As Hawaiʻi faces rising sea levels, housing pressures and growing calls for the return of to community stewardship, the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 will host a day of bold conversations focused on solutions. On March 4, the annual at 8 a.m. at East West Center will gather leaders, scholars and community advocates to examine how land, law and justice intersect and what that means for Hawaiʻi鈥檚 future.

Now in its fifth year, the summit carries the theme ʻĀinahoʻi: Land, Law and Justice. ʻĀinahoʻi means “indeed that which feeds us.” The phrase is both reminder and call to action that the future of Hawaiʻi is tied to how we care for the ʻ腻颈苍补 that sustains us.

“We established the Piʻo Summits to advance ancestral knowledge and courageous leadership to address the cascading challenges of our times,” said Kamanamaikalani Beamer, professor at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 and the . “Hawaiʻi deserves the best and the Piʻo Summits bring critical issues to the head of our table and we sit with the community to find ways to carve out a better future.”

Voices for ʻ腻颈苍补

This year鈥檚 summit begins with music from two-time Grammy nominee Raiatea Helm and a keynote from Justice Joe Williams of Aotearoa, a respected M膩ori jurist known for advancing Indigenous rights within modern legal systems.

Throughout the day, panels will feature leaders from Hawaiʻi鈥檚 largest landholders serving Native Hawaiian communities, including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Kanaka ʻ艑颈飞颈 (Native Hawaiian) advocates will join scholars and professors from 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 and departments, as well as the William S. Richardson School of Law, to explore the future of ʻ腻颈苍补 stewardship and justice in Hawaiʻi.

“This year鈥檚 summit will highlight the collective effort for ʻĀinahoʻi across the ,” Beamer said. “We will be exploring how communities are navigating and challenging existing systems through legal methods, land trusts, and grassroots action to restore , strengthen relationships to ʻ腻颈苍补, and advance self-determined governance grounded in ancestral innovation and courageousness.”

Ancestral innovation

The summit is organized by Pōʻai Ke Aloha ʻ膧ina, a 东精影业-based lab that works to solve modern challenges using ʻike Hawaiʻi (ancestral Hawaiian knowledge). The lab is helping build a new center focused on an ancestral circular economy, a model rooted in regeneration and long-term stewardship.

Voices, movement and moments of reflection filled at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 in early February as , a biennial conference brought together scholars, artists and community members for two days of exchange. Hosted by the (ANNO), the conference explored how Indigenous performance sustains knowledge, language and relationships across generations.

The second biennial conference featured panels, workshops and special events that emphasized learning through practice.

Participants took part in everything from hula workshops led by 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 instructor and Kumu Hula Tracie Kaʻōnohilani Farias Lopes to kapa making, puppet making, carving and a movement-based session by Sami L.A. Akuna that invited reflection on storytelling and the body.

“We hope that the conference delegates engaged in the many offerings of the two-day event and see the importance of Indigenous performance as a site of knowledge production, cultural preservation, and collective imagination,” said Tammy Hailiʻōpua Baker, who co-founded ANNO and is a director of 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 award-winning .

One panel, Aloha ʻĀina Embodied: The Praxis of ʻAha, was conducted entirely in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. The session featured several kumu, including Kaliko Baker, an associate professor at ; Kaipu Keala, an assistant professor at , Kaulu Luuwai, an attorney with at William S. Richardson School of Law, and Snowbird Bento, kumu hula of Ka P膩 Hula O Ka Lei Lehua.

Panelists discussed how is expressed through performance and community practice, reflecting on the ways language and movement inform artistic and community-based work.

Celebration and story

The conference concluded with a hoʻolauleʻa, a celebration that combined conversation and creative sharing. Events included a film screening of , directed by Lisette Flanary, professor at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 and a preview of a new hana keaka (theatre work) by 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 Hawaiian theatre graduate student Ikaika Mendez. The production, Lele Wale, reflects on community rebuilding after the Lahaina wildfires, honoring those who were lost, those who survived, and those continuing the work of rebuilding on Maui. Performances run March 4–8 at the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre at Kennedy Theatre.

• Related 东精影业 News story: Lahaina鈥檚 story lives in new hana keaka production, February 5, 2026

Established in 2022 through the 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 Provost鈥檚 Strategic Investment Initiative, ANNO advances Hawaiian and Indigenous performance through scholarship, curriculum and outreach, supporting ongoing research and creative practice at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补.

Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio has worn many p膩pale (hats)—historian, award-winning musician, advocate, kumu (teacher) and dean. After nearly a decade guiding the at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补, he is stepping away from administration and back into the classroom, where his career began more than 30 years ago.

“I consider the last eight years maybe the most blessed time of my life. The things I learned, about how a university operates, how to work with people around me that didn鈥檛 see eye to eye with what we were trying to do, how to be persuasive, all of those things were really amazing to me,” said Osorio.

The k膩naka ʻ艒颈飞颈 (Native Hawaiian) scholar became dean in 2017 at age 68, following years of service as a professor and director of the . During his tenure, 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈苍耻颈腻办别补 strengthened its reputation as the nation鈥檚 only college of Indigenous knowledge at a Research I university.

In 2024, the school earned a 10-year renewal of accreditation from the , a testament to its role in preserving and revitalizing Hawaiian language, culture and values.

Related 东精影业 News stories:

• Indigenous educators engage in ʻ腻颈苍补, ʻike at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补, October 1, 2024
• 东精影业 haum膩na explore Kal膩kaua and Hawaiian Kingdom鈥檚 legacy in Japan, May 27, 2025

Full circle return

While proud of these milestones, Osorio expressed his heart has always been in teaching.

“It鈥檚 time to go back to teaching and let a younger, more vigorous and eager person take this job on. And I know it will be a blessing to that person whoever it is.”

Osorio, born and raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, began teaching in 1991 as an instructor at . He joined 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 in 1994 and advanced from assistant to full professor of Hawaiian studies. His scholarship has shaped the field of 19th-century Hawaiian political and social history, while his music, recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts in 2019, remains beloved across the islands.

A search committee has been formed to find Osorio鈥檚 successor, and the position is expected to be filled by August 2026. The committee will be chaired by Kap膩 Oliveira, 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 interim vice provost for , and a former professor at 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈苍耻颈腻办别补

With diverse expertise ranging from oceanography to economics to community-based coastal management, the University of Hawaiʻi hired eight new faculty members to support sustainable Pacific fisheries efforts. The new cohort of hires will develop an innovative graduate program to advance fisheries research, education, and training for sustainable management in Hawaiʻi and across the Pacific.

Fishing is essential to the way of life in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, providing 50–90% of the protein for Pacific Islanders. However, management strategies from the U.S. continent often fail here because they were designed for cold-water, industrial fisheries. Pacific fisheries are different—they operate in warm tropical waters with diverse species and fishing gear, and with Indigenous Pacific Island communities. The Pacific Island region is multinational and has comparatively less scientific data, requiring a locally developed approach to ensure they can be sustained for generations.

“It is critically important to elevate and co-develop knowledge relevant to the Pacific, foster local expertise, and train the next generation of fisheries stewards and managers,” said Megan Donahue, director of the (HIMB) in the 东精影业 Mānoa (SOEST). “The new faculty members in this cohort each bring unique perspectives and talent to the complexities we face here. In addition to their contributions to advancing research and sustainable management of Pacific fisheries, they will be a vital part of developing a fisheries graduate training program.”

New faculty

• Donna Dimarchopoulou, Fisheries Quantitative Biologist–/
• Mary Donovan, Ecosystem-based Fisheries Science & Management–SOEST/ HIMB
• Erik Franklin, Fisheries Science & Management–SOEST/ HIMB
• Kanoe Morishige, Indigenous-Led Biocultural Coastal Management–/
• Eileen Nalley, Fisheries Extension–SOEST/
• Justin Suca, Fisheries Oceanography–SOEST/
• Ron Vave, Ocean Governance & Marine Resources–/
• Xiurou Wu, Environmental & Resource Economics–/

Fisheries in Hawaiʻi are distinct in that they include a variety of sectors ranging from the open ocean longline fishery, which is the sixth largest fishery in monetary value in the U.S., to community managed fishponds or loko iʻa. Importantly, the majority of nearshore fisheries in Hawaiʻi are non-commercial, which requires unique considerations for management. This program seeks to build on existing work by faculty and practitioners across the 东精影业 System to understand the unique contributions of these diverse commercial and non-commercial fisheries to the economic, social, and cultural well-being of Hawaiʻi to ensure their longevity.

“This cohort of new hires will take fisheries at 东精影业 to the next level to better serve students, communities, fishers, government agencies and conservation organizations in Hawaiʻi and across the Pacific,” said Jeff Drazen, professor in the SOEST Department of Oceanography. “Our vision with this cohort is to stand up a center of expertise and excellence to facilitate the synergistic work that 东精影业 is uniquely positioned to contribute.”

Developing the graduate education program

In Hawaiʻi, the Division of Aquatic Resources, the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council, and NOAA鈥檚 Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center have noted the need for greater local research and management capacity. This graduate program will be distinguished from others by creating learning opportunities for students to weave western science and Indigenous knowledge in collaboration with communities, and supporting community-based fisheries solutions and participatory governance approaches.

“We are thrilled to welcome the new fisheries cohort, whose work will significantly enhance Pacific Island fisheries,” said Brian Neilson, Administrator of the Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources. “By advancing research and cultivating the next generation of scientists, practitioners, and managers with social and cultural competencies tailored to Pacific Island communities, this initiative will benefit Hawaiʻi and our island neighbors.”

alumnus Brutus La Benz has long been a familiar face on Hawaiʻi television screens appearing in commercials for everything from Texaco and 7-Eleven to Kona Brewing Company and the Hawaiʻi Quit Tobacco campaign. But his big break came this spring, when he debuted as Lilo鈥檚 kumu hula (hula teacher) in Disney鈥檚 live-action Lilo & Stitch, a box office hit that soared past the $1 billion mark this July.

Before landing a role in the major Disney film, La Benz鈥檚 earliest acting stage was his family鈥檚 living room in Kailua. As a kid, he and his brother would spend hours performing scenes from hit flicks Wayne鈥檚 World and Tommy Boy after summer fun.

“A lot of times we would just kind of memorize lines and reenact them. And I always thought that was fun,” he said.

That early love for performance stuck. The Olomana native can still recite skits from the late, beloved Hawaiʻi comedian Rap Replinger—classic jokes he proudly calls “scripture.”

La Benz, a Punahou School graduate, earned degrees in (Hawaiian language) and from the 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 . It was in those ʻ艒濒别濒辞 classes he says a passion for acting truly began to grow.

“In order to help us learn the sentence structures and the new vocabulary, some of them would ask us to do a lot of mini skits, just so that we could memorize the lines and patterns,” La Benz added. “Once I figured out we can make these funny skits and still learn, that was really cool.”

That energy led him to the stage in 2004, when he starred in Kamapuaʻa, a Hawaiian-language stage production directed by Tammy Hailiʻōpua Baker, founder of 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 . It鈥檚 there he learned how to tell stories through action, not just words.

“Because many didn’t understand Hawaiian language, the words needed to come across in the way we acted. And so that was challenging, but also I think that’s what made us all really, really fun and decent actors,” La Benz said.

Seeking permission

In 2023, when Disney offered him the “kumu hula” role, La Benz actually hesitated. A trained ʻ艒lapa hula (hula dancer) under Kumu Hula Snowbird Bento, he wasn鈥檛 sure if taking the role of a kumu hula on screen was appropriate.

“My initial reaction was I better call my kumu first to make sure that it鈥檚 okay to portray a kumu,” La Benz said.

With her blessing, he stepped into it.

“He Mele No Lilo” (A song for the lost)

Filming for the lively scene took place at the Kokokahi YMCA in Kailua, and La Benz, who has a 9-year-old daughter, said it felt natural.

“It was just like having a bunch of my daughters there. They were super goofy. I felt more like I was being a parent and modeling after how I see my kumu interact with her students at those ages,” he said.

In addition to his role as Lilo鈥檚 kumu hula, La Benz also served as the body double for the alien character Jumba, performing the character鈥檚 physical movements on set.

His daughter, Kealaleih艒k奴 lit up at the film鈥檚 Hawaiʻi premiere.

“She was just staring into the screen, but when I came on she said, ‘Oooh! Daddy!!’”

Guiding life moments

Outside of acting, La Benz pours his heart into work as a kahu (officiant). He鈥檚 spent more than a decade overseeing weddings, blessings and farewells.

“Honored to be a part of different celebrations…making people feel safe and comfortable enough to celebrate or grieve in a way that they need to,” said La Benz.

He expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to serve as a kahu and looks forward to taking on new acting roles but says above all, being a dad is the role he cherishes most.

—By Moanikeʻala Nabarro

Hundreds gathered at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 for the , a free series of forums focused on leveraging ancestral knowledge to support long-term recovery efforts for communities affected by the Lahaina wildfires and the 2018 Kauaʻi floods.

“Piʻo summits were created to highlight ancestral innovation and the need for courageous leadership to solve the complex problems of our time,” said Kamanamaikalani Beamer, who is the Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment at Hawaiʻinuākea and a professor at and the . “Aloha ʻāina (love of the land) is advancing efforts all across Hawaiʻi, and this is about us galvanizing that movement here at the university.”

• Related 东精影业 News story: 东精影业 conference addresses water justice, Red Hill, ʻāina, December 15, 2022

Award-winning vocalist and 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 alumna Raiatea Helm opened the summit at Imin Conference Center with mele aloha ʻāina, grounding the event in songs of love for the land. Her performance connected the audience to cherished places like Oʻahu, Piʻihonua within Hilo鈥檚 uplands and Kalamaʻula on Molokaʻi, where her roots lie.

Beyond the fires

A panel on Lahaina鈥檚 recovery brought together experts to discuss the devastating August 2023 wildfires and paths forward. Community leader Kekai Keahi, 东精影业 law professor Kapua Sproat, and ecosystem fire specialist Clay Trauernicht explored how climate change heightens wildfire risks and how ancestral knowledge can inform Lahaina鈥檚 rebuilding.

“He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauw膩 ke kanaka—the land is the chief, we are the stewards,” Beamer emphasized. “A great example is restoration of streams,” Beamer said. “When we restore streams we restore the life and ecosystems of that stream system. But it also re-greens the ʻāina, so places in like Lahaina, when the streams were flowing, when Lahaina was the so-called 鈥榁enice of the Pacific,鈥� wildfires wouldn鈥檛 steep through.”

Healing in Hāʻena

Another panel highlighted resilience in 碍补耻补ʻ颈鈥檚 north shore community of Hāʻena after catastrophic flooding in 2018. Leaders Chipper Wichman, Lei Wanna and Billy Kinney shared how ʻohana (family) bonds and cultural heritage sustained recovery efforts and preserved community identity.

Hosted by Pōʻai Ke Aloha ʻĀina, a project of the Dana Naone Hall chair, the summit spotlighted how 东精影业 fosters aloha ʻāina practices to address modern challenges.

Sponsors included 东精影业 Research, , , Ulupono Initiative, Ka Huli Ao and the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi.

Amidst today鈥檚 global climate crisis, Hawaiʻi鈥檚 sustainable development challenges are being exacerbated by rising sea levels, environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources, which are amplifying strains on energy sources, increasing costs, and the state鈥檚 dependence on imported goods and industries such as tourism and construction.

However, long before the advent of today鈥檚 model of an extractive linear economy, Hawaiʻi operated on a unique ancestral circular economy that embraced a “give, take, regenerate” model that sustained an isolated island civilization for centuries.

Recognizing the significance and values of this ancestral circular economy, the University of Hawaiʻi is developing a first-of-its-kind 笔艒ʻ补颈 ke Aloha ʻĀina Center for the Ancestral Circular Economy & Justice under the leadership of Professor Kamanamaikalani Beamer, director of the 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 , and the Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment.

His lab, 笔艒ʻ补颈 ke Aloha ʻĀina—which loosely translates to “center for ancestral circular economy and justice,” like the upcoming center that it will serve—is paving the way toward this new paradigm for 东精影业. Through annual summits and publications, his team of graduate students and mentees are helping to catalyze local research, advocacy and partnerships, while fostering international collaborations.

“Hawaiʻi is an ideal setting for implementing and studying sustainable development, and circular economy principles and practices,” said Beamer. “Our isolation and finite resources offer a controlled environment to rapidly assess the impact of environmental changes. But more importantly, our rich ancestral knowledge and values-based circular economy practices can serve as blueprints for universal application for other community-based circular economies around the world.”

This topic was featured in the 2023 东精影业 Innovation Conference x Piʻo Summit.

For more on the 东精影业 笔艒ʻ补颈 ke Aloha ʻĀina Center for the Ancestral Circular Economy & Justice, . Noelo is 东精影业鈥檚 research magazine from the .

students and graduates are making waves in the world of Hawaiian genealogical research. On April 23, they presented their work at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, unveiling a groundbreaking project that seeks to reconnect kānaka ʻōiwi (Native Hawaiians) with their ancestral roots.

Three haumāna (students); Haliʻa Osorio, Brandi Ahlo and Alyssa ʻĀnela Purcell, from the (HSHK) shared their findings from the , where they transcribe and digitize handwritten moʻokūʻauhau (genealogical) records penned mostly in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) during the 19th century. The project’s goal is to provide free public access to these records, allowing kānaka ʻōiwi to trace their genealogy with the click of a button.

“Our eyes go big and our hearts beat faster when we learn a story or find a lineage that our professor has never seen before,” said Purcell, the project鈥檚 lead researcher who is pursuing a PhD in Indigenous politics. “It makes me excited to realize that there is so much more to learn about our ancestors and—in that same vein—ourselves as a people.”

Royal connections

The Moʻopono Project, launched in 2021 by HSHK Professor Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, set out to transcribe 55 books originally authored by the Board of Genealogy of Hawaiian Chiefs and other sources. These books contain intricate family lineages from across ka pae ʻāina o Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian archipelago), including ancestral data from notable historical figures such as Queen Liliʻuokalani and historian S.M. Kamakau.

Paʻa i ka hana, very busy working

During their presentation at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, student researchers explained the fragile books had been stored for decades at the Hawaiʻi State Archives, largely out of reach of the general public. Working off of scanned images, the haumāna have transcribed 7,385 of the 9,000 pages so far, with more work on the horizon.

“Our ancestors were geniuses in how they embedded genealogies into our stories, music, chants, and everyday language,” Purcell explained. “Because of them, our knowledge is everywhere鈥攚e just need the appropriate systems and tools to access it.”

• Related 东精影业 News story: Hawaiian studies students urge U.N. to investigate Red Hill leaks, Indigenous rights, May 3, 2022

The student researchers aim to complete the pioneering project as part of their mission to help kānaka ʻōiwi reclaim their ancestral identity and inspire Indigenous communities from around the world to revive and reclaim their own histories.

“Our ancestors wanted/want us to know them and to engage them. Our ancestors want to empower us. What a rare and potent form of aloha,” Purcell said.

A graduate haumāna (student) pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa earned the Miss Aloha Hula title and Hawaiian language award at the 61st annual Merrie Monarch Festival. Kaʻōnohikaumakaakeawe Kananiokeakua Holokai Lopes competed alongside 12 other contestants in the solo category held at the Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium in Hilo on Thursday, April 4.

Lopes鈥� parents, 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 alumna Tracie Lopes and 东精影业 Mānoa Director R. Keawe Lopes are also her kumu hula, leading Windward Oʻahu-based hālau Ka Lā ʻŌnohi Mai O Haʻehaʻe. 21-year-old Ka驶艒nohi, who is fluent in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), also earned a BA from the university鈥檚 Hawaiian language department.

“One of the goals in Kawaihuelani is for our predominantly Hawaiian population of students to acquire their language and realize a sense of self through ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi,” said C. M. Kaliko Baker, a Kumu ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补. “That sense of self was evident in the way that Ka驶艒nohi carried herself last night. She absolutely knew who she was.”

Soloists are judged on a variety of criteria, everything from posture, expression, costume authenticity and mele (song) interpretation. Each contestant is required to dance both hula kahiko (ancient) and ʻauana (modern).

For her kahiko portion, Lopes shared mele Aia Ka Lani Kua Kaʻa I Luna, which transported audiences to Lanikūhonua, a revered cultural refuge at Ko Olina. The West Oʻahu abode, once frequented by aliʻi (royalty), holds great significance to her parents鈥� hula lineage.

Lopes鈥� mele ʻauana honored her namesake, the late Uncle George Ainsley Kananiokeakua Holokai, a revered kumu hula. Draped in golden strands of lei kukunaokalā, she danced Kanani Holokai, likening Uncle George to a gentle breeze that dances across the land.

Hula heritage earns 3rd ʻohana title

Lopes comes from an ʻohana deeply rooted in hula. Her mother Tracie won the Miss Aloha Hula title in 1994. This is also the fourth consecutive solo title secured by Keawe and Tracie鈥檚 hālau. Two of those were earned by 东精影业 Mānoa alumnae; Lopes’s older sister, Piʻikea Kekīhenelehuawewehiikekauʻōnohi Lopes (Miss Aloha Hula 2022) and Rosemary Kaʻimilei Keamoai-Strickland (Miss Aloha Hula 2021).

More hula excellence
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• Face of Nike Indigenous collection is Kānaka ʻōiwi grad student
• 东精影业 Mānoa grad student captures 2022 Miss Aloha Hula title
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There are two more nights of hula competition with wāhine (women) and kāne (men) groups. Hālau from across Hawaiʻi and the U.S. continent will perform on Friday, April 5 (hula kahiko) and Saturday, April 6 (hula ʻauana).

is housed within at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补.

There has been a growing demand for urgent action on issues regarding limited natural resources, biodiversity loss, climate change, energy efficiency, mass waste and pollution. Nearly 300 community leaders, stakeholders and members of the public attended A University of Hawaiʻi Innovation Conference x Piʻo Summit with a goal of creating sustainable solutions for healthy communities in Hawaiʻi and around the world.

at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center on December 13 highlighted frameworks, principles, resources and networks of practice that have implemented contemporary applications of ancestral innovation and resource management sciences. The conference was a hub of ideas and actions.

“Solving for a circular economy, fixing the economy here in Hawaiʻi to be more regenerative, less extractive and exploitative of our environment, is something critical for the future of all of Hawaiʻi,” said Kamanamaikalani Beamer, 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 director at and professor and Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment, who delivered the opening keynote and moderated panels on ancestral circular economy, and experiences and best practices of circular economy interventions. “The multiple crises that we faced over these last five years: rain bombs, dramatic fires, poisoning of water, the loss of jobs and security, many of these issues can be solved by reframing our economy to be more robust, more regenerative, between people and place.”

Beamer鈥檚 keynote ignited a passion for ancestral circular economies, connecting the past with aspirations for a better world.

Why is a circular economy important?

The pursuit of profit and convenience has led to growing consumerism, throwaway culture and monumental waste, resulting in a linear “take, make, use, waste” economy built on extracting finite resources to create products destined for landfills.

Governments across the globe are searching for solutions that separate economic growth from environmental degradation while ensuring long-term prosperity. In ancestral Hawaiʻi, a “give, take, regenerate” circular system led to the development of balanced structures of resource management. One steadily advancing movement is aimed at designing a “circular economy,” where waste is minimal, materials and resources are preserved for as long as possible, and modes of production mimic nature鈥檚 regenerative processes.

The session themes focused on past successes with implementing a circular economy and taking those best practices into the future.

“We don鈥檛 solve things instantly. I think we begin though, to set in precedent a new way of understanding of how we enact an island economy given these changes, which are challenges, but the opportunity of the precedent of what鈥檚 here that we can pull from this corpus of knowledge,” said Kamuela Enos, director of the 东精影业 , who moderated a pair of panels on contemporary restoration of ahupuaʻa (traditional subdivision of land) and 东精影业鈥檚 role in creating opportunities for the future.

Advancing a Circular Economy in Hawaiʻi was sponsored by the , , and in partnership with Piʻo Summit 2023 and . For more information, .