A Day Well-Spent at TEDxHonolulu 2013

TEDxHonolulu's 4th Annual Conference at the Hawaii Theatre, centering around the theme "Cultivating Community", was fantastic!

All of the speakers were so inspiring.

Sense of Place

Au's Shaolin Arts - Share the cultural understanding and benefits of the Shaolin Temple of China

Terry L. Hunt, University of Hawaii - Use the lessons of Ancient Rapa Nui to Cultivate Community

Paul Bump, Marine Biologist - Cultivate the unseen and under-appreciated community

Sense of Identity

Henry Kapono, Musician - Music can cultivate a community

Jessica R. Munoz, Courage House Hawaii Project - Justice for child victims of sexual exploitation

Kenny Endo, Musician - Engage in activities which promote mind-body-spirit harmony

Sense of Values

Ian Kitajima, Oceanit - Building the World's Most Innovative Communities (from Hawaii)

Owen Shieh, National Disaster Preparedness Training Center - We can cultivate a more resilient community by appreciating the science of hazardous weather and paying attention to its impacts on humanity,

Matthew Nagato, Hawai'i Primary Care Association - Health is in everything we do, and the surest way to creating a thriving, healthy society is through the power of community

Sense of Responsibility

Hannah Roberts, Navy Lt. j.g. - The Runner's Low: Depression and the Badwater Ultra Marathon

Manuel Mejia, The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii - Revive and revitalize the tradition of caring for the land and sea, so that our communities, in turn, can thrive in a sustainable way

Pacific Tongues, Jamaica Osorio, Ittai Wong, andYouth Poets - Provide a safe and central location in the Hawaiian Islands to facilitate a cross-cultural exchange within Pacific influenced populations through spoken arts education

Here are some of my memorable moments, throughout the day.

Before the event, 

This is what it looked like outside. Various organizations set up informative exhibits.

We walked over to The Arts at Marks Garage to see what was happening there.

@fenwayfan808 at the Arts at Marks Garage #tedxhonolulu pic.twitter.com/zlCsOUGGwg
— Linda Lindsay (@mauilibrarian2) November 16, 2013

The TEDxYouth group had set up a table to celebrate TEDxYouth Day

During the event,

Hawai'i's Slam Poet Kealoha did a fantastic job as Master of Ceremonies!

Slam poet Kealoha as emcee

Ben Seng Au's presentation was enlightening, and the Shaolin Arts Lion Dance throughout the theatre was so entertaining.

Shaolin Arts Lion Dance

Listening to Henry Kapono sing "Friends" in person and hearing about his life story? Priceless.

Henry Kapono singing "Friends"

Kenny Endo's taiko presentation was so powerful.

Kenny Endo

During lunch,

I had the good fortune to be seated at the Downbeat Diner with TEDxHonolulu attendees Guy and Val Wright of Vancouver Island. Guy is a member of the Komoux, a First Nations tribe / band, and I learned so much about his culture. How interesting!

The Littlest Co-op gave away starfruit tree starters during the break. I hand-carried mine on the plane back to Maui.

During the afternoon,

I was so impressed with Ian Kitajima's innovative projects for good.

Ian Kitajima of Oceanit

I found Hannah Roberts' story about how the Badwater Ultramarathon influenced her so compelling and inspiring.

Hannah Roberts

At the end,

Organizer Genesis Leong thanked all of the sponsors and volunteers. I know she had worked very hard for months. TEDxHonolulu was a success!

Organizer Genesis Leong

I found inspiration, happy surprises, aha moments, and unexpected insight at TEDxHonolulu 2013.

Yes, indeed, it was a day well-spent.

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

P. S. The flight over from Maui in the morning set the tone for the rest of my day.

Seated next to me was Chad Chapman, a history teacher at Maui High School, who was grading papers. I reveled with Chad as he showed me his students' work, and we discussed our hopes and dreams for the education of our students. So vitalizing!

The work of Chad Chapman's ninth grade history students

(◕‿◕✿)

@mauilibrarian2
G+

Anyone Up for a Cardboard Challenge ala Caine's Arcade?

I attended Kamehameha's Kukulu Kaiaulu 2013 conference last week.  Imagine: Building Global Communities was the theme. Boy, did it start off with a bang!

The opening keynote was indeed about imagination and building global communities. Filmmaker Nirvan Mullick spoke about his creation: Caine's Arcade. The video tugged at my heart and later I watched it a second, and then a third time, and showed it to my family. So powerful.

The video was posted on April 9, 2012, and it went viral. ... See what you think (even if you're one of the millions who already viewed it, I know you won't mind watching it again).


...It fueled a world-wide movement!

Long story short:

The filmmaker set up a college scholarship fund for Caine with a goal of $25,000. The fund is now up to $233,000+ as of the publishing of this post, with matching funds from the Goldhirsch Foundation.

The video spawned the Imagination Foundation.

'For every $1 donated by the public to “Caine’s Scholarship Fund,” the Goldhirsh Foundation will donate $1 toward establishing the Imagination Foundation to support other amazing kids!'

Check out the articles galore after the video went viral, as documented in Caine's Arcade's Press page. Amazingly, this press page covers over 6 dozen high-profile articles in a very short 2-1/2 month period.

And there's a Facebook page (which I Liked).

Here's Part 2, posted on September 12, 2012, titled Caine's Arcade 2: From a Movie to a Movement. Another heart filler.



The Imagination Foundation holds an annual Cardboard Challenge for kids, wherein kids create amazing things out of cardboard. Last year, there were 270 events in 40 countries. How many events in how many countries will there be this year?

The goal is to 'engage 1 million kids in 70 countries in creative play'. Here's how to get involved.

The Cardboard Challenge will take place on October 5, 2013. Find out about hosting a Challenge here. The event could range from a classroom project to a large community event.

... I wonder if any Maui people would be interested in hosting a challenge. In fact, I'm thinking that since the world-wide Challenge takes place during our Maui Fair, it would be a grand event to offer for our children, one that celebrates their creativity. :)

One of the coolest things about this project is that the creations are from recycled materials. Cost? Practically nothing. Isn't that wonderful?

Any takers?

[Update 08/15/13: Our school's student recycling group is planning a Cardboard Challenge!]

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

P. S. I got up the nerve to introduce myself to Nirvan after the presentation. Do I look as starstruck as I felt?

Nirvan Mullick, director of Caine's Arcade, Parts 1 and 2

(◕‿◕✿ ) 

@mauilibrarian2 
G+

Cross-posted in my personal blog Celebrate Maui.