A look back at Huaka‘i Hawai‘i
in 2021.
Due to COVID-19, the in-person, onsite course was postponed and an online course was offered instead.
Ka‘ala Farm
Students from 31 different countries
participated in the Huaka‘i Hawai‘i 2021 online course.
ABOUT
Huaka‘i Hawai‘i: A Journey of Change and Resiliency, Exploring Climate Impacts in Hawai‘i as a Vehicle for Envisioning Local/Global Sustainable Solutions
Goals of the UWC-SOL Center Short course:
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Further the mission of the UWC: to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future;
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Establish a commitment to climate change mitigation and resiliency solutions;
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Build a collaborative community that supports participant’s commitments to uphold the UWC and SOL Center values and ideals.
WHAT DID WE DO?
Through the unique history, environment, and cultural wisdom of Hawai'i, we explored climate change impacts and solutions for food and energy security and approaches to systems thinking and strategic planning to help develop changemaker skills for innovative, values-based resiliency solutions.
Each week we met online as an entire group for a presentation, and after participants met in smaller hui (groups) for a one-hour discussion led by our facilitators. We provided approximately two hours of readings, video, and audio content to prepare for the next unit and about two hours of fun interactive assignments that participants could share with each other. Each weekʻs presentation, discussion, and assignments were designed to be informative, engaging, and entertaining.
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Natural Systems
Explored the modern science of natural systems and how they are impacted by industrial systems
Indigenous Knowledge
Explored Native Hawaiian understanding of how to thrive within natural systems
Food Systems
Explored Native Hawaiian and modern food systems, climate change impacts, and potential solutions
Energy Systems
Explored energy systems, their climate change impacts, and potential resilient solutions
Strategic
Planning
Explored Polynesian and contemporary strategic planning practices for student-led actions
TESTIMONIALS FROM PARTICIPANTS
"The Huakaʻi Hawaiʻi UWC online course was a game-changer for me. It made me think about life and how some of the daily activities are not fully sustainable. It made me think and implement ways to make my life more sustainable. It showed that our ancestors were living more sustainable lives and we just have to follow and implement some of their ways in our day-to-day life to make the world a better and more sustainable place."
—Ahmad,
Pakistan
"Huakaʻi Hawaiʻi was a wonderful experience. With engaging classes, after a one-hour lecture we were immersed by a one hour discussion about what we learned and how this applied in our reality with amazing students from all the world, with cultural backgrounds and an amount of perspectives that made the conversations and reflections super rich. Even online, we were able to create strong bonds with each other and our amazing moderators. I can't imagine how amazing this program will be in-person. Thank you so much for this amazing experience!"
—Mariana,
Brazil
"I just wanted to say thank you so so much for the course! It was amazing.
In my hui, when asked good and bad points, we were all saying how we couldn’t find anything wrong with it and how amazing it was. It was such an amazing experience and the people were all so kind and interesting. It’s been great following them on Instagram over this past week, it’s given me new perspectives on global issues seeing what is happening in their countries. The variety of assignments given (podcasts, videos, articles) made it really interesting to learn too. I really appreciated all the zoom presentations with Kirsten and David, Parker, Dr. and Dr. Nattrass, Maria, and Joshua. I can’t wait to see everyone’s projects on Mighty Networks.
I have already started the process to apply for UWC schools next year. I had never heard of them before this course, they look amazing.
Anyway, THANK SO MUCH! I LOVED IT!
—Iñès,
France and Britain
"The ability to connect students from across the globe to discuss, appreciate, and learn about indigenous, Native Hawaiian, Pacific-Islander knowledge is a unique privilege. One strengthened by the excitement and positive interaction from the students.
Watching the students eager participation (some of whom stayed up until midnight to participate in the online course) and willingness to learn about indigenous practices and sustainability was a wonderful reminder of the strong leaders we will soon have.
It is with thanks to the tireless efforts of the Sol Center's founders and those who have dedicated their time to putting the program together that we get to help the next generation of leaders."
—Revere,
Hawaiʻi
