts from her personal collection, including examples of metal-smithing, jewelry, leatherwork, textiles, ceramics, and basketry.

At the president’s suggestion, the family also made an unscheduled visit to the Center’s Japanese garden, where the family held a memorial service for Dunham after she passed away in 1995.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his family visit the East-West Center on New Year’s Day.   (Photo: AFP, Mandel Ngan)

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If you are planning to be in the Kansai area, EWCA Kansai Chapter Leader, Seiko Furuhashi (ICC 82-84 and 89, Assoc 2010), invites you to….

Come out and learn about how Sake is made!

We will have a day tour to the Kinshi Masamune Sake Brewery and the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum in Fushimi on November 13, 2011 (Sunday).

We will meet at 12:00 noon at the Tambabashi Station (Keihan and Kintetsu Lines) and then walk to the Kinshi Masamune Brewery to see the inside of the brewery and the brewing process (this tour will include a little Sake tasting).  After touring the brewery, we will walk to the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum to learn about the history of Sake making in the Fushimi area. After viewing the museum, and a little more Sake tasting, members will be free to shop at the many breweries in the neighborhood. Finally, for those who have the time, we plan to end the day with dinner at a local restaurant in the area.

For more information, please contact Seiko Furuhashi at seiko@ogu.ac.jp by Oct .22.

関西UHAA-EWCA 合同酒蔵見学ツアー：２０１１年１１月１３日 
日本酒がどのように醸造されるかを一緒に見学しませんか？

来る２０１１年１１月１３日（日）、京都伏見の「キンシ正宗」酒造と「月桂冠大倉記念館（日本酒博物館）」の見学ツアーを開催いたします。

正午に、丹波橋駅（京阪線・近鉄線）に集合した後、「キンシ正宗」で酒蔵内部と酒造りの工程を見学（最後に利き酒体験）をします。次に「月桂冠大倉記念館」まで伏見の町並みを歩き、記念館では伏見での酒造りの歴史を学びます。館内見学のあと、ここでも利き酒を体験し、記念館や近辺の酒蔵で日本酒や関連グッズのお土産を買うことができます。この付近には地酒を提供するレストランがいくつかあるので、ツアーの締めくくりとして、付近のレストランで夕食を共に楽しんでいただきます。時間のある方は、ぜひ参加してください。

詳細を知りたい方は、１０月２２日までに古橋政子までご連絡ください。　seiko@ogu.ac.jp.

In cooperation with the East-West Center’s Pacific Islands Report (PIR), Hawaii Public Radio (HPR) produces daily news and special reports on Pacific Islands issues. PIR’s Assistant Editor, Edelene Osedil Uriarte from Palau, puts together the audio for the HPR.

On August 2011, Edelene released 2 audio interviews:

• Interview with Rachel Miller, who talks about the first Marshallese language and culture course at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa this fall semester, 2011. (August 16, 2011)
• Interview with Commander Jesse Wilson Jr. who talks about this year’s Pacific Partnership Mission. (August 8, 2011)

Listen to these audio pieces at the Pacific Islands Report website.

Links:

• Learn more about the Pacific Islands Development Program
• Visit the Pacific Islands Report website

In cooperation with the East-West Center’s Pacific Islands Report (PIR), Hawaii Public Radio (HPR) produces daily news and special reports on Pacific Islands issues. PIR’s Assistant Editor, Edelene Osedil Uriarte from Palau, puts together the audio for the HPR.

On July 2011, Edelene released 2 audio interviews:

• Interview with Palau’s Speaker of the House of Delegates, Noah Idechong, who advocates for the protection of the environment. (july 18, 2011)
• Interview with President of the Fiji Islands Voyaging Society, Colin Philp, who talks about the Pacific voyage “Te Mana O Te Moana ” and the message to Protect the Ocean and Continue the art of Traditional Navigation. (July 11, 2011)

Listen to these audio pieces at  Pacific Islands Report.

Links:

• Listen to a PIR interview with ADB Fellow Patrick Kaiku
• Listen to a PIR interview with EWC student  Brian Alofaituli
• Find out details about the US-South Pacific Scholarship Program
• Learn more about the Pacific Islands Development Program
• Visit the Pacific Islands Report website

The East-West Center successfully launched its new Pakistan-United States Journalists Exchange, which took place April 6-22, 2011.

Participants in the East-West Center's inaugural Pakistan-U.S. Journalists Exchange.

This program is designed to increase and deepen public understanding of the two countries and their important relationship, one that is crucial to regional stability and the global war on terrorism. While there have been many areas of agreement and cooperation, deep mistrust remains between Americans and Pakistanis, who rarely get opportunities to engage with each other and thus rely on media for their information and viewpoints. Unresolved issues continue to pose challenges for both countries.

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Congresswoman Hirono

Aloha –

I recently testified before a House Appropriations Subcommittee in support of providing federal funding for the East-West Center in the Fiscal Year 2012. The East-West Center is pure public diplomacy in action and I wanted to make sure my colleagues appreciated the value of the Center as much as I do.

I encourage you to read the attached statement (PDF file) for more on my stance.

Congress established the East-West Center more than a half century ago. You can be sure that as a Member of Congress, I will continue to support this important institution for public diplomacy.

Mahalo,

Mazie K. Hirono
Member of Congress
Hawaii 2nd District

Links:

• Visit the website of Congresswoman Hirono
• Download her statement in PDF format

The Japan-United States Journalists Exchange is a 12-day dialogue, travel and exchange program for journalists from Japan and the United States. The 2011 Japan-United States Journalists Exchange (JUSJE) took place March 6th and 18th.  The theme of the 2011 Japan-United States Journalists Exchange was  “Expanding the U.S.-Japan Alliance”.

The 2011 exchange took a look at the U.S.-Japan military alliance, a linchpin of regional security, as well as how this important bilateral relationship can expand to greater benefit both countries; and to help meet new challenges as China’s power and influence continue to grow. However, the natural disasters in Japan made the participants also focus on these events.

Here is a compilation of articles that were authored by participants of the 2011 JUSJE program during the program’s duration.

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