Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability & Diversity

Mobilize
for action!

Join us in this unique moment to move forward together. Come reconnect and renew. Celebrate achievements, share lived experiences and lessons learned. As we explore innovative strategies for advocacy and activism, you are invited to weave in your voice. Together, we’ll magnify our collective power for meaningful action. Let’s mobilize!

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Join us Virtually in 2022

Pre-Conference Events

Saturday, February 26, 2022 (HST)

Conference

Monday and Tuesday,
February 28 - March 1, 2022 (HST)

About Pac Rim

Hosted by the Center on Disability Studies (CDS), College of Education, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa since 1988, Pac Rim has evolved into an international conference that has welcomed thousands of presenters and attendees from across Hawaiʻi, the nation, and the world.

About CDS

As one of 67 national University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDD), the Center on Disability Studies supports a national vision of inclusion. We assist thousands of people with disabilities and their families, as well as Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and other underrepresented populations. We do this through research, training, and demonstration activities, and sharing our work with community members, professionals, students, and policymakers.

Pac Rim 2022 Strands

01. Communities

Communities offer a sense of belonging and are central to the human experience. Communities can provide: knowledge; connections; inspiration, resources; and support. An engaging community allows us to share and relate with one another and to learn and develop new ideas. The Communities strand will offer opportunities for presenters to share knowledge on the following four community areas: Autism & Neurodiversity; Deaf Community; Family Engagement; and Indigenous and Cultural Diversity.

02. Education

The Education strand focuses on the experiences and outcomes of people with disabilities in education. We seek proposals that address barriers to access and participation as well as innovation and success in reimagining education across early childhood education; elementary education; secondary education; higher education; and informal and alternative education and proposals that examine disability as a core component of diversity. Topics include: Higher Education, Disability, & COVID-19; PreK-12 Education, Disability, COVID-19; Social Emotional Learning; and Transition (Education Juncture).

03. Employment & Career

The progress of workers with disabilities in finding inclusion and success is represented in the Employment and Career Strand. We must mobilize to combat the challenges and seize the opportunities of a turbulent global economy. Strand topics will include Accessibility and Employment Issues; COVID-19 and Employment; Innovations and Challenges in Workforce Development; and Transition from Postsecondary Education to Employment.

04. Health & Well-being

In light of recent events in our nation and across the world, health and well-being are more important than ever. Much more intricate than the absence of disease or “dis” ease, well-being includes the presence of positive multifaceted factors including physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. This strand provides opportunities for presenters to share knowledge in the following three areas: Disability and Health; Mental and Emotional Health & COVID-19; and Well-being and Flourishing.

05. Disability Studies & Diversity Issues

What is disability? How do the ways we as cultures answer this question impact access and equity? This strand invites contributions to the rich, diverse conversations that make up the interdisciplinary dialog of Disability Studies and Diversity Issues. The strand provides an exciting forum to explore some of the central questions animating Disability studies and inquiries into diversity issues. Identified topics this year include: Disasters and Emergency Preparedness; Disability Policy; Creativity, Media & the Arts; and Disability Studies & Intersectionality.