Lack of Access to Education

More than 100 million children do not have access to school. Of the children who enroll in primary school, over 150 million drop out, while user fees, including levies, are still charged for access to education in 92 countries and that such charges have impact on excluding girls. 77 million children worldwide are not able to go to school due to lack of funds. For socially disadvantaged segments of the population like poor inhabitants of cities, AIDS orphans and the physically challenged, any access to education is often particularly difficult to obtain. The consequence of this lack of access to education is that 15 percent of those adolescents between 15 and 24 in third world countries are illiterate.

Location often contributes to a child’s lack of access and attendance to education. In certain areas of the world it is more difficult for children to get to school. For example, in high-altitude areas of India, severe weather conditions for more than 7 months of the year make school attendance erratic and force children to remain at home. Gender also contributes to a child’s lack of access and attendance to education. In 25 countries the proportion of boys enrolling in secondary school is higher than girls by 10% or more, and in five; India, Nepal, Togo, Turkey and Yemen, the gap exceeds 20%. The worst disparity is found in South Asia, where 52% of boys and only 33% of girls enroll; a gap of 10%. Enrollment is low for both boys and girls in sub-Saharan Africa, with rates of just 27% and 22%. Girls trail respectively behind. It is generally believed that girls are often discouraged from attending primary schooling, especially in less developed countries for religious and cultural reasons.

Life as Refugees

Of the 50 million refugees and displaced people in the world, approximately half are children. War is the primary factor in the creation of child refugees. It is also a principle cause of child death, injury, and loss of parents. In the last decade, war has killed more than 2 million children, wounded another 6 million, and orphaned about 1 million. Children also flee their homes because they fear various forms of abuse such as rape, sexual slavery, and child labor. Circumstances of birth also play a role in depriving children of a legal home. Each year 40 million children are not registered at birth, depriving them of nationality and a legal name.

The combined ravages of AIDS and war have created a large pool of orphan refugees and displaced children, particularly in Africa. The toll of Rwanda’s civil war, for example, left orphan children to head some 45,000 Rwandan households, with 90 percent of these headed by girls. “Separated Children” are those under age 18 and living outside their country of origin without parents or legal guardians to care for or protect them. Every year, about 20,000 separated children apply for asylum in Europe and North America. Overall, children account for approximately half of all individuals seeking legal asylum in developed countries. Separated children are not often legally recognized as refugees in western countries. In Europe, for example, where there may be as many as 50,000 separated children at any given time, only an estimated 1-5 percent of those who apply for asylum are granted refugee status.

Poverty

According to UNICEF, 25,000 children die each day due to poverty. Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water. Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhea. For the 1.9 billion children from the developing world, there are: 640 million without adequate shelter (1 in 3), 400 million with no access to safe water (1 in 5) and 270 million with no access to health services (1 in 7). 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (same as children population in France, Germany, Greece and Italy.) 1.4 million die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. 2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized. Millions of parents in developing countries must daily cope with the fact that their children may not survive the first critical years of life; in many cases, the diseases that threaten their children’s lives are preventable.

Violence through Indoctrination

Palestinian children are taught to hate Jews, to glorify “jihad” (holy war), violence, death and child martyrdom almost from birth, as an essential part of their culture and destiny. As captured on an Israeli video documentary produced in 1998, a “Sesame Street”-like children’s program called the “Children’s Club” — complete with puppet shows, songs, Mickey Mouse and other characters — focused on inculcating intense hatred of Jews and a passion for engaging in and celebrating violence against them in a perpetual “jihad” until the day the Israeli flags come down from above “Palestinian land” and the Palestinian flag is raised.

In Madrasas, Islamic schools for study of pure Islamic religion, the culprits are the religious teachers; and the victims include helpless innocent underage students. The sacred teacher-student relationship is given a new definition in these Islamic schools. Following is the bitter experience of a 12 years old madrasa student from Kenya who was rescued during January 2003.

“It was a terrible place, they chain both legs and both arms, sometimes hands and feet together, They beat us at lunch time, dinner time and grab both legs and hands and give us lashes on the buttocks. We sleep in chains, eat in chains, and go to the toilets in chains. Sometimes we are hooked on the roof in chains and left hanging. We have to memorize the Koran and get punished if we cannot recite the Koran in the classroom”.

Chaining incidents are rare in Bangladeshi madrasas. Child torture incidents in madrasas are reported mostly in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sudan. The number of students are estimated somewhere between eight hundred thousands to one million. They are often run by religious organizations and lure young children mainly from poor families by providing free food and lodging. Some of the schools even provide intensive political and armed training.

The World’s Most Important Issues

Here’s a shout-out to the college students starting the semester using my textbook International Relations. You will learn about many complex issues, trends, and theories. But keep your eye on some Big Issues that matter most. Here are five of them:

1. Global Warming. It is for your generation the greatest threat to humanity, a catalyst of international conflicts, and an issue that the international system has proven utterly incapable of solving so far. Global warming is the very model of a “collective goods problem” in that all countries will share the outcome but each one’s contribution to that outcome is made independently. If China and the United States keep burning coal (and they do), Europe, Southeast Asia, and others will pay the price even if they themselves act responsibly.

Within countries, where there is a government with coercive powers, the solution to problems like this is to force people to follow a solution, just like we make cars get smog inspections and repairs. The international system (a.k.a. “anarchy”) does not have that option. So we’re left with cooperative arrangements based on reciprocity, like the Kyoto treaty — you cut x amount of carbon, we cut y amount…  Without enforcement, and with long-term benefits but short-term costs, it hasn’t worked.

For decades, scientists have warned that global warming would lead to bigger storms, floods, droughts, and fires as the world’s weather system became unbalanced. Hurricane Katrina came and went, and lately we seem to have lots of these weather disasters. But a rising number of Americans, now about half, think the effects of global warming have been exaggerated. Congress certainly doesn’t want to pay to address it. And China still wants to keep growing at 10 percent a year.

As you learn about world order and the many structures of the international system, state-based and nonstate, think about this question: What would need to happen in order for the world to respond effectively to the problem of global warming?

2. The Decline of Armed Conflict: Another huge and underappreciated trend is the decrease in warfare in recent decades. The world’s states have not only joined the UN and agreed to work out their problems peacefully, they’ve actually stopped fighting. The remaining wars of the world, civil wars, are being gradually dampened, with greater effectiveness, by international peacekeeping.

What is it about the international system that has let countries deal with one of the worst, oldest problems of the human race, war, so much better than it deals with global warming? This issue is so important, it’s the subject of my new book, Winning the War on War: The Decline of Armed Conflict Worldwide.

3. The Arab Spring: Nobody knows quite why it happened — presumably the huge “youth bulge” in Arab countries’ demographics had a role, as did the spread of information technologies, and the poor economic performance of the Arab world. And nobody knows quite where it’s going — perhaps a democratic transformation of the entire region, or perhaps a bloody Shi’ite-Sunni war. But everyone knows that It’s Big!

This is the latest of the waves of democratization that have swept the world over several decades, touching Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Military governments are becoming rare, and authoritarianism seems to be endangered. Stay tuned for breaking developments this semester!

4. Palestine: Speaking of the Middle East, the Israel-Palestine conflict can seem like just part of the background music in world politics, but it’s actually moving toward a breakthrough or breakdown. The world’s longest-running major armed conflict (60+ years), Palestine holds tremendous emotional resonance for Arabs and Muslims whose countries are not even remotely affected by the conflict directly. It also shapes America’s standing in a world region where a lot of oil comes from.

Later this month, Palestine may bring its case to the United Nations. That has set off a flurry of activity either to support that option or come up with an alternative. In effect, the idea of a two-state solution (Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security) is on the line, with support eroding on both sides.

5. The Euro Zone:  Many of the benefits that countries enjoy in the international system come from trade and prosperity, no where more so than in Europe. The economic crisis that began in 2008, and has never really resolved, threatens those benefits. China faces the loss of export markets. The United States faces paralyzing stagnation. Most importantly, Europe faces the greatest test ever of its experiment in economic integration.

In particular, the euro currency — the world’s boldest financial experiment in history — is on the line. When it created the euro, the EU let individual countries control their own fiscal policies (taxation, spending), while centralizing monetary policy (how much currency to print). Right away it became clear that some countries, notably Greece but including big players like France, had cheated on the requirements of fiscal discipline needed before adopting the euro. Now Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and even Italy are facing debt crises because they spend too much and don’t take in enough revenue. Cutting government spending in the middle of a stagnant economic period is politically unpopular and may not make much sense economically either. But that leaves Germany and other stronger, more responsible EU members holding the bag for the problems of Greece & Co. The Germans don’t want to pay for others’ problems, but don’t want to let the euro be destroyed either. Again, stay tuned.

Global Health Overview

This article looks at some global aspects of health issues, such as the impact of poverty and inequality, the nature of patent rules at the WTO, pharmaceutical company interests, as well as some global health initiatives and the changing nature of the global health problems being faced.

Despite incredible improvements in health since 1950, there are still a number of challenges, which should have been easy to solve. Consider the following:


One billion people lack access to health care systems 
36 million deaths each year are caused by noncommunicable diseases , such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung diseases. This is almost two-thirds of the estimated 56 million deaths each year worldwide. (A quarter of these take place before the age of 60.) Breaking down the leading causes a bit further (there are others too),
Cardiovascular diseases cause about 17 million deaths
Cancers, about 7.6 million deaths
Chronic lung diseases, about 4.2 million deaths
Diabetes, about 1.3 million deaths
Over 7.5 million children under the age of 5 die from malnutrition and mostly preventable diseases, each year
In 2008, some 6.7 million people died of infectious diseases alone, far more than the number killed in the natural or man-made catastrophes that make headlines. (These are the latest figures presented by the World Health Organization.)
AIDS/HIV has spread rapidly. UNAIDS estimates for 2008 that there were roughly:
33.4 million living with HIV
2.7 million new infections of HIV
2 million deaths from AIDS
Tuberculosis kills 1.7 million people each year, with 9.4 million new cases a year.
1.6 million people still die from pneumococcal diseases every year, making it the number one vaccine-preventable cause of death worldwide. More than half of the victims are children. (The pneumococcus is a bacterium that causes serious infections like meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis. In developing countries, even half of those children who receive medical treatment will die. Every second surviving child will have some kind of disability.)
Malaria causes some 225 million acute illnesses and over 780,000 deaths, annually 
164,000 people, mostly children under 5, died from measles in 2008 (the latest years for which figures are available, at time of writing) even though effective immunization, which includes vaccine and safe injection equipment, costs less than 1 US dollars and has been available for more than 40 years.
These and other diseases kill more people each year than conflict alone.


Why has it got to such a level when the world has enough wealth to help address most of these problems, or at least alleviate more of the suffering?


This article looks at a number of global factors and issues around health problems.

War on Terror

It was with disbelief and shock that people around the world saw footage of the terrorist attacks in the US on on September 11, 2001 when the planes-turned-missiles slammed into the World Trade Center towers and damaged the Pentagon.

This ultimately resulted in the US declaring and waging a war on terror. Osama Bin Laden was eventually tracked down and killed some 10 years later. But the way the war on terror has been conducted has led to many voicing concerns about the impact on civil liberties, the cost of the additional security focused changes, the implications of the invasions and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more.

It is now over a decade since the terrorist attacks in the US, simply dubbed “9-11” shocked the world, and ushered in a global “war on terror”.

And looking back, what has the US to show for its decade of effort? Has it been winning the war on terror? It depends how it is measured. The killing of Osama Bin Laden was of course a major success. But the cost of vengeance (instead of justice) has also been high:

A further turn towards hatred and a rise in those who think most Muslims are terrorists, that Islam is a threat to the world, etc.

Wars that have seen far more than the 3,500 deaths that the US saw, and a self-fulfilling prophecy; creating more anger and resentment against the US, more potential terrorists, and the complete opposite of what the neo-cons wanted; global downturn and US decline instead consolidating their power and position in the world.

Over 6,000 US soldiers killed in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Possibly 100 times that number of civilians in those countries (in Iraq, at an early point, there was an estimated range of 400,000 to 900,000 civilian deaths, which of course Bush had to reject, claiming it used flawed techniques, even though it used estimation techniques his own government agencies taught others to use).

And also worryingly, as Inter Press Service (IPS) correspondent Jim Lobe notes, Al Qaeda’s project for ending the “American Century” appears to have largely succeeded:

The rest of Jim Lobe’s article provides a useful summary of why Bush’s focus on Iraq (under the clearly false and fear-mongering excuses of weapons of mass destruction and links to terrorism), instead of tackling terrorism, was “perhaps the single-most disastrous foreign policy decision by a U.S. president in the past decade, if not the past century.” This is because it allowed the Taliban to regroup in Afghanistan leading to more expensive military operations and strengthening Al Qaeda’s resolve further. Meanwhile, various US actions in Iraq and elsewhere damaged its reputation around the world.

The above summary also matches concerns raised further below (in the section on Bush Losing the War on Terror) which was written quite some time ago, so it did not have to take a decade to look back and see a change in course should have been possible. But maybe the impact of the enormous cost this would have (US tax payers have had to fork out trillions of dollars) was somewhat unimaginable?

For many years even before 9-11, neoconservatives had called for the US to consolidate its position in the world as the sole superpower and dominate further. 9-11 appeared to give them an excuse to push these ideas further and their ideology permeated throughout top-level thinking of the Bush Administration. It is therefore quite ironic, as Jim Lobe also notes, that “leading the charge [for such an aggressive foreign policy approach] were precisely those hawks whose fondest wish was to extend, rather than cut short, Washington’s global hegemony.”

By framing this as a war on “terror” (which, as a concept can almost never end), an excuse is now afforded to all governments to put in place tough security measured on any potentially flimsy basis. And the predicted “war” on civil liberties and human rights has unfortunately proven true as human rights organizations around the world feared from the start of the war on terror (as discussed further below).

If the US public mood at the time was understandably full of anger and vengeance as well as shock and disbelief, it also reflects badly on US society that voices for more measured and appropriately calculated responses could be drowned out; an individual acting in a regrettable way due to a moment of anger is very different than an entire state apparatus (that should have time to think things through more thoroughly) doing that.

Maybe it could be argued that with hindsight it is easy to make these criticisms. Unfortunately, however, these concerns were there from the start, and re-iterated many times by many people and organizations during the past decade.

But not all have wanted vengeance. Many families of the victims of the 9-11 atrocity have campaigned for a more peaceful approach to combating terrorism, for example.

Accompanying this has been media propaganda, media manipulation, sensationalism, sound-bite journalism and all the various other problems that have minimized coverage of deeper issues and understanding while allowing various claims to go almost unchallenged. (Some examples and links are presented further below.)

The rest of the article below started shortly after the 9-11 attacks in 2001 and was updated a few times up to 2007. It barely covered any details but still showed these numerous concerns from so many people and organizations were already there and are still relevant.

Today, Around 21,000 Children Died Around The World

Some 21,000 children die every day around the world.

That is equivalent to:

1 child dying every 4 seconds

14 children dying every minute

A 2011 Libya conflict-scale death toll every day

A 2010 Haiti earthquake occurring every 10 days

A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring every 11 days

An Iraq-scale death toll every 19–46 days

Just under 7.6 million children dying every year

Some 92 million children dying between 2000 and 2010

The silent killers are poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other related causes. Despite the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it rarely manages to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time, headline coverage.

From UNICEF, the world’s premier children’s organization, part of the United Nations:

2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation

1 billion children are deprived of one or more services essential to survival and development

148 million under 5s in developing regions are underweight for their age

101 million children are not attending primary school, with more girls than boys missing out

22 million infants are not protected from diseases by routine immunization

7.6 million children worldwide died before their 5th birthday in 2010

4 million newborns worldwide are dying in the first month of life

2 million children under 15 are living with HIV

>500,000 women die each year from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth

The Arms Trade Is Big Business

Each year, around $45-60 billion worth of arms sales are agreed. Most of these sales (something like 75%) are to developing countries.

The 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (US, Russia, France, United Kingdom and China), together with Germany and Italy account for around 85% of the arms sold between 2002 and 2009.

Some of the arms sold go to regimes where human rights violations will occur. Corruption often accompanies arms sales due to the large sums of money involved.

Every year, the U.S. Congressional Research Service releases an authoritative report looking at arms transfers to the developing world.

• Developing nations continue to be the primary focus of foreign arms sales activity by weapons suppliers though most arms are supplied by just 2 or 3 major suppliers.
• Despite the global economic climate, major purchases continue to be made by a select few developing nations in these regions, principally India in Asia, and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.
• Saudi Arabia and India’s large spending reflects their modernization efforts since the 1990s.
• The strength of individual economies of a wide range of nations in the developing world continues to be a significant factor in the timing of many of their arms purchasing decisions.
• Increases in the price of oil, while an advantage for major oil producing states in funding their arms purchases, has, simultaneously, caused economic difficulties for many oil consuming states, contributing to their decisions to curtail or defer new weapons acquisitions.
• A number of less affluent developing nations have chosen to upgrade while reducing new purchases.

For arms suppliers, despite the impact the global economic situation has had recently on sales, a number of weapons-exporting nations have increased competition for sales, going into areas and regions they may not have previously been promninent. Competition between sellers will only intensify due to the limits for growth, Grimmet also notes.

Just ten developing nation recipients of arms sales accounted for 60% of the total developing nations arms market between 2003 and 2010:

Public Protests Around The World

The global financial crisis has spawned a global protest movement campaigning against things like inequality, corporate greed, lack of jobs, etc.

Although these protests have occurred for decades, they have typically been in the developing countries, or about the situation in developing countries.

As such, many Western nations, who have strongly influenced the conditions in developing countries, have typically not paid much attention to such protests, no matter how large (even the famous Battle for Seattle was more about violence than the underlying issues, for example). However, this time, the global financial crisis has hit the ordinary citizens of Western nations quite hard, and inspired by the Arab Spring and protests in Spain, a global movement seems to have sprung up.

Although these protests received some media attention (albeit negative), many protests had begun decades ago in the developing world with barely a mention.

Mass protests, throughout history have come at a time when enough of the population has been affected by policies of the rulers and elite. They have often been met with brutal, efficient crackdown by the guardians of the elite, be they local police, militias, national militaries, or even another nation’s military forces.

This page was originally created back in 2000, and updated a few times until the end of 2003. At that time, the context was the global protests at the current form of globalization marginalizing so many people around the world. Those protests were often against key institutions of globalization, such as the G8, World Bank, IMF and the World Trade Organization.

At the time, as large as some of the protests may have been, they were typically met with hostility from the intellectual establishment and mainstream media, typically from the West which was generally benefiting from the corporate-oriented globalization it was controlling and shaping.

This page has now been updated to include an overview of the protests on the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, as there is a lot of parallel.

Poverty Around The World

Around the world, in rich or poor nations, poverty has always been present.

In most nations today, inequality—the gap between the rich and the poor—is quite high and often widening.

The causes are numerous, including a lack of individual responsibility, bad government policy, exploitation by people and businesses with power and influence, or some combination of these and other factors.

Many feel that high levels of inequality will affect social cohesion and lead to problems such as increasing crime and violence.

Inequality is often a measure of relative poverty. Absolute poverty, however, is also a concern. World Bank figures for world poverty reveals a higher number of people live in poverty than previously thought.

For example, the new poverty line is defined as living on the equivalent of $1.25 a day. With that measure based on latest data available (2005), 1.4 billion people live on or below that line.

Furthermore, almost half the world—over three billion people—live on less than $2.50 a day and at least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day:

While poverty alleviation is important, so too is tackling inequality. Inequality is often discussed in the context of relative poverty, as opposed to absolute poverty.

That is, even in the wealthiest countries, the poor may not be in absolute poverty (the most basic of provisions may be obtainable for many) or their level of poverty may be a lot higher than those in developing countries, but in terms of their standing in society, their relative poverty can also have serious consequences such as deteriorating social cohesion, increasing crime and violence, and poorer health.

Some of these things are hard to measure, such as social cohesion and the level of trust and comfort people will have in interacting with one another in the society. Nonetheless, over the years, numerous studies have shown that sometimes the poor in wealthy countries can be unhappier or finding it harder to cope than poor people in poorer countries.

In the context of tackling poverty then, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) for example sees poverty reduction as a twin function of

The rate of growth, and
Changes in income distribution.
The ODI also adds that as well as increased growth, additional key factors to reducing poverty will be:

The reduction in inequality
The reduction in income differences
A few places around the world do see increasing rates of growth in a positive sense. But globally, there is also a negative change in income distribution. The reality unfortunately is that the gap between the rich and poor is quite wide in most places. For example:

About 0.13% of the world’s population controlled 25% of the world’s assets in 2004.
The wealthiest 20% of the world’s population consumes 76.6% of the world’s goods while 80% of humanity gets the remainder.

Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai

when: Jan 2012 (annual)
where: Hualalai Resort Golf Club
cost: US$10 per day; US$25 for the week
With a total purse of US$1.8 million, the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Big Island's Hualalai Resort Golf Club attracts a field of leading golfers. The Championship is one of the first PGA Champions Tour events of the calendar year.

Designed by golf legend, Jack Nicklaus, the course is a stunning ribbon of green alongside the island's jagged volcanic coastline and the tournament is always a popular stop on the tour.

Related Information

Website: MasterCard Championship Website


Venue Information: Hualalai Resort Golf Club
Full Name: Hualalai Resort Golf Club, Kailua-Kona, USA
Address: 72-100 Ka'upulehu drive 96740
Contact Details: Hualalai Resort Golf Club
Phone: +1 808 325 8500
Other Information: Hualalai Resort Golf Club
Website: Hualalai Resort Website

Annual Sanctuary Ocean Count

when: Jan 2012 (various dates)
where: Oahu
time: 8am-12.15pm
The sight of a whale breaching must rank among the most magnificent natural spectacles on earth! Make it to Hawaii in the winter months and you can enjoy it while helping to ensure the survival of these majestic creatures.

The annual whale count all over Hawaii state gives you the opportunity to view these creatures in their natural habitat and participate in the conservation of humpback whales in a state-wide effort to estimate their population.

Group leaders guide volunteers in a systematic count at selected shorelines and lookout points on three islands, O'Ahu, Kaua'I and Big Island, providing them with the necessary tools and information. Visit the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuaries website for further details of how to participate.

Related Information

Website: Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale Website


Town Information: Oahu
Full Name: Oahu, USA

Aloha Festivals Floral Parade

when: Sep 2012 (annual)
where: Honolulu
cost: Free
time: 9am
Hawaii, for many outsiders, conjures up images of colourful flowers, especially in the form of huge leis, or necklaces. The Aloha Festivals Floral Parade in Honolulu lives up to this reputation, celebrating the islands' abundant array of floral life.

The day is filled with a multitude of floral floats, pa'u riders and marching bands. The parade ranks as one of the most impressive in the whole of the United States - so much so that each year it is shown on national television. But, of course, nothing beats the sweet smells and real colours of actually being there!

Related Information

Website: Aloha Festivals Website


Contact Details
Name: Aloha Festivals
Email: aloha.festivals@waikikiimprovement.com
Phone: +1 808 391 8714
Town Information: Honolulu
Full Name: Honolulu, USA

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

when: Daily
where: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
cost: Car US$10; pedestrian US$5 (for 7 Days)
time: Open 24 hours a day; Kilauea Visitor Center 7.45am-5pm
Hawaii is best known as a picturesque holiday resort and the location of a slightly dodgy 1970s TV show, but more significantly it is also the home of some of the world's most spectacular volcanoes.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was established in 1916 and it is here that you can witness the results of a staggering 70 million years of volcanic activity. The park covers 217,000 acres and ranges from sea level to the summit of the Earth's most massive volcano - Mauna Loa, standing at a towering 13,677 feet and making up half the area of the island of Hawaii.

If you were to measure this giant from its base on the ocean floor it would be the tallest mountain on Earth, rising more than eight kilometres high. It most recently erupted in 1984, but there is plenty of activity going on beneath the surface. Kilauea, perhaps the world's most active volcano, is also here, making it a popular haunt for volcanologists and intrepid tourists alike.

Kilauea is the youngest volcano on the island, with a red-hot magma tap that reaches some 60km underground. Not surprisingly these monstrous mountains have given rise to local myths and legends. Kilauea is the home of Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess. Local folklore tells of eruptions sent forth by this temperamental icon well before the first Europeans saw the volcano in 1823.

There are many ways to make the most of the park (which is open throughout the year) including a helicopter ride over the summit of Kilauea, so take your pick. Due to the geography of this amazing piece of land, the park has distinct climate zones. Be prepared for a wide range of weather conditions varying from rain and chill winds to hot, dry and often windy conditions.

For up-to-date weather forecasts call +1 808 935 8555 or visit the park's website for details of how to make the most out of a visit there. Added to this there is a place called Volcano Village located just outside the entrance to the park. It is possible to stay here on the sacred lands of Ola'a - home to the descendants of the goddess Pele. Accommodation is in a prehistoric fern forest - a more weird and wonderful landscape would be hard to find.

Related Information

Website: Hawaii Volcano National Park Website

Website: Hawaii Volcano National Park Website


Venue Information: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Full Name: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, USA

Big Island Hawaiian Music Festival

when: Jul 2012 (annual)
where: UH Hilo Performing Arts Center
time: Daily 12pm-6pm
Hawaii's traditional music is kept alive by events like this one at the UH Hilo Performing Arts Center. The Big Island Hawaiian Music Festival includes slack key music, steel guitar, ukulele and falsetto played by some of their leading exponents.


Contact Details
Name: Information
Email: arts@ehcc.org
Venue Information: UH Hilo Performing Arts Center
Full Name: UH Hilo Performing Arts Center, Hilo, USA
Address: 200 W Kawili Street 96720-4091
Contact Details: UH Hilo Performing Arts Center
Email: artsctr@hawaii.edu
Phone: +1 808 974 7310
Other Information: UH Hilo Performing Arts Center
Website: UH Hilo Performing Arts Center Website

Yoga Oasis

when: Daily
where: Yoga Oasis
Yoga Oasis bills itself as a spiritual sanctuary for the body and mind. Tucked away in the Hawaiian rainforest on the easternmost tip of the big island, it offers organic fresh food, yoga, meditation, nature and general chilling out.

There are a number of ways to enjoy Yoga Oasis: most come for a good few days of yoga - others just for the night and a yoga session before a vitamin-packed breakfast. It is, of course, possible to stay without enjoying yoga - although you may as well make use of the great studio and expert tuition. Free time can be spent exploring the surrounding forest or, closer in, the organic orchard - the offerings of which are used to help detoxify the body.


Venue Information: Yoga Oasis
Full Name: Yoga Oasis, Pahoa, USA
Directions: On the eastern tip of Big Island of Hawaii, 5 miles from the village of Pahoa and 2 miles from the ocean.
Contact Details: Yoga Oasis
Email: yogaoasishawaii@yahoo.com
Phone: +1 800 274 4446

Tropical Gardens of Maui

when: Daily; not Sun
where: Tropical Gardens of Maui
cost: US$3
time: Mon-Sat 9am-5pm
As the image of Hawaii is intertwined with flower wreaths, a visit to Maui's Tropical Gardens is a must. The four-acre park is home to various native Hawaiian plants, including the Taro and other tropical plants from around the world.

The garden showcases other native plants like Coconut and Kukui Nut, brought to the island by the first Polynesians. More highlights include the garden's extensive collection of palms, orchids and other rare and exotic plants.

There is a self-guided tour through the garden which crosses Iao Stream. For more information, please see the Gardens' website.


Venue Information: Tropical Gardens of Maui
Full Name: Tropical Gardens of Maui, Wailuku, USA
Address: 200 Iao Valley Road 96793
Contact Details: Tropical Gardens of Maui
Phone: +1 808 244 3085
Fax: +1 808 242 6152

Keauhou Farmers Market

when: Sat only
where: Keauhou Shopping Center
cost: Free
time: Sat 8am-12pm
Every Saturday traders and visitors of Keauhou Kona meet at the Keauhou Shopping Center for the Keauhou Farmers Market. Vendors range from Big Island Organic Wheat Grass to Kona King Coffee.

Sponsored by the Kona County Farm Bureau, the farmers market aims to make local produce easily accessible for the community. The Bureau is dedicated to improving quality of life on farms, ranches and rural communities. Products available include seasonal tropical fruits, potted orchids, 100% Kona coffee, jams, freshly baked foods, vegetables, farmed produce and flowers.

Visitors can sample the many goods available while listening to live music. Please visit the farmers market website for more information.

Related Information

Website: Keauhou Farmers Market Website


Contact Details
Name: Kona County Farm Bureau
Email: info@keauhoufarmersmarket.com
Fax: +1 808 322 9633
Phone: +1 808 324 6011
Address: PO Box 2341, Kealakekua, HI 96750
Venue Information: Keauhou Shopping Center
Full Name: Keauhou Shopping Center, Keauhou Kona, USA
Address: 78-6831 Alii Drive HI 96740-2440
Contact Details: Keauhou Shopping Center
Phone: +1 808 322 3000
Fax: +1 808 322 2603
Other Information: Keauhou Shopping Center
Website: Keauhou Shopping Center Website

Kona Brewers Festival

when: Mar 2012 (annual)
where: King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel
time: 2.30pm-6.30pm
Kona Brewers Festival sees all eight of Hawaii's microbreweries showcase their beers at King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. They are joined annually by a further 20 breweries from across the United States and chefs from 35 of Hawaii's top restaurants.

There is live music courtesy of three local bands, as well as hula dancing. The Kona Brewers Festival also includes a Brewers Pa'ina at the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort and a golf tournament at the Big Island Country Club.

Related Information

Website: Kona Brewers Festival Website


Contact Details
Name: Kona Brewer's Festival
Email: lara@konabrewersfestival.com
Phone: +1 808 937 7596
Venue Information: King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel
Full Name: King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, Kailua-Kona, USA
Address: 75-5660 Palani Road 96740
Contact Details: King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel
Email: reservations@konabeachhotel.com
Phone: +1 808 329 2911
Other Information: King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel
Website: King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel Website

Heiva I Kauai Iaorana Tahiti

when: Aug 2012 (annual)
where: Kapaa Beach Park
cost: US$5; under 6s free
The Heiva I Kauai Iaorana Tahiti is an international Tahitian dancing and drumming competition, held at the Kapaa Beach Park every year. The event includes multicultural exhibitions, dancing, singing and an arts and crafts market.

Related Information

Website: Heiva I Kauai Iaorana Tahiti Website


Contact Details
Name: Information
Phone: +1 808 822 9447
Venue Information: Kapaa Beach Park
Full Name: Kapaa Beach Park, Kapaa, USA
Address: 96746

Queen Lili'uokalani Outrigger Canoe Race

when: Sep 2012 (annual)
where: Kailua-Kona
The Oxford Boat Race may be easier on the tongue, but when it comes to sheer size the Queen Lili'uokalani Outrigger Canoe Race is the largest long-distance outrigger paddling challenge in the world. It is held every year in Kailua-Kona.

Two thousand five hundred paddlers come from all over the world (Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Florida, California and Canada, to name just a few) to the Big Island for this strenuous course which covers the 18 miles between Kailua and Honaunau. Following these races there is a luau (traditional Hawaiian feast), an awards ceremony and still more entertainment.

Related Information

Website: Kai Opua Canoe Club Website


Contact Details
Name: Kai Opua Canoe Club
Phone: +1 808 329 0833
Town Information: Kailua-Kona
Full Name: Kailua-Kona, USA

Parade of Whales

when: Feb 2012 (annual)
where: Maui
cost: Free
time: 9am-6pm
Part of the Maui Whale Festival, the annual Parade of Whales sees thousands of costumed revellers take to the streets with floats, music, marching bands and, of course, life-sized humpback balloons. An all-day festival at Kalama Park follows.

The official kick-off to Pacific Whale Foundation's Whale Day Celebration, Parade of Whales begins at Waimahaihai Street and continues south to Kalama Park. Every year floats, marching bands and the likes are decorated according to a chosen theme. Prizes are awarded in a range of categories including 'Most Eco-Friendly Entry'.

Related Information

Website: Great Maui Whale Festival Website


Contact Details
Name: Information
Phone: +1 808 249 8811
County Information: Maui
Full Name: Maui, USA

The Great Maui Whale Festival

when: Feb 2012 (annual)
where: Maui
This annual festival in Maui celebrates the endangered humpback whales that come to Hawaii each winter. It offers a variety of events at a time that coincides with the peak of the whales' activity around the islands.

The Pacific Whale Foundation sponsors the celebration and throws together an impressive array of events, including special celebratory whale watches, talks, walks, music, art and much more.

Related Information

Website: The Great Maui Whale Festival Website

Website: The Great Maui Whale Festival Website

Website: The Great Maui Whale Festival Website


Contact Details
Name: Pacific Whale Foundation's Whalewatch Eco-Adventures
Phone: +1 808 879 8811
Phone: +1 800 942 5311 (Toll-free in the US)
County Information: Maui
Full Name: Maui, USA

Annual Sanctuary Ocean Count

when: Jan 2012 (various dates)
where: Oahu
time: 8am-12.15pm
The sight of a whale breaching must rank among the most magnificent natural spectacles on earth! Make it to Hawaii in the winter months and you can enjoy it while helping to ensure the survival of these majestic creatures.

The annual whale count all over Hawaii state gives you the opportunity to view these creatures in their natural habitat and participate in the conservation of humpback whales in a state-wide effort to estimate their population.

Group leaders guide volunteers in a systematic count at selected shorelines and lookout points on three islands, O'Ahu, Kaua'I and Big Island, providing them with the necessary tools and information. Visit the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuaries website for further details of how to participate.

Related Information

Website: Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale Website


Town Information: Oahu
Full Name: Oahu, USA

Ka Molokai Makahiki Festival

when: Jan 2012 (annual)
where: Moloka'I
cost: Free
time: 7.30am-4.30pm
Ka Molokai Makahiki Festival is a long-held Hawaiian tradition celebrating the new harvest. The island of Moloka'I marks the occasion with a grand celebration complete with hula, Hawaiian arts and crafts, games and food.

The harsh kapu, or laws ruling the tribe, are cast aside in favour of sporting competitions and thanksgiving. Usual deities are replaced by the effigy of Lomo, represented by a staff which bears an uncanny resemblance to the sails of a ship - hence Cook's warm reception, since he was mistaken for a visiting god.

Festivities during the day include ancient Hawaiian games like huki huki (tug-of-war), Ulumaika (lawn bowling) and Uma (arm wrestling), to name just a few.

Related Information

Website: Ka Molokai Makahiki Festival Facebook Page

Website: Ka Molokai Makahiki Festival Facebook Page


Contact Details
Name: Louise Bush
Phone: +1 808 553 3673
Town Information: Moloka'I
Full Name: Moloka'I, USA

Chinese New Year Celebration

when: Jan 2012 (various dates)
where: Chinatown
cost: Free
time: Daily 10am-10pm
Spend two consecutive weekends ushering in the Year of the Rabbit with Asian cuisine and traditional performers at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza in Honolulu, the only Chinatown in Hawaii. Embrace Chinese culture with fortune readings, music and martial arts demonstrations.

Related Information

Website: Chinatown Hawaii Website

Venue Information: Chinatown
Full Name: Chinatown, Honolulu, USA
Directions: Behind N Nimitz Highway on Iwilei Road.

Chinese New Year Celebration

when: Jan 2012 (various dates)
where: Chinatown
cost: Free
time: Daily 10am-10pm
Spend two consecutive weekends ushering in the Year of the Rabbit with Asian cuisine and traditional performers at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza in Honolulu, the only Chinatown in Hawaii. Embrace Chinese culture with fortune readings, music and martial arts demonstrations.

Related Information

Website: Chinatown Hawaii Website


Venue Information: Chinatown
Full Name: Chinatown, Honolulu, USA
Directions: Behind N Nimitz Highway on Iwilei Road.

New Year's Ohana Festival

when: Jan 2012 (annual)
where: Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii
cost: Free
time: 10am-4pm
Take in bonsai displays and explore origami art before feasting on Japanese delicacies at the annual New Year's Ohana Festival. The day-long affair at Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii celebrates Japanese heritage and culture and includes entertainment and crafts.


Venue Information: Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii
Full Name: Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA
Address: 2454 South Beretania Street 96826-1524
Other Information: Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii
Website: Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii Website

Christmas Festival

when: Dec 2011 (annual)
where: Old Dole Admistration Building
Christmas makes it first stop at Lanai's Old Dole Admistration Building for the city's annual Christmas Festival. The island-style event includes seasonal music and plenty of family-orientated activities. Children also have the opportunity of taking pictures with Santa.


Town Area Information: Old Dole Admistration Building
Full Name: Old Dole Admistration Building, Lana`i, USA