Education Stream
Bridging pathways for a skilled, fulfilled, globally engaged, and thriving Hawaiʻi Island community.
The Opportunity
Ma ka hana ka ʻike. #2088 By doing, one learns.
The reality is, equitable access to resources, technology, hands-on learning opportunities, and workforce development is a challenge for many of our rural communities.
The Strategy
Vibrant Hawaiʻi prioritizes learning initiatives that are centered in equity, grounded in indigenous ways of knowing, and builds a strong foundation to ensure everyone has a chance at
meaningful workforce advancement.
ʻIliahikū
About Our Name
Ka ʻIliahi Kū Hoʻoilina o Keawe (The Lasting Fragrance of Keawe) poetically honors Keaweaheulu, a trusted advisor and strategist to the young Kamehameha. Just as ʻiliahi (sandalwood) retains its fragrance long after it is gone, Keaweaheulu’s wisdom and counsel left an enduring impact, influencing Kamehameha’s rise and shaping future generations. This metaphor highlights the vital role of advisors in guiding emerging leaders and the far-reaching, generational influence of strategic guidance.
Just like Keaweaheulu, Vibrant Hawaiʻi's network of work based learning Intermediaries serve as strategists and advisors to emerging leaders and our future workforce: bridging gaps between education and employment by connecting students with hands-on experiences, employability skills, and opportunities to build meaningful connections within their chosen career pathways. The program prioritizes equitable access for students in rural and under-resourced districts, ensuring opportunities are available to all.
Key Features of Work Based Learning:
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Place-Based Intermediaries: A multi-disciplinary team of local organizations serve as intermediaries that support and maintain WBL networks. These organizations include ʻEwalu Industries, Mālaʻai, and the Hawaiʻi Science and Technology Museum, and together with Vibrant Hawaiʻi, will serve every public middle school and high school on Hawaiʻi Island. For students interested in Digital Design/Film and Media Production, Vibrant Hawaiʻi partners with Nā Leo TV to offer industry-specific learning online and island wide.
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Expansive WBL Activities: From guest speakers to job shadowing and from workplace tours to internships, Intermediaries provide a diverse menu of options for students to engage in real-world learning experiences.
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Adulting 101 Workshops: Young professionals offer in-classroom training to prepare students for internship placements and workforce readiness, while also developing essential life skills.
Workforce and Professional Development
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Community-Based Research
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Click here to read to full written report.
ʻĀina Based Education
Hoʻoikaika Kilo is a 90 minute workshop that integrates Kuʻu Moʻo ʻŌlelo o Nā Pō o Ka Mahina, resources and tools to support ʻāina momona within ourselves, communities, and lāhui. Learn about an initiative here in Hawaiʻi that supports productive and thriving communities of people, place, and natural resources, natural cycles and seasonal indicators of place, and how to track and understand your own personal story and relationship to the moon.
Pelika Andrade is a founder and the Executive Director of Na Maka Onaona. She has a long history working with Hawaiʻi communities throughout the archipelago as a hoaʻāina, community member, sailor, cultural practitioner and researcher.
How does the practice of kilo fit into and inform our daily lives in modern society? How do we co-relate the external kilo of our environment with our internal kilo of ourselves? In this workshop we will continue the learning journey of kilo and explore incorporating kilo as a way of grounding and nourishing ourselves in these ever-changing times. Building and strengthening pilina with place and people is key.
No Oʻahu mai au, e noho ana ma ka Moku ʻo Hawaiʻi. ʻO Kaupakuea koʻu ʻāina, ʻo Kapehu ka wai, ʻo Shelby Kāhele Moana Nahale-a koʻu inoa. I invest my time and energy into sacred reciprocity and strive to embody aloha. I have received education from institutions like UH Hilo, MIT and Harvard, but none of that compares to what I have learned from ʻike kupuna and continue to learn through kilo daily.