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14 June, 2018

Hawaiian Airlines brings culture-based education onboard its aircraft

Hawaiian Airlines is bringing on-board inspiring stories showcasing the power of culture-based native Hawaiian education in a series of exclusive in-flight videos.

Guests on board Hawaiian can learn how educators are turning Hawaii’s streams, fishponds and the voyaging canoe Hōkūle‘a into immersive classrooms while using traditional Hawaiian practices to empower youth.

The engaging new series was produced by Kanaeokana, a network of over 50 local schools and organizations focused on strengthening Hawaiian education.

“We are excited to partner with Kanaeokana to present stories that demonstrate the importance and depth of our culture and its powerful impact on native Hawaiian youth,” said Evan Nomura, in-flight entertainment manager at Hawaiian Airlines.

“It’s a privilege to be able to showcase the authenticity of Hawai‘i and its people to guests visiting from around the world.”

Kanaeokana’s videos are available through June on all of Hawaiian’s international flights operated by the airline’s Airbus A330 aircraft including flights from Sydney and Brisbane to Honolulu. The content highlights three impactful experiences from schools state-wide:

‘He Moku He Wa‘a, He Wa‘a He Mok’u: Our Canoe is an Island; Our Island is a Canoe’ – this video shows how the 1,200 students of Kamehameha Schools Maui become inspired by Hōkūleʻa’s decades of voyaging and message of Mālama Honua (to care for our island Earth). Together, they bring the mission of the Worldwide Voyage back to Hawai‘i and plant 5,000 native plants above Maui’s famous Honolua Bay.

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‘Ho‘okahe Wai: Let the Streams Flo’w – see eighth-grade students from Hālau Kū Māna Public Charter School on their year-long journey to learn about the uplands and water issues facing Hawai‘i. Then, at the end of their classes, see how students are challenged to organize a large-scale stream clean up in order to raise awareness about the importance of water to the Hawaiian Islands.

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‘Changing Tides: Ka ‘Umeke Kā‘eo’s Education Movement’ – take a walk around a fishpond with a student from Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo Charter School on the Island of Hawai‘i. Together, you’ll experience how students are returning to nature and leveraging their ancestral skills to discover innovative solutions to pressing issues.

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“Expanding our reach helps us to bring our message to different audiences. The experiences nurturing our students are valuable not just for Native Hawaiians but have relevance to everyone,” said Ekela Kaniaupio-Crozier, a member of Kanaeokanaʻs Kōmike Ho’okele (Steering Committee) and Kamehameha Schools Maui’s Hawaiian Protocol Facilitator. “We all should be sharing in the kuleana (responsibilities) to Mālama Honua and each other.”

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