Announcing HONUA Scholars' 2024 proposal competition
Repost from April 16, 2024
After months of collaborating with team members and community organizations, HONUA Scholars launched its third annual proposal competition on April 15, and the team is currently accepting online submissions in English, ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, and other Pacific Islander languages. As an organizer of the proposal competition, I'm thrilled to share that HONUA is expanding this contest's reach and impact yet again. In addition to opening eligibility to all students enrolled in grades 6–12 and college, the 2024 contest is linked to a fellowship sponsored by Purple Maiʻa to help up to three fellows bring their proposals to life.
The inspiration for this year's guiding prompt is a call to action by Kanaka ʻŌiwi kiaʻi, activists, and community leaders to aloha ʻāina and mālama i ka wai. I continue to be inspired by children and youth who kūʻē for Indigenous water rights and give public testimony on behalf of their families and communities. I've recently re-watched video recordings of public testimonies given by students during the 2019 Kū Kiʻai Mauna mobilization and the Commission on Water Resource Management's October 2023 meeting in the aftermath of the Lahaina and Kula fires. In listening to the ʻike of these students, I felt their sense of urgency, their need to act today to prevent further desecration and degradation.
To this end, we've decided to return to our roots, that is, the very concept for which our organization is named: honua. We're asking students to think critically and seriously about what it means to be stewards of ʻāina and wai on local, national, and global dimensions. What does it look like to be in good relations with the earth? For those living in particularly urbanized places like Honolulu, what does it mean to perpetuate the sovereignty of the land? How do we ensure we are being good ancestors for future generations? These are just a few pressing questions that must be critically examined as a Lāhui.
Given the existing interconnections between research and practice as well as education and the law, for the first time ever, we're inviting policy proposals to allow students to ideate STEM solutions to policies and procedures that could potentially impact the way ʻāina and wai are defined, managed, and protected in the legal sphere. Additionally, students are able to submit invention- and experiment-based proposals.
Whether you're a current student or educator, I encourage you to visit our website to learn more about the competition and fellowship. Click here to access an informational packet on the 2024 competition.
