The East-West Center Association Blog

By APLP Fellows Loan T. Le from Vietnam and Amir Ramin from Afghanistan

(EWC Alumna Tin Myaing Thein, Executive Director of the Pacific Gateway Center, speaks about the problem of human trafficking. Immigration attorney Grace Michiko Nowicki (R) addressed the related legal issues.)

HONOLULU – On November 14, six fellows from the East-West Center’s Asia-Pacific Leadership Program (APLP), collaborated with the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council (PAAC) and the Pacific Gateway Center (PGC) in hosting the event, “Human Trafficking in Asia and the Pacific: Current Challenges and Future Prospects.” It was held at the Pacific Gateway Center’s headquarters in the Lemongrass Café in downtown Honolulu.
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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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The East-West Center is pleased to announce it is now accepting applications for the 2012 Pakistan-United States Journalists Exchange, March 21-April 7, 2012.

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

This program, now in its second year, 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. This study tour offers U.S. and Pakistan journalists an opportunity to gain on-the-ground insights and firsthand information about the countries they visit through meetings with policymakers, government and military officials, members of the business community and civil society, and a diverse group of other community members.

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Muhammad Aftab Qureshi Staff Reporter, Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad. (Photo credit: GlobalJournalist.org)

During their visit to Washington, D.C. the Pakistani journalists had an opportunity to explore U.S. policy toward Pakistan and learn more about the U.S. system of government and democracy. Later on, they visited New York City, where they participated in discussions about media coverage of Pakistan and the residual effects of 9/11 on U.S. relations with the Muslim world.

Finally, participants saw a very different part of the United States in Columbia, Missouri. The prestigious Missouri School of Journalism is based in Columbia, and  hosted a day of discussion sessions on the role of media in democracy and also on cutting-edge media technologies researched at the Reynolds Journalism Institute. The Missouri program also featured home visits with American families and a chance to interact with American citizens from diverse backgrounds.

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Sigfried Ramler (Photo Credit: DerStandar.at)

EWC Senior Education Fellow, Siegfried Ramler has a remarkable life and has been part of critical moments in history. During his childhood in Austria, he experienced annexation by Nazi Germany and escaped to England via Kindertransport. While living in London, he experienced the World War II Blitz. Later on, he became an interrogator and simultaneous interpreter at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, which placed him in contact with Nazi leaders in the defendants’ dock.

His marriage to a Hawaiian court reporter on the Nuremberg staff led to a move to Hawaiʻi and the beginning of a long career at Punahou School as teacher, administrator and founding director of the Wo International Center. His long experience in international education brought him to his current affiliation with Hawaiʻi’s East-West Center, where he collaborates with educational leaders and institutions in the Asia Pacific region.

Active in the education program of the East-West Center, Siegfried Ramler’s current projects include a cooperative initiative with China’s Ministry of Education and Peking University under the heading “Teaching about China and the United States.”

Sig Ramler had a recent trip to Europe for the 65th anniversary of the Nuremburg Nazi war crimes trials, where he was a translator and helped pioneer simultaneous translation techniques. Here is his personal retrospective on this trip.

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Photo Credit: ROB SHIKINA / RSHIKINA@STARADVERTISER.COM

On December 18th, 2010, Ford Foundation International Fellowship Program (IFP) fellow Somporn Naklang graduated with a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.  The Star Advertiser featured him  with a photo and interview on an article titled “Families inspired new UH grads to pursue dreams and degrees”.

Here is an excerpt from this article:

Somporn Naklang of Thailand received his master’s degree in public health yesterday on a full scholarship from the Ford Foundation.

It’s been a long journey for Naklang, 37, the only person in his family of six to get an education beyond elementary school.

“They’re the reason why I have strong motivation,” he said.

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EWC alumni, staff, and degree fellows contributed to a newly published (SEARCA and ISEAS) volume entitled, Sustainability Science for Watershed Landscapes by James Roumasset (USA, FI ‘76-’77, et al.), Kimberly Burnett, and Arsenio Balisacan (Philippines, RSI ‘82-’86). Chapter contributors include Jefferson Fox (EWC Senior Fellow), Sittidaj Pongkijvorasin (Thailand, GDF ‘03-’07), Majah-Leah Ravago (Philippines, GDF’06-present), and Chieko Umetsu (Japan, ENV ‘89-93, et al.). The book’s preface and foreword were written by UHM Vice Chancellor Gary Ostrander and EWC Director of Research, Nancy Lewis, respectively.

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Source: East-West Center News

EWC Senior Fellow Fereidun Fesharaki

On March 9, 2010, EWC Senior Fellow and prominent energy market analyst Fereidun Fesharaki has established a fund to help Iranian and other participants attend the East-West Center’s Asia Pacific Leadership Program.

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.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have been able to develop my professional career in part through my association with the East-West Center,” Fesharaki said. “I want to contribute back and set an example for others to do so.”

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The 2010 Asian Studies Development Program (ASDP) National Conference will be held in Honolulu this year on June 29th, 30th, and July 1st.

The University of Hawaii Kapiolani is host this year with Joseph Overton serving as the local arrangements chair. Further assistance is being provided by the ASDP staff at the East-West Center.

Forms and information may be found at the Asian Studies Development Program website.

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“Wittenberg in China: On the Silk Road” summer program (May 17 to June 17)

Past participants of "Wittenberg in China" Program

This month-long program offers students (students from other universities can also apply) an opportunity to explore China’s past and present through a study of the historic and contemporary Silk Road through experiential learning activities, class discussions, and site visits.

One of the program directors is Dr. Marcia Frost, Associate Professor of Economics & East Asian Studies. Dr. Frost participated in the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Institute on The Silk Road through the East-West Center Asian Studies Development Program.

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