The East-West Center has announced the names of EWC alumni that will be honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award at the Center’s upcoming international alumni conference in Okinawa. The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments, including significant contributions to the promotion of better relations and understanding among the countries of East and West through activities of cultural and technical interchange; significant achievement in one’s career; and continuing support of the goals of the Center. The award was established and endowed by Dr. Dai Ho Chun, former Director of the East-West Center’s Institute for Technical Interchange.

Recipients:

Hiromitsu Miyagi

Hiromitsu Miyagi has rendered outstanding contributions to promote and implement the EWCA Okinawa Chapter as the chapter’s former president and devoted executive officer for fifty years.  As the former vice-governor of Okinawa Prefecture and a business leader, he has contributed greatly to Okinawa’s development and has received many meritorious awards for his role in economic improvement.  He was decorated by his Majesty the Emperor of Japan for his distinguished service to society and was awarded the Testimonial of Commendation by the governor of the Okinawa Prefecture for his service in the field of administrative affairs, an award bestowed to those who make great contributions to the development of Okinawa.

Puongpun and Thanh-Lo Sananikone

Puongpun and Thanh–Lo Sananikone met as EWC students in the 1960s and have continued to further the mission of the Center through their decades of ardent involvement and support. Puongpun has held significant positions in international businesses including the Asian Development Bank, Louis Berger International, Hawaiian Agronomics International and PacMar, Inc.  He was the first EWC alumnus to be elected as chairman of the East-West Center Board of Governors, and he has also held leadership positions on the East-West Center Association Executive Board and East-West Center Foundation. Thanh-Lo is a recognized leader in the business community and received the 2003 Minority Small Business Advocate of the Year award from the U.S. Small Business Administration. She has built bridges for economic development in Pacific and Southeast Asian countries and is Hawaii’s unofficial ambassador to Vietnam. An active leader in the East-West Center community, she has been involved in the EWC Alumni Association, the Friends of the EWC, the Hawaii Chapter of EWCA, and the EWCA Development Committee.

The awardees will be honored at the East-West Center/EWC Association’s major biennial international conference, which will be held Sept. 17-19, 2014 at the Pacific Hotel Okinawa in Naha City. Several hundred international scholars, officials, educators and business leaders are expected to attend the conference on “Developing a Peaceful and Sustainable Asia Pacific Community.”

The conference is jointly presented by the East-West Center, an internationally recognized education and research institution headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the East-West Center Association, the organization that represents the Center’s more than 62,000 alumni throughout Asia, the Pacific and the U.S., many of whom now serve in positions of responsibility in their respective fields.

For more information or to register online, visit: EastWestCenter.org/okinawa2014

Or call: +1 808-944-7506.