The East-West Center’s (EWC) President Suzanne “Suzy” Puanani Vares-Lum, the first woman and Native Hawaiian to lead the center, gave an inaugural address online on January 10 as part of a change-of-responsibility ceremony broadcast from the center’s renowned campus.
The theme of the event, during which the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumna received a ceremonial lauhala mat symbolizing transfer of the center’s stewardship, was Ka ulana ʻana i ka piko—in weaving, you begin at the center.
“I am keenly aware that I am standing on the shoulders of past and present giants as I inherit stewardship of an institution that has had an unparalleled impact in so many ways,” said Vares-Lum. “The Indo-Pacific, where East meets West, matters now as never before. We face unprecedented challenges—environmental damage and climate change, authoritarian influence and strained alliances, corruption, disease and pandemics—with enormous consequences that will reverberate around the globe. At the East-West Center, we realize these challenges can be met if our solutions are rooted in authentic, people-to-people understanding and culturally informed expertise. This is why our mission—using the tools of cooperative study, research and dialogue to promote understanding in our region—has never been more important.”
In a ceremony led by Kahu Kordell Kekoa, EWC Board of Governors Chair James Scott and outgoing President Richard Vuylsteke presented Vares-Lum with a lauhala mat that Kekoa said symbolizes responsibility for a community woven together from many strands, as well as a place where people can sit together to build a better world. Members of Vares-Lum’s ʻohana also participated in the ceremony, representing the support of many hands that is required for leadership.
- Related UH News story: UH alum is first Native Hawaiian, woman picked to lead East-West Center, November 18, 2021
Vares-Lum said “What is our center’s piko? It is our shared values: respect, equality, service, quietly working toward peace on a person-to-person level. It is our all-of-society focus: harnessing research, education and training across sectors, cultures and professions. And it is our common aspirations—what we work to accomplish together: combatting the effects of the pandemic and climate change; supporting effective governance; public accountability, and human rights; and creating new knowledge and fostering new ideas to promote freedom, prosperity, peace and dignity.”
Sharing her vision for the future of the EWC, Vares-Lum asked the audience to imagine “a state of the art, world-class center for inclusive U.S. and Indo-Pacific engagement that advances peaceful, just and prosperous communities. A ‘go-to’ institution for thought leadership and capacity development on critical challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region. A nexus for sustaining and enhancing positive and productive relations between the U.S., Asia and the Pacific Island nations. An institute of hope for us all.”
More on Vares-Lum can be found online as she shares how her family’s genealogy is much like the cross-cultural relationships that thrive at EWC.
For more information on the inaugural address, see the EWC website.
Although the University of Hawaiʻi and East-West Center are separate institutions, they have long been close partners and neighbors.
