18th Annual National Convention

Photo courtesy of Dennis Oda
/ Honolulu Star-Bulletin

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18th Annual National Convention:
Where Diversity Lives

June 21-24, 2006
Honolulu, Hawai'i
Sheraton Waikiki Hotel

From the Convention Co-Chairs

Craig Gima,
2006 Convention Co-Chair

Joann Shin,
2006 Convention Co-Chair

Aloha

Welcome to a place where diversity works, where Asian American and Pacific Islander men as well as women anchor the news on television, where a Chinese American man and a Chinese American woman have served as publisher of a metropolitan daily newspaper.

Hawai'i is the most ethnically diverse state in the nation, a place where Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been a part of culture, government and the media for generations. More than half the population here has roots in Asian or the Pacific. One in three marriages is interracial and one in four people are of mixed race. All that plus the beach at Waikiki.

It’s where the Asian American Journalists Association will celebrate its silver anniversary during the same year Hawai'i celebrates the centennial of Filipino immigration. Diversity is as much a part of Hawai'i as surfing, hula, poi and rice. Our food, culture and traditions blend East, West and Polynesia like no other place in the world.

More than 1,200 journalists from the mainland and Asia are expected here June 21 through June 24 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. They’ll return with more than just a tan.

We’re planning a great convention taking advantage of Hawaii’s diversity and location in the middle of the Pacific. There will be skills-building seminars, student projects, a town hall meeting and our annual media access workshop to help local community groups learn to get their messages in the media.

There will be opportunities to file stories with a Hawai'i dateline. We’re planning off-site trips to learn about native Hawai'i issues; Filipino immigration; the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which helps protect the U.S. and other countries from tidal waves; and the Pacific Command, the headquarters of the largest military command in the world. For those who want to extend their trip, special hotel deals are available for Oahu and the Neighbor Islands and we’re working on other discounts.

Come to Hawai'i in 2006. It’s more than just a pretty beach. It’s where diversity lives.