2023 Hawai'i Conservation Conference - 30th Anniversary

Aia i hiʻikua, i hiʻialo – Reflecting on our Past; Dreaming on our Future ​

2023 Hawai’i Conservation Conference – 30th Anniversary

June 27th – June 29th, 2023

Hawaiʻi Convention Center

The Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference allows a diverse group of scientists, policymakers, conservation practitioners, educators, students and community members from Hawaiʻi and the Pacific to converge and discuss conservation. It’s a time to connect, share and inspire, all with the common goal of caring for our natural resources.

Click Here For the 2023 Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference Schedule

CONFERENCE THEME

Aia i hiʻikua, i hiʻialo – Reflecting on our Past; Dreaming on our Future ​

This ʻōlelo noʻeau speaks of a return into the presence of loved ones after being separated, as well as the idea of the devotion we carry to the living resources of our islands. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary of the Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference, we return to an in-person gathering to reflect on our past and dream of our future together. ​

Aia i hiʻikua, i hiʻialo translates to carried on the back; carried in the front. Hiʻialo is looking to the past- things that are revealed to us already, hiʻikua is looking to the future. ​

Mary Kawena Pukuʻi provides the following interpretation: “When one has gone to a far place where he cannot be seen by loved ones, he is said to be in Hi’ikua; and when one is where he can be seen daily, he is said to be in Hi’ialo… said of a favorite child, who is carried in the arms or on the back. Also said of the ‘aumākua.”