Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 2011 — Native Hawaiian convention returns for 10th year [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Native Hawaiian convention returns for 10th year

By Cheryl Corbiell \etworking and sharing mana'o about collective success and opportunities in Hawaiian eommunity development is the focus of the upcoming Native Hawaiian convention, Aug. 23 to 25 at the Hawai'i Convention Center. The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement coordinates the annual Native Hawaiian Convention, and it is the largest assembly of its kind with upward of 700 delegates expected from all Hawaiian Islands, the South Paeihe, Alaska and the U.S. continent and includes Hawaiian practitioners; kūpuna; students; community organizers; legislative representatives; federal agencies; corporate partners and foundations; and heahh, cultural and educational organizations. This year's theme is Community Leaders and Solutions - Where Success Happens! The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is the lead sponsor of this year's convention. The convention features prestigious keynote speakers, the latest policy reports, as well as dynamic, thought-provoking presentations, interactive workshops, solution-oriented roundtables and exhibitors and vendors focusing on opportunities related to cultural preservation, education, housing, eeonomie development, capacity

building and self-determination. Event luncheons and banquets will stimulate appetites and minds as well as ensure quality time to network. Additional convention sessions are a Next Generation Leadership forum, oli workshop with Kumu Leina'ala Kalama Heine, and a multicultural puhlie policy roundtable, as well as sessions on Native Hawaiian housing opportunities, federal contracting, fund development, and charter and language school strategies, to name just a few. Delegates will immerse themselves in learning about and finding solutions to the current and future challenges of the Hawaiian community. "The convention is both a celebration of Hawaiian community development achievements and a strategizing event for continued success," said Robin Danner, President and CEO of CNHA. "We also have earned attention from mainland organizations such as the Ford Foundation, a global organization, and this presents new opportunities for community development." The philanthropic forums fill a whole day. Among a dozen, dynamic forum co-chairs are four prominent women: Irene Hirano Inouye, Kiran Ahuja, Peggy Saika andMaile Meyer. Irene Hirano Inouye is President of the U.S.-Japan Council and chair of the Ford Foundation Board of Trustees, whieh is U.S,based but global in its partnering endeavors.

The foundation's legacy is helping innovative leaders on the frontline of social change. Inouye is the wife of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. Kiran Ahuja was appointed by President Ohama

to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Paeihe Islanders. She directs the efforts of the initiative and the Presidential Advisory

Commissions across executive departments and agencies, and works to improve the quality of life and opportunities for Asian Americans and Paeihe Islanders through increased access to, and

participation in, federal programs in whieh they maybe underserved. Peggy Saika is the President and Executive Director of Asian Americans/ Paeihe Islanders in Philanthropy. With more than 30 years of community involvement, Saika is a co-founder of the Asian Women's Shelter, Asians/Pacific Islanders for Choice, the National Asian Paeihe American Legal Consortium, and the National Asian Paeihe American Women's Forum. Maile Meyer, the Chairwoman of CNHA's philanthropic Hawaiian Way Fund, is best known for bringing the

rich history and culture of the islands to the puhlie by establishing an innovative retail bookstore, Native Books, whieh she later combined with another venture of hers, Nā Mea Hawai'i.

Other convention dignitaries include Gov. Neil Abercrombie; Colette Machado, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chairwoman; Alapaki Nahale-a, Hawaiian Homes Commission Chairman; Loretta Tuell, Staff Director/Chief Counsel of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee; U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka; U.S. Reps. Mazie Hirono and Colleen Hanabusa; Anthony Babauta, U.S. Interior Department Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas; and Maya Soetoro-Ng, educator, author and half-sister to President Ohama. Donna Gambrell of the U.S. Treasury's CDFI, or Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, is scheduled to announee grants.

"The convention is invigorating whether you are an individual or an organization's representative, but this year it is a hloekbuster with more mainland organizations attending," said Danner. "The convention is ground zero for addressing current and future challenges, networking with over 150 organizations related to the Hawaiian eommunity and reaffirming established relationships and building new partnerships." The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement is a nonprofit organization dedicated to being a strong voice on puhlie policy, operating a community loan fund, delivering capacity building and leadership development services, and promoting community-owned enterprises among Native Hawaiians. ■ Cheryī Corbiell is an Instructor at the University of Hawai'i Maui CollegeMoloka 'i anel a reading tutor at Kaunakakai Elementary School.

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Leina'ala Kalama Heine, foreground, will present an oli workshop at the annual Native Hawaiian convention. Other featured events include a policy roundtable on Native Hawaiians, Pacific lslanders and Tribal Leaders, as well as a federal contracting business summit, a Maoli Art in Real Time reception and a market plaee. - Photo: KWO archives

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