2008 is the year PPSEAWA International celebrates its 80th birthday! It was founded by PPSEAWA Hawai’i. Miss Jane Addams of Hull House, Chicago, chaired the first international meeting of PPSEAWA in Honolulu in 1928. A welcome luncheon is planned at Hotel Kapiolani, Honolulu, on Friday, May 16, 2008 for PPSEAWA International Council, PPSEAWA members and guests.. Saturday, May 17th is the the PPSEAWA 80th Celebration Luncheon which is being held at the Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki followed by the PPSEAWA-USA Board Meeting in the afternoon at a different location.to be announced. A PPSEAWA Farewell Dinner is planned at the Susannah Wesley Community Center on Monday, May 19, 2008.
I attended the Annual DPI/NGO 60th Annual Conference, “Climate Change: How It Impacts Us All,” September 5-7, 2007 at United Nations Headquarters. Some of the others from PPSEAWA-USA who attended were Kathy Adler, Louise Bankey, Edna Crescas, Fran DeLamater, Judy Grodin, Teresa Hintzke, Ann Norman, and Sharon Vass. The DPI conference identified important areas like endangered species, our water supply, vulnerable people, small island nations, etc. that need solutions to protect them from climate change. The problems of climate change are getting worse and we all need to take action which includes reducing greenhouse gases. Heat caused by gases could create conflict, starvation, poverty, and disease if we live in denial and ignore solutions.
Our 2007 Annual Meeting and Luncheon was held in New York on September 7th. We were pleased to have Renate D. Bloem, President of the Conference of NGOs, (CONGO), be our speaker at the UN luncheon. Renate spoke on the topic, “NGOs/CSOs at the United Nations: The new soft power?” The luncheon was also a very successful fund raiser for our PPSEAWA USA Scholarship Fund which was hosted by Teresa Hintzke.
Our thanks to those who generously contributed. Also, I want to thank the New York Chapter and its President, Seiko Oshima Ichida, as well as, her husband for the lovely reception on Thursday night for out-of-town members at the Church Center for the UN.