Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution

02/28/2026

“If we are demonstrating kindness, helping kupuna or keiki, that’s an act of peace-building,” Soetoro said. “If we are working in the fish pond or nourishing the farms for food security, that is peace building.” Read this beautiful profile of Dr. Maya Soetoro as she reflects on being honored with the Long Live and Prosper Tribute Award: https://manoamirror.org/5247/showcase/a-conversation-with-dr-maya-soetoro/ #

Ceeds of Peace The Peace Studio Institute for Climate and Peace's Community Conversation Page Obama Foundation

02/18/2026

🖖✨We are over the moon to share that our very own Dr. Maya Soetoro is a 2026 recipient of the Live Long and Prosper (LLAP) Tribute Award!

Presented by the Nimoy-Knight Foundation, this honor celebrates those who carry on the legacy of the legendary Leonard Nimoy—championing diverse voices, serving others, and building bridges through peaceful dialogue. Dr. Soetoro joins an incredible "crew" of past honorees like LeVar Burton, Bill Nye, and George Takei. 🚀

https://sci.manoa.hawaii.edu/boldly-going/

Ceeds of Peace The Peace Studio Institute for Climate and Peace's Community Conversation Page Obama Foundation

By Sophia Kim-O’Sullivan Dr. Maya Soetoro, Faculty Specialist in the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, has been named a 2026 recipient of t

02/06/2026

Inspired by the 2,300 mile Walk for Peace by the Theravada Monks, Wake Up Honolulu with support from the Honolulu Mindfulness Community are organizing a Walk for Peace in Downtown Honolulu. The walk will take place this Sunday, February 8th, 2026, with the intention of showing gratitude to the monks and to practice peace within ourselves and our community here in Hawai'i.

The “Walk for Peace Honolulu” will be in the same spirit as that of monks walking to D.C. It will be a silent, mindful walk, without signs or chanting. Gather outside of the Kuan Yin Temple on Vineyard Blvd at 10:30 am. The walk will begin at 11:00 a.m. and will end at the State Capitol Building around 12:00-12:30pm. It is approximately a one-mile walk.

01/29/2026

Don't miss this opportunity to learn from three experts on China's extractive industries and Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia! Join us next week as Carolyn Gruber (Stimson Center), Jessica Liao (US Army War College) and Ardhitya Eduard Yeremia (Universitas Indonesia) unpack how Chinese activities are changing Southeast Asian economic networks, environmental security, and societies.

🗓 Wednesday, February 4, 2026
🕛 12:00–1:30 PM HST | 5:00–6:30 PM EST
📍 Online-only webinar
🔗 Register now: https://go.hawaii.edu/RmD

This webinar is cosponsored by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Center for Chinese Studies, Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and Office of Global Engagement.

12/04/2025

Join us in person at the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center in Ali'iolani Hale on December 6 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM to listen to December's keynote speaker Dr. Kelli Nakamura! Her talk "The Invasiveness of Martial Law and Japanese Incarceration in Hawai'i" will be followed by the Judiciary History Center's grand opening of their temporary exhibit Relics of War: Justice, Culture, and Community in Times of Conflict. On display will be the Honouliuli pop-up exhibit, artifacts and art from Japanese held in military camps during WWII, and more.

Reception with food to follow.

RSVPs to this event are required and are still being accepted. Please RSVP using the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_JXnEYQqFb8Bbp0ul9Yp8zI2pLcz7KVB9wvtflKJRqCfkMw/viewform

Can't make the event in person? It will be livestreamed via Zoom. (located in the RSVP form, so please RSVP and access the Zoom link using the form).

Public parking is available for $2/hr.



EVENT DETAILS:
December 6, 2025
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center's Ali'iolani Hale
417 S. King St, Honolulu, HI

Historic photo courtesy of Hawaii's Plantation Village

11/25/2025

Celebrating the 2025 Nobumoto Tanahashi Peace Fellows! 🕊️

Meet Wiwik Dharmiasih and Emi Obana, two inspiring graduate students whose work is advancing peace.

Wiwik Dharmiasih is protecting Bali's thousand-year-old Subak rice terraces—a vital system of ecological sustainability and cooperation.

Emi Obana is using the universal language of jazz composition to explore themes of personal peace and harmony.

Named for Reverend Nobumoto Tanahashi, this fellowship provides funding to University of Hawaii at Manoa full-time doctoral students in the College of Arts and Sciences. Learn more about how these fellows are making a difference:

In 1986, Reverend Nobumoto Tanahashi, a successful Japanese businessman and spiritual leader, made a significant gift to the University: the Hawaiʻi Peace Memor

11/04/2025

Join us next week for the 2025 Watada Lectures on November 14th and 15th. Our featured guest speaker, Dr. Satsuki Ina, was born at the Tule Lake Segregation Center during World War II. Dr. Satsuki Ina is a professor emerita at California State University, Sacramento, a licensed psychotherapist, producer of two documentaries on the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, founder of the Tsuru for Solidarity direct action project that works to end immigration detention, and the author of The Poet and the Silk Girl: A Memoir of Love, Imprisonment, and Protest. She will be joined by speakers from Hawaiʻi’s local communities who are organizing, healing, and imagining new futures of justice and belonging.

Reserve seats: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/satsuki-ina-resistance-resilience-and-solidarity-tickets-1809737747319?aff=oddtdtcreator

10/31/2025

A huge congratulations to Marcus Moore on being named host of "Evening Concert" on Hawaiʻi Public Radio (HPR-2). 🎼

Marcus holds a master's degree in music composition and is currently completing a graduate certificate in conflict resolution through the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Learn more about Marcus' musical journey that led him to the "Evening Concert" host chair!

Musician and classical music host Marcus Moore spoke with HPR’s Maddie Bender about hosting HPR's Evening Concert.

10/21/2025

Who gets to tell the stories of forest governance in some of the most biodiverse regions of the world? 🌳🌏

This summer, the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution helped enable nine students to explore this question at the South Sulawesi Field School, organized together with the Forest and Society Research Group at Hasanuddin University (UNHAS). Students got to learn from local communities through oral history research. Read their story here: https://sci.manoa.hawaii.edu/peace-through-practice/

10/13/2025

The Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution is accepting applications for our Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution, Spring 2026 program. Apply by October 31st!

https://sci.manoa.hawaii.edu/programs/matsunaga-institute-for-peace/gccr/

10/10/2025

Join us for an interactive online speaker series, "Cross-Cultural Conversations," starting next week on Thursday!

Register via Zoom: https://hawaii.zoom.us/meeting/register/w5DgmVrBQoW0ivM6D3y4Ew #/registration