SAVE THE DATE
40th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity
Main Conference (In-Person with Virtual Options)
Tuesday, April 15 – Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Hawaiʻi Convention Center
Honolulu, Hawai’i
Organized by the Center on Disability Studies
FROM THE
39th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity
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
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!
