EWC/EWCA 50th Anniversary International Conference 2010, Honolulu, Hawai'i, July 2-5, 2010 : abstracts

Hosted by the East-West Center and the East-West Center Association ; held at the Hawaii Convention Center & East-West Center campus.For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/The four-day conference and reunion brought together more than 800 EWC alumni and friends from 35 countries and featured more than 50 expert discussion panels on a range of key regional issues, including climate change, U.S. foreign policy, education issues, governance challenges and more

Climate change and climate variability: personal motivation for adaptation and mitigation

BACKGROUND: Global climate change impacts on human and natural systems are predicted to be severe, far reaching, and to affect the most physically and economically vulnerable disproportionately. Society can respond to these threats through two strategies: mitigation and adaptation. Industry, commerce, and government play indispensable roles in these actions but so do individuals, if they are receptive to behavior change. We explored whether the health frame can be used as a context to motivate behavioral reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation measures. METHODS: In 2008, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the United States using random digit dialing. Personal relevance of climate change from health threats was explored with the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a conceptual frame and analyzed through logistic regressions and path analysis. RESULTS: Of 771 individuals surveyed, 81% (n = 622) acknowledged that climate change was occurring, and were aware of the associated ecologic and human health risks. Respondents reported reduced energy consumption if they believed climate change could affect their way of life (perceived susceptibility), Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.4 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.4-4.0), endanger their life (perceived severity), OR = 1.9 (95% CI: 1.1-3.1), or saw serious barriers to protecting themselves from climate change, OR = 2.1 (95% CI: 1.2-3.5). Perceived susceptibility had the strongest effect on reduced energy consumption, either directly or indirectly via perceived severity. Those that reported having the necessary information to prepare for climate change impacts were more likely to have an emergency kit OR = 2.1 (95% CI: 1.4-3.1) or plan, OR = 2.2 (95% CI: 1.5-3.2) for their household, but also saw serious barriers to protecting themselves from climate change or climate variability, either by having an emergency kit OR = 1.6 (95% CI: 1.1-2.4) or an emergency plan OR = 1.5 (95%CI: 1.0-2.2). CONCLUSIONS: Motivation for voluntary mitigation is mostly dependent on perceived susceptibility to threats and severity of climate change or climate variability impacts, whereas adaptation is largely dependent on the availability of information relevant to climate change. Thus, the climate change discourse could be framed from a health perspective to motivate behaviour change

EWC/EWCA 50th Anniversary International Conference 2010, Honolulu, Hawaii, July 2-5, 2010 : [program]

Hosted by the East-West Center and the East-West Center Association ; held at the Hawaii Convention Center & East-West Center campus.For more about the East-West Center, see https://www.eastwestcenter.org/On Friday, participants were welcomed by an opening ceremony of taiko drumming, hula dance and welcome addresses from Center and Hawai‘i officials.Over the next the next three days, the conference featured more than 50 expert discussion panels on a range of key regional issues, including climate change, U.S. foreign policy, education issues, governance challenges and more.Participants, many of whom had not seen each other or returned to Hawai‘i since they were students at the Center, also enjoyed a variety of social festivities, including the EWC homecoming open house; a dinner honoring Hawai‘i Senator Daniel K. Inouye with the East-West Center Association’s Makana Award; a luncheon recognizing distinguished alumni and exceptional volunteers and alumni chapters; an Independence Day reception with the Royal Hawaiian Band.The EWC/EWCA 50th Anniversary International Conference concluded with the biennial alumni conference’s traditional Aloha Dinner and alumni talent show. The dinner capped a four-day conference and reunion that brought together more than 800 EWC alumni and friends from 35 countries

Developing a peaceful and sustainable Asia Pacific community

The conference was hosted by East-West Center, East-West Center Association and the EWCA Okinawa Alumni Chapter in cooperation with the Okinawa Prefectural Government.For more about the East-West Center, see https://www.eastwestcenter.org/More than 300 EWC alumni, friends and colleagues from 20 countries gathered at the 2014 EWC/EWCA International Conference in Naha, Okinawa on Sept. 17-19, 2014 at the Pacific Hotel Okinawa. The conference program on the theme of "Developing a Peaceful and Sustainable Asia Pacific Community" featured more than 100 presenters involved in substantive panels and expert discussions on a range of key regional topics, as well as a special luncheon honoring EWC’s 2014 distinguished alumni and volunteers