Two longtime University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa faculty members, Kathryn Braun and Cullen Hayashida, played key roles in the 20th anniversary conference of the Active Aging Consortium in Asia Pacific (ACAP) held in Fukuoka, Japan, in March 2025. They joined a 10-member Hawaiʻi delegation, including representatives from the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health and local kūpuna-serving organizations.
The conference brought together experts from more than 40 countries to share knowledge on dementia-friendly communities, digital inclusion, migration and care work, and intergenerational relationships.
Braun, professor of public health at UH Mānoa and current ACAP president, is the principal investigator of the federally-funded Hā Kūpuna National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders in the Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health. She highlighted Hawaiʻi’s rapidly aging population and the value of learning from other countries’ experiences.
“Hawaiʻi is one of the most rapidly aging states in the nation, but not as fast as Japan and several other Asian countries,” said Braun. “These gatherings help us adapt successful models to meet Hawaiʻi’s unique needs.”
Hayashida, graduate affiliate faculty in UH Mānoa’s Department of Sociology, School of Nursing and Center on Aging, is the founding director of the Kūpuna Education Center at Kapiʻolani Community College. He described ACAP as a vital network of researchers, educators, healthcare professionals, and advocates committed to active aging.
“Active retirees should pivot from just being youthful to becoming useful contributors,” he said.
ACAP welcomes members of all ages and backgrounds to participate in monthly webinars and international knowledge exchange. Membership is free. To join, email Kathryn Braun at kbraun@hawaii.edu.
