Many people talk about sustainability, but my generation wants to really take action. The experience of creating this Youth Leadership Forum has changed my life. For the last few months I've been learning how to develop public-private partnerships so we can realize this dream.  I'm convinced that initiatives like these need to be replicated, in our country and on the whole planet. We are the beginning.  We are the change.  We are the future. We are the hope of the humanity!         Kynan Kawai's Opening Remarks

         David Fuertes, Ka Hana No'eau, Partners in Development 

In our communities we need people like Guy... people who believe in the power of youth to face and resolve the challenges of our times.  What we really need are role models, people who inspire our desire to be better human beings.  What truly makes us great is our will to make changes and our desire to accomplish them. 

Thank you for the invite for the wonderful Forum. I was very impressed and touched by every speaker's story & speeches about Guy. Guy's parents enjoyed watching them on YouTube. I'm so grateful for your kindness and dedication to Guy. I hope SHYLI and the Stone Soup Leadership Institute will continuously grow and the earth will become a sustainable planet full of love. 

2nd Annual Sustainable Hawaii Tour 

From January 17-19, SHYLI organized its 2nd Annual Sustainable Hawaii Tour that was organized by Katie Schwind. 

The Maui Huliau Foundation video team documented both the Tour and the Forum. 

Cultural Sustainability

Danny Akaka Jr. at the Mauna Lani Resort's 
Hawaiian Heritage Site Tour and Kalahuipua'a 

Keala Ching's Hawaiian Immersion Program 
at Konawaena Elementary School

Sustainable Energy: Pacific Bio-Diesel Inc., Kea�'au

Sustainable Agriculture

KANU's Pu'upulehu Garden

Let's Grow Hilo

Last year, SHYLI youth from the West Hawaii Explorations Academy visited HPA's Energy Lab, NEHLA (Natural Energy Laboratory Hawaiian Authority), Mala'ai Gardens: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School, Algood Bamboo Barn in Hawi, Recycle Kea'au, Kea'au Youth Business Center.

Sustainability cannot just be a concept. It must become a way of life. SHYLI has recognized that the leaders of tomorrow are our youth. They should be commended for working with Hawai'i Island youth to learn and teach the concepts of sustainability in a way that empowers the youth and the communities they live in. This approach provides hope for the future of sustainability for Hawai'i Island and beyond.

                                                                        Farrahmarie Gomes
                              North Hawaii Education and Research Center
                 Dean Continuing Education and Community Learning,                                                               University of Hawaii, Hilo

SHYLI Youth Leadership Forum Booklet features the presentations from all SHYLI youth delegates:

* Makana Tavares: Sustainable Cultures

* Kynan Kawai: Sustainable Agriculture

* Trevor Tanaka: Sustainable Education

* Allie Kitchens: Sustainable Architecture

* Manoa Johansen, Sustainable Environments

* Wainani Traub: Sustainable Energy

The SHYLI Forum Booklet also acknowledged leaders in the multi-faceted world of sustainability by featuring their reports in the Resource Guide - that is featured on SHYLI's website: http://shyli.org/youth-leadership-forum

* Hawaii 2050 Sustainable Plan: 2008

* Hawaii's Energy and Agriculture Sectors:
   Path to Sustainability: 2012

* Hawaii's Green Workforce: A Baseline Assessment: 2010

* The County of Hawaii's Sustainable Agriculture Report,
   The Kohala Center, 2010

* Zero Waste Plan for County of Hawaii: 2010

SHYLI youth leaders inspired Forum participants with their hopes and dreams in their presentations on the progress with their Sustainability-In-Action Projects. Our goal of the Forum was to inspire many more youth to join them in building a more sustainable Hawai'i island. See video: SHYLI Youth Leaders

The North Kohala Community Development Program (CDP) set a goal of producing at least 50% of the food we consume. Before the arrival of foreigners to North Kohala (and all the Hawaiian Islands), we were 100% sustainable!  Our whole population was able to satisfy its needs with the resources on our Island.  Today we import 85% of our food -- while 80% of the land in North Kohala is actually zoned for agriculture use.                             Kynan Kawai

Trevor Tanaka is working with Representative Denny Coffman on a Sustainable Education Resolution #15 that he crafted that would require Hawaii public high schools to incorporate sustainable education in their science curriculum.  Trevor is seeking additional legislative and community support for the Resolution in hopes it will be introduced during the current legislative session.

Makana's Cultural Sustainability-In-Action Project is restoring kinship with Hawaiian cultural roots as a step towards becoming more self-sufficient. I'm creating an exhibit for my senior project, which will allow students a forum so they can express their voices while expanding their perspectives and increasing their pride in our collective heritage. It incorporates peace poems by our middle school students, which focuses on their dreams for what they wish to see in the world.  We will leave a legacy, as it will become part of KANU school building. 

Wela ka hao!

(Strike while the iron is hot)

Following their presentations, SHYLI youth invited participants to select a Small Group Session to brainstorm ideas about how to implement and expand their Sustainability-In-Action Projects. Great ideas were nurtured. Participants reflected on how today's economic development initiatives should include youth leaders, since they are planning our collective future.

I was floored by the caliber of persons attending the SHYLI Forum. It was an empowering experience to be amongst today's decision makers while considering that my peers and I may be in their position tomorrow. This Forum felt like both an end and a beginning. It gave me closure in reflecting on the continuation of my experiences at the Summit on Martha's Vineyard while simultaneously inspiring me to champion sustainable causes with increased vigor in my own community.  I now know that the connections I've made are powerful ones that will afford me the support to take my ideas and bring them to concrete fruition in the years to come.                                                 Makana Tavares, 17

I met a future Governor of the State of Hawaii, a future CEO of a social enterprise, an environmental evangelist, and many of today's most thoughtful community leaders, all working together to prepare the next generation of Hawaii leaders. I feel hope. I feel inspired!  Mahalo to the Sustainable Hawaii Youth Leadership Initiative Forum. Keep doing what you're doing!       

                            Ian Kitajima, Director of Innovation, Oceanit

Ahuwale ka po`okela I kāu hana iā ha`i