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The Conversation: Thursday, February 25th 2016

Wikipedia Commons

Mosquito Borne Diseases; #iambadatthis Auditions; Hawaii Community Foundation - Legacy Giving and Centennial; Sundance Institute’s Native American and Indigenous Program

Mosquito Borne Diseases: Kevin Olival

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Kevin Olival

This week the Hawai‘i Department of Health announced that state labs are aiding in the testing of Zika virus in samples from American Samoa and the Marshall Islands. The Zika testing ability in our state is fairly new and was developed at the end of last month after a case of possible Zika-related birth defects raised the issue of a potential outbreak in Hawai‘i. Modeling the “what ifs” of an outbreak is also the work of researcher Kevin Olival at the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance. The non-profit researches the intersection of wildlife, ecosystems, and human health. Highlights from his research include the first detected evidence for Ebola virus in mainland Southeast Asian bats and building models to predict the emergence of disease that can jump from animals to humans. 

  • Intro Music: I Need You by The Beatles
  • Outro Music: Backyard Quiz Theme by Jon de Mello

#iambadatthis Auditions: Harry Wong

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Harry Wong

Smart phones seem to inhale the people who carry them around, drawing them into an artificial world of their own creation… but what happens when they unplug from the grid and try to plug into reality?   That’s a theme of a new comedy from Kumu Kahua that’s in the casting stages now.   The play is by Susan He Stanton and it’ll be directed by Harry Wong III, who’s about to hold auditions for the world premiere production. The show will run May 26th through June 26th, 2016.  There’s an audition workshop at 6:30 pm this Sunday, with auditions to be held the following weekend. 

  • Intro Music: Magic Times by Mokhov
  • Outro Music: Legacy by Ryan Farish

Hawaii Community Foundation - Legacy Giving and Centennial: Kelvin Taketa

BK_Kelvin_Taketa.mp3
Kelvin Taketa

You can probably name many of the historical events between 1916 and now. One that may not immediately spring to mind is the founding of the Hawaii Community Foundation.  This year, the organization is celebrating its centennial. They’ve helped families and individuals create a legacy for causes they care about and by working with other organizations, agencies, and foundations to fund activities to bridge gaps and transform lives. Since the late 1990’s Kelvin Taketa has shepherded the foundation and helped prepare Hawaii for changing trends in giving. He joined The Conversation for a look at the Foundation.

  • Intro Music: Melt by Broke For Free
  • Outro Music: Weird Fishes/Arpeggi by Radiohead

Sundance Institute’s Native American and Indigenous Program: Taylour Chang

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Taylour Chang

Credit Flickr: Travis Wise

Every film maker who has ever found success has been given a leg up at some point in his or her career, but only in recent decades have there been formal mechanisms to offer opportunities to aspiring artists. In an effort to give voice to Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island filmmakers, the  Sundance Institute’s Native American and Indigenous Program and the  Honolulu Museum of Art are teaming up to offer the first Sundance Shorts Lab Honolulu, and Taylour Chang, the museum’s film curator, joined the show to tell us more. The Lab is scheduled for May 14th through the16th.  To be considered for it, applicants must be a Native Hawaiian or Indigenous Pacific Islander based in Hawai‘I, and they must submit a short film screenplay no longer than 15 pages, and be able to provide their own lodging and travel to the lab.

  • Intro Music: Summer Spliffs by Broke For Free
  • Outro Music: Cascade by Ryan Helsing and Matthew Saltz
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