Polynesian Voyaging Society Hopes to Inspire Action During IUCN
As the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) sails the iconic voyaging canoe Hōkūle‘a around the world to grow the global movement for a sustainable future, the organization will have an opportunity to share its message of environmental and cultural sustainability here in Honolulu with the thousands of attendees at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, which starts this week. PVS will host a session at the IUCN Hawaiʻi Pacific Pavilion on Sept. 2, and PVS president Nainoa Thompson will participate in several high-level events and discussions focused on climate change and ocean protection:
Thursday, September 1
Moana Pasifika Voyage Vaka (Canoe) Arrival Ceremony, 6:00 to 7:30 a.m., Duke Kahanamoku Beach at Hilton Hawaiian Village (Public Event)
Thompson will join Governor David Ige to officially welcome Pacific leaders and dignitaries who will arrive at Duke Kahanamoku Beach at Hilton Hawaiian Village by double-hulled voyaging canoes with a call for action on climate change and a sustainable Pacific Ocean. Three canoes: Hikianalia, Hawai‘i Loa, and Mo‘okiha o Pi‘ilani will sail with a flotilla of outrigger and youth canoes. After arriving, the honored guests will be officially welcomed with remarks by the Governor, Thompson and Jerry Gibson, area vice president of Hilton Resorts Hawaii. Additional remarks will be made by President Peter Christian of Micronesia, President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr. of the Republic of Palau and Inger Anderson, Director General of IUCN. http://www.moanavoyage.org/moana-pasifika-voyage/
Moana Pasifika, Pacific Ocean Summit, 4:00 to 4:30 p.m., Hilton Hawaiian Village, Tapa Ballroom (By Invitation)
Thompson will provide remarks in the Pacific Ocean Summit’s closing session, “Where to from Here,” along with Governor Ige; President Peter Christian of the Federated States of Micronesia; Peter O’Neill, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea; and Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Fiji. http://www.moanavoyage.org/pacific-ocean-summit-the-iucn-world-conservation-congress/
Friday, September 2
Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage & Promise to Paeʻ Āina o Hawaiʻi Session, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., Hawaii Pacific Pavilion, Exhibit Room A/B of the Hawaiʻi Convention Center (Open to registered congress attendees or by invitation)
This event is a platform to inform invited guests and interested participants about the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage and the stories of hope that legendary voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa has collected while on her epic journey around the globe. The session also will provide an interactive informational showcase of the Promise to Paeʻ Āina Collective Impact Effort. Inspired by the Voyage, this collaboration of community organizations, government, private entities and environmental institutions is working together to improve the health of the ocean. https://portals.iucn.org/congress/session/12239
Sunday, September 4
Actions for a Sustainable Ocean, 2:30-4:30 p.m., Room 310, Hawaiʻi Convention Center (Open to registered congress attendees)
Thompson will join Dr. Sylvia Earle, Prince Albert of Monaco and other ocean protection leaders for this high-level panel discussion on ocean conservation and sustainability management. Although largely unknown, most of the ocean ecosystems are under threat of degradation and destruction. This session is about turning promises into action. After a string of global engagements, leaders will share solutions for improving conservation and sustainable management of our ocean. https://portals.iucn.org/congress/session/13829
Tuesday, September 6
The Challenge of Preserving the Health of the World’s Oceans, 4:15-6:15 p.m., Hawaiʻi Convention Center (Open to registered congress attendees)
Thompson will be the concluding speaker of this session to discuss taking stronger action and making a clear commitment to protect the world’s oceans. This interactive panel discussion will feature global ocean experts including Pierre-Yves Cousteau and Dr. Sylvia Earle.
Students’ Day Hawaiʻi Youth Challenge 2020, 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., 1st Floor, Hawaiʻi Convention Center (Open to registered congress attendees or by invitation)
Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) and it’s Promise to Paeʻ Āina partners will participate in this interactive, interschool, design thinking activity for Hawaiʻiʻs middle school and high school students. The student participants will design environmentally conscious systems, and develop ways to engage in long-term conservation projects for Hawaiʻiʻs schools and communities. The results of this Students’ Day Hawaiʻi Youth Challenge will help to advise a statewide legacy initiative called the “2020 Challenge” to determine future Hawaiʻi education targets for year 2020. PVS crewmembers, conservation experts and representatives from the Promise to Paeʻ Āina organizations and PVSʻs Promise to Children education initiative, will host engaging presentations in the Hawaiʻi-Pacific Pavilion and provide lessons from the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage. https://gallery.mailchimp.com/4e0cacb243c94cee0ac935633/files/Students_Day_Hawaiʻi_Youth_Challenge_2020_Information_Packet_FINAL.01.pdf
About the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage presented by Hawaiian Airlines:
The Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage will cover over 60,000 nautical miles, 100 ports, and 27 nations, including 12 of UNESCO’s Marine World Heritage sites. Voyaging from Hawaiʻi in 2013 with an estimated sail conclusion date of June 2017, the Worldwide Voyage is taking the iconic sailing vessel, Hōkūleʻa, around Island Earth and her sister canoe, Hikianalia, around the Hawaiian Islands to grow a global movement toward a more sustainable world. The voyage seeks to engage all of Island Earth – practicing how to live sustainably while sharing Polynesian culture, learning from the past and from each other, creating global relationships, and discovering the wonders of the precious place we call home. To follow the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, visit http://hokulea.com/track-the-voyage
The online press kit is available at www.hokulea.com/press. Since departing Hawaiian waters in May 2014, Hōkūle‘a has sailed more than 26,000 nautical miles and made stops in 14 countries and 70 ports, weaving a “Lei of Hope” around the world. Along the way, more than 200 volunteer crewmembers have helped to sail Hōkūle‘a to spread the message of Mālama Honua (or taking care of Island Earth) by promoting sustainability and environmental consciousness, as well as exchanging ideas with the countries she has visited. So far, crewmembers have connected with more than 45,000 people in communities across the South Pacific, Tasman Sea and Indian Ocean including Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australia, Indonesia, Mauritius, South Africa, Brazil, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Cuba. The Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage reached the East Coast of the United States in March 2016, stopping in Florida, South Carolina, and Virginia before continuing north to Washington D.C., New York City (where it celebrated World Oceans Day at at the United Nations on June 8) and New England.
