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into the fifth decade… Highlights2000 RESEARCH: The Decline of the Military in Asia; HIGHLIGHTS: Population and Health; EWC 40th Anniversary events; Impact of New U.S.-Japan Program for Climate Change. Okinawa; Fiji Unity-Building [ Page 16 ] Dialogue; First Asia Pacific Conference on E-Commerce [ Page 4 ] PACIFIC ISLANDS EDUCATION: EAST-WEST SEMINARS DEVELOPMENT: Scholarship Programs; AND DIALOGUE: Eco-Business Asia Pacific studies Senior Policy Seminar; Opportunities; Pacific in American schools Jefferson Fellowship Islands Leaders; South and colleges. journalists; 31st Summer Pacific Scholarships. [ Page 24 ] Seminar on Population. [ Page 20 ] [ Page 30 ] CENTER OUTREACH: HOME INSTITUTIONS EWC in the news; International OF EWC RESEARCH COLLABORATORS Education Week; Young artist from AND PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS: China; Publications; EWC in the Pacific Islands — [ Page 23 ] community; Visitors and briefings. Asia — [ Page 34 ] [ Page 36 ] United States — [ Page 44 ] PUBLICATIONS: SUPPORTING THE CENTER: Asia Pacific Security EWC Foundation sees Outlook; EWC increase in support; Former researchers’ books participants contribute; Japan receive awards. assists Pacific islands research; [ Page 40 ] Three alumni honored. [ Page 46 ] [ 1 ] A Landmark Year In the Center’s History By Charles E. Morrison, President and George R. Ariyoshi, Chair, EWC Board of Governors The East-West Center’s 40th anniversary year was a time to celebrate a legacy of accomplishment in building East-West relations and to make concrete progress in putting into place the new program outlined in the Action Plan. This plan was described in the 1999 Annual Report. The highlight of the year was the Center’s largest ever event, an international conference on Asia-Pacific community-building that attracted almost 800 former participants, including 600 from overseas and representing about a fifth of the total 4,600 EWC degree awardees. This high proportion demonstrated the deep and continuing attachment of Center alumni for the institution and its mission. The international conference was an enriching intellectual experience, with 37 panels on a vast array of topics related to contemporary society in Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. It was also a time of high emotions as former Center students and participants, some returning for the first time in decades, renewed their acquaintance with the Center, discovered old friends, and honored favorite staff and teachers. The conference illustrated the tremendous power and lasting impact of people-to-people “diplomacy,” especially when it’s focused on specific tasks and guided by an overriding mission. Through the conference, participants rededicated themselves to the Center’s mission of building strong relationships, understanding of the region, and a sense of Asia-Pacific community. [ 2 ] Aside from the 40th anniversary conference, other significant developments in an exciting year for the Center included: ■ Then-President Bill Clinton’s announcement of the Center-proposed Obuchi Education and Research Program as a joint Japan-U.S. program for Okinawa. The program will provide educational training for young Okinawans through study at the East-West Center, research exchanges, and EWC help in developing an Okinawan research institute. The Center has almost 600 alumni in Okinawa.. ■ The first “National Unity” dialogue (or talanoa) in Fiji on October 31- November 1, 2000. Following a coup attempt earlier in the year, this dialogue sponsored by the East-West Center brought together leaders of Fijian political parties and religious groups to discuss practical ways to deepen understanding and cooperation across the ethnic divides in their country. Although the dialogue addressed short-term issues related to restoration of order and democracy, it was intended as a venue for discussion on longer-term issues that undermine national unity in Fiji, the second most populous Pacific island nation. ■ The second Senior Policy Seminar featuring high level diplomats and government officials from throughout the region who discussed the future of regional order and practical security and economic problems. Participants included US ambassadors to China, Japan, and Korea; the Chinese arms control chief; the Japanese UN ambassador and deputy foreign minister; heads of regional think tanks; and other leading participants. ■ Participation by 50 journalists from Asia, the Pacific and the United States — triple the number since 1998 — in a growing array of media programs such as the now biannual Jefferson Fellowship. Journalists, policymakers and teachers are given special attention at the East-West Center because of their critical roles as communicators, opinion leaders and decision-makers. ■ New ground was broken in the business community at the first Asia Pacific Conference on E-Commerce, three days of discussion by experts from the region on the prospects for E-commerce in the region. ■ The Center’s first annual dinner, attended by more than 400 persons including civic leaders in Hawaii, Center staff and participants, alumni, and the heads of government and/or state from six Pacific islands nations. ■ The East-West Center with help from Hawaii’s Pacific and Asian Affairs Council coordinated the first International Education Week activities in Hawaii. Hawaii was featured as a model state on the State Department’s Web site for its initiatives to make the week a truly enhancing experience for both students and the general public. [ 3 ] ■ Two book awards for Center-sponsored research. One went to demographer Peter Xenos for his book on the dynamics of regional population growth and the other to former staff member Yok-shiu Lee and a collaborator for a study of environmental movements in Asian countries. East-West Center research products continue to be published by leading presses, such as Stanford University Press. ■ The completion of the Board-directed review of the Center’s educational program. In November, the Board of Governors approved the outlines of a new East- West Center program, a year of intensive Asia-Pacific study designed to complement degree programs in universities around the region. The program is particularly directed toward Asia and Pacific students who would not otherwise have studies in the United States, and toward American students who desire a strong background on Asia and the Pacific but are not seeking to become academic experts on the region. ■ The Washington-based “Congressional Study Group on the Pacific Islands” kicked off activities in February 2000 with former Assistant Secretary of State Stanley O. Roth as the featured speaker. The Congressional Study Group provides a venue for congressional staff and others in Washington interested in the Pacific Island region to share information on island issues of relevance to the United States. The Center also sponsored a series of three seminars — on Capitol Hill, at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, and at the Department of Defense — on the changing role of the military in Asian countries, featuring participants in an on-going East-West Center project. ■ The East-West Center Foundation expanded its Board during 1999-2000. Funding through the Foundation expanded by more than 250 percent in the past year. The Center is deeply grateful to all those foundations, corporations, individual friends and alumni who continue to provide the extra resources needed to enhance the Center’s ability to carry out its congressionally mandated mission. These are only some of the many highlights of the changing East-West Center program to promote Asia-Pacific community-building and to help better prepare Americans for an era in which the Asia Pacific region will be vastly more important in their everyday lives. This report provides information on the many other activities — in all more than 200 Center projects, workshops and seminars annually. It also contains several lists intended to provide the reader with a full understanding of the scope and reach of Center activities. We have, for example, listed the more than 250 American colleges that are members of the Asian Studies Development Program (ASDP). The ASDP is a ten-year old program through which the Center and the University of Hawaii seek to infuse Asian studies into the general curriculum of junior and community colleges, smaller colleges, and historically-minority colleges. As the Center moves into the 21st century, it continues to change, to innovate, and to consolidate its new agenda of activities. Major challenges over the coming year include the preparation of the new student program, the deepening of our cooperative research endeavors, the continued strengthening of non-governmental sources of financial support, and the consolidation of our new corporate-oriented seminars, and activities in the Pacific islands. [ 4 ] 2000 Highlights “At the East-West Center there is no foreigner.” Abdul Q. Zia, first East-West Center student to arrive in 1960, at the 40th anniversary celebration East-West Center Above: The EWC/East-West Center Association international conference on “Building an Asia Pacific Community: The EWC in the 21st Century.” Right: EWC 40th Anniversary historical exhibition. [ 5 ] Former U.S. Senator Fong, EWC Board of Governors member Lily Lee Chen, and U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye. Marks 40th Anniversary They came from all corners of the globe — 800 alumni from 32 countries — to reminisce about their extraordinary days at the East-West Center. It had been a time of understanding connections as well as differences, of sitting at the same side of the table. Their unique international experience helped propel them into the highest ranks of government, academia, media and business. The premiere event that drew so many alumni back during the Center’s 40th anniversary year was the international conference held by the EWC and East-West Center Association: “Building an Asia Pacific Community: The EWC in the 21st Century.” The event, offering 37 panel discussions on regional Abdul Q. Zia issues, was funded by philanthropic contributions and participant fees. Its success was due not only to the warm bonds that have spanned the years, but also to the meticulous planning and hard work of staff and alumni.

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