In the middle of the vast Moananuiākea, Hawaiʻi lies at the crossroads of a rapidly changing world – the intersection of heaven and earth, of east and west, of tradition and innovation. The global pandemic of 2020-2021 has further accelerated the changes already compelling us to reimagine our future. Our collective success in preserving the Hawaiʻi we love for future generations is dependent upon our ability to navigate this intersection.
Literally translated, Ka Huina refers to an intersection or nexus. This term serves as the central theme to this conference, now in its third year, that will explore the nexus in Hawaiʻi, of community, culture, tourism and sustainability.
Ka Huina 2021 will be convened as a series of four one-day virtual conferences, offering an easy-to-digest three-hour Friday afternoon session from 2 – 5 p.m, concluding with music for your Aloha Friday. Ka Huina 2021 will be presented via Zoom at no charge to attendees.
In the first installment of Ka Huina 2021, we examine how our community responses to COVID made us stronger for the long run. We’ll also take a look at the more active role communities are playing in their own future. What’s on the horizon for community involvement in decision making?
In this edition, we’ll take a look at cultural learning. Like other kinds of education, cultural learning has changed during COVID, expanding far beyond the walls of the hālau. What of it will we keep in the future? Also, we’ll look at virtual cultural experiences that have grown while people could not be present in person. What have we learned, and how can those lessons help protect places with limited capacity to accept visitors?
Multiple efforts were underway before the pandemic hit to move Hawaiʻi’s visitor industry toward a model that gives back to the environment, culture, and community more than it takes. Have we used the pandemic pause wisely?
At the fourth conference of this year’s Ka Huina series, we talk sustainability. We’ll consider buildings and critical infrastructure at risk of climate change-related impacts, and how tourism can be catalytic to Hawaiʻi realizing our food security goals.
Ka Huina is presented by the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Associationin partnership with the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.
