The Sultan of Ternate, His Excellency Husain Syiah, visited the University of Hawaiʻi campus on January 20, 2016. His visit was part of a United States Agency for International Development funded project, in cooperation with Hope Worldwide and led by National Disaster Preparedness Training Center Executive Director Karl Kim.
The sultan was accompanied by Hope Worldwide’s Director of Disaster Operations Charles Ham and the Rector of Khairun University Husen Alting.
The visit to Hawaiʻi included meetings with scientists and emergency managers from the National Weather Service, International Tsunami Information Center and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument at the Inouye Resource Center on Ford Island. A seminar on disaster risk reduction and resilience in North Maluku was also held on the UH Mānoa campus. The group also held meetings to plan further research and educational programs focused on disasters, social conflict and resource management.
The visit builds on ongoing research, education and training at UH with many universities, governmental agencies and philanthropic organizations working in Indonesia. Last summer, the sultan received a delegation of UH researchers and scientists at his palace in Tidore. UH conducted workshops on small island disaster risk reduction at Khairun University. Research and training will be conducted during the summer of 2016 in East Indonesia.
- Related: “UH faculty received by Sultan of Tidore,” June 8, 2015
“We share many of the same hazards, threats and approaches to mitigating harm and adapting to volcanoes, coastal hazards and sea level rise,” said Kim, a professor of urban and regional planning. “We need to share knowledge and work together to build resilient communities to further peace and prosperity.”
Ham added, “The partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi is a model of international cooperation resulting in not just the exchange of knowledge and technology, but also long-term cooperation and enduring relationships between our island communities.”
