Young Southeast Asian leaders arrive in Honolulu
One of the coolest projects I’ve ever been involved in began today with, fittingly, a fun session on how to make (and appreciate) an authentic Hawaiian lei. (pictured)

A group of 25 young leaders from across Southeast Asia has convened here in Honolulu for a project themed on protecting natural resources. They’ll spend 25 days in Honolulu. Then, the cohort will travel to Santa Fe, NM for five days, and finally on to Washington, DC for another four days. All along the way, they’ll be learning about natural resources and their management while they devise community projects to enhance natural resource protection in their home countries.

My role in this project is to teach sessions on mis and disinformation, peace social media, and media literacy, with an eye toward developing a proactive social media strategy to enhance their community projects.

Even after just one day, I can tell that these young leaders, aged 20-25, are smart, dedicated, and energetic. I look forward getting to know them as I teach during the next three weeks, and as I accompany them to New Mexico and DC.

Stay tuned for details.

PS--I’ve already alerted the participants about the joys of New Mexico green chiles, which I plan to consume in nearly obscene quantities!