SAVE THE DATE

39th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity

Beyond Access: Building a Culture of Belonging

Main Conference (In-Person with Virtual Options)

Tuesday, February 27 – Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Hawaiʻi Convention Center

Honolulu, Hawai’i

Organized by the Center on Disability Studies

Beyond Access: Building a Culture of Belonging

We all live to belong, to be part of something greater than ourselves. What can we do to help create such a culture of belonging, where each of us can fully contribute to the communities we are part of, while receiving the support and accommodations we need to flourish?

As we prepare to gather our global community of friends, scholars, practitioners, folks with disabilities, advocates, policymakers, public health and disability service providers, educators, parents, students and businesspeople, we invite you to lend your voices to this discussion at the 39th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity as we gather again in person in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaiʻi for the Premier International Gathering on Disability on Tuesday, February 27 and Wednesday, February 28, 2024.

We will be seeking research, personal stories, practical strategies and other forms of expression that reflect this year’s theme of Beyond Access: Building a Culture of Belonging.” This includes work that may serve to instruct and guide our communities to:

  • better understand what inclusion looks like in our schools, universities, workplaces, health care systems, and our ways of care/caring, etc.;
  • help us recognize and address challenges and obstacles to equity, as we move beyond minimal access;
  • draw on our communities assets and knowledge, including indigenous ways of knowing; 
  • create structures and spaces to support one another; and
  • foster opportunities for growth.

As we build a culture of belonging, we invite you now to SAVE THE DATE: Tuesday, February 27 and Wednesday, February 28, 2024 with pre- and post-conference events to be announced!

Featured Speakers

Mia Ives-Rublee

Disability Rights Advocate

Justine “Justice” Shorter

Disability Rights Advocate

Portrait of Kiran Singh

Kiran Singh Sirah

Speaker / Consultant / Peacebuilder / Storyteller / Folklorist

Opening Oli Aloha Performed By

Māhealani Ahia

Kanaka ʻŌiwi Artist, Scholar, Activist, Songcatcher and Storykeeper

Dr. Jonathan
Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio

Dean

Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa

Lance Pickett

Sorenson Chief Relationship Officer

Sorenson Communications

Leslie Wilson

Executive Vice President
Global Workplace Initiatives

Disability:IN

John Tschida, MPP

Executive Director

Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)

Opening Oli Aloha Performed By

Misty Kela’i

Pac Rim and the Center on Disability Studies

About the Pac Rim Conference

The Premier International Gathering on Disability – Our 39th Year!

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. 

Learn more about our Pac Rim 2023 Conference or view our program archive from 2022-1989

About the Center on Disability Studies

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. 

Mahalo to All of Our Sponsors!

Interested in Learning More?