Nainoa Thompson and his history-making Hokule‘a crew will be recognized
with peacemaker awards at the 10th anniversary of Peace Day Hawaii, from 2
to 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
The awards ceremony will start at 6 p.m. at Soka Gakkai International Hawaii Culture Center, 2729 Pali Highway. The day also offers educational workshops and activities based on the theme “Journey for Peace with Aloha: Making Connections.”
Thompson will accept the Distinguished Peacemaker award and recognition of
his crew as Honorary
Peacemakers. Other highlights of the free event
include musical and dance performances, student presentations, speakers and educational resource booths for students of all ages. Organizers said panel presentations will highlight “the idea that our island community can provide the world with insight on how to build peace by forging a foundation of sustainability and shared natural resources that contribute to human dignity.”
Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin will be part of a panel on “Aloha on the Frontlines: How Hawaii is Leading the Charge for Immigrant Rights,” from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
For a detailed schedule, visit peacedayhawaii.com.
In 2007, the Legislature designated Sept. 21 as Peace Day in Hawaii “to promote peace programs, improve
international relations and increase educational awareness of peace.”
Other events:
>> Campaign Nonviolence, an international grass-roots movement, will hold
a “Wage Peace, Not War” vigil from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Honolulu Federal Building, co-sponsored by Honolulu Friends Meeting and Hawai‘i Peace and Justice. The event ties in with advocacy efforts by
the Friends Committee on
National Legislation to encourage members of Congress to curb military spending and divert funds to social programs. Visit campaignnonviolence.org.
>> The Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution and the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law will celebrate Peace Day and Constitution Day with a panel discussion on protecting the environment and civil liberties, titled “Sanctuary, Civility and Aloha: How will we respond as educators?” It will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the law school’s Classroom 2. Refreshments will be provided.
Celebrate peace year-round at these sites:
>> The Leahi Millennium Peace Garden, 4303 Diamond Head Road, next to Kapiolani Community College, was founded in 1999 by the Millennium Young People’s Congress. It was financed primarily by Soka Gakkai International, which in 2010 built a peace circle, including several bronze plaques inscribed with the words of Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, Queen Lili‘uokalani and other peacemakers.
>> The Urban Garden Center in Pearl City, under the University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, at 955 Kamehameha Highway, features a peace garden built in 2012 that has been the site of past Peace Day events.
>> The Mohandas K. Gandhi statue, on Kapahulu Avenue in front of the Honolulu Zoo, is the site of the annual International Day of Nonviolence, held by the Gandhi International Institute for Peace. This year’s event is at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 2. Visit gandhianpeace.com.
>> The Hiroshima Peace Bell, located at the Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii, 215 N. Kukui St., was presented in replica in 1985 by the Hiroshima prefecture to the City and County of Honolulu in recognition of their longstanding sister-city relationship. A bell-ringing ceremony is held annually on Aug. 6, the anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.
>> The Nagasaki Peace Bell, located on the grounds of the Frank F. Fasi Civic Center, 650 S. King St., was donated to Honolulu in 1990 by survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, which brought an end to World War II. The Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin has sponsored a bell-ringing ceremony on that date the past eight years, recently in partnership with Roman Catholics and Quakers.
>> The Queen Lili‘uokalani statue, dedicated in 1982 on the mall between the state Capitol and ‘Iolani Palace, recognizes Hawaii’s last ruling monarch, deposed with aid from the U.S. government in 1893 but beloved for her efforts to restore Hawaiian sovereignty. Her legacy as a peacemaker is celebrated annually by several churches and community groups, including the Hawai‘i Forgiveness Project and the Pacific Justice and Reconciliation Center. A plaque reads: “Our Queen lives forever with steadfast devotion in the hearts of her loyal people.”