Monday 7th November

We arrived in Hawai’i! We arrived at the welcome meeting late but received a nice welcome from everyone. Here we found out what our week at APEC Voices of the Future would look like and got to meet its founders and other key leaders. We are in anticipation of the week ahead.

Voices delegates meet NZ

Tuesday 8th November

We were lucky enough to get an invitation from the NZ ABAC team to join them for breakfast at the Sheraton hotel at 7am. It was great meeting the likes of Tony Nowell, Gary Judd, Stephen Jacobi & Fiona Cooper-Clarke and gaining an understanding of their role in ABAC and APEC. Issues of food security, trade and liberalisation were discussed, and we gained an insight into the background to APEC and its relevance to New Zealand.
Following the breakfast, we met up with the rest of the delegates at the impressive Kamehameha Schools Kapalama Campus for the opening ceremony. A cultural performance was put on for us by the students and we then heard from the Mayor of Honululu and the Governor of Hawai’i. Next on the agenda was to hear from keynote speaker Nainoa Thompson, Native Hawaiian and Master Navigator, who shared with us an inspirational message on the importance of retaining culture. During the subsequent panel discussion, Sudhvir asked a question about the absence of South Pacific nations in the current APEC community and the potential for their inclusion in the future. The panel agreed that youth can play a key role in ensuring regional leaders engage with smaller isolated nations to aid their development.

Delegates with Admiral Patrick Walsh, Commander of US Pacific Fleet

We then travelled to the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies and were lucky enough to hear from Admiral Patrick Walsh, Commander of the US Pacific Fleet. Admiral Walsh talked to us about the topic of “Security in the Pacific Rim”, explaining to us that security is the ‘oxygen’ to trade. Other issues covered in the Q & A were things like Humanitarian Assistance, Maritime Security and Aggression Deterrence. The Q & A session provided a great platform for the delegates to ask questions on broad topics.

Today was very full-on, but a great beginning to the program. Bring on the rest!

Wednesday 9th November

This morning we altered the program as we received a special invitation from Tony Nowell to observe the Regional Economic Integration Working Group which he chairs. The key issues discussed were:

• The importance of services and how this aspect of trade has been under represented in policy attention
• Supply chain choke points within the APEC region and suggestions for improvements to increase efficiency
• Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement – the lead US trade negotiator, Barbara Weisel, spoke on the progress of the TPP and its importance for the APEC region

We then linked back up with the rest of the delegates to hear Deb Henretta, ABAC Chair, give an interesting and inspirational talk on leadership and embracing global opportunities.

Tony Nowell then spoke to the group about the general ABAC agenda, such as trade and investment liberalisation, the importance of working together and gave us some general background. The floor was opened to some questions, and Sudhvir asked an interesting question on how ABAC deals with climate change; whether they support a regionalised emissions trading scheme or whether they see that as in impediment to growth. Mr Nowell replied that as the business community, they avoid the politics and rather support increased trade in environmental goods and services. They see preventative measures as a better way forward and are opposed to penalisation. Melody initiated a discussion on the benefits and weaknesses of APEC being non-binding.
Mel and Arena had the chance in the afternoon to paddle on a traditional Hawaiian waka with Master Navigator, Nainoa Thompson.

Thursday 10th November

The day started off with a unique Hawaiian cultural experience, learning about the process that traditional farmers undertook to produce taro. Everyone got involved in the mud and the process of cultivation.

We then went to the East-West Center and were lucky enough to hear Dr Maya Soetoro-Ng, President Barack Obama’s half-sister, talk about “Peace Education and Conflict Resolution.” Her key points included the need to look at international disputes from both sides of the story and viewing conflict resolution as conflict transformation instead. Mel asked about how we, as young leaders, can ensure our voices are heard regarding the changes we want to see in the world. Dr Soetoro Ng raised the idea of the importance of social media and the potential it has to rally people behind ideas.

Later on, we visited the Bishop Museum, where we had dinner and heard from Professor Manfred Steger, whose main research interests are around globalisation, political ideologies, and comparative (mostly East-West) political theory. Around the topic “Globalisation: The ideological struggle of the 21st century”. Professor Steger gave an overview of the two main ideologies of ‘market globalisation’ and ‘justice globalisation.’ He gave the arguments for both sides, and showed us how they are polarised against each other and instilled upon us the responsibility that the youth of today have to create global dialogue and find a way to balance these two ideologies and create a working solution.

We were then shown around Bishop Museum by students of the Kamehameha School and learnt about the history of the Hawaiian people. It has been great to experience a lot of Hawaiian culture on this trip alongside engaging with the APEC process.

Friday 11th November

Today was the opening of the APEC CEO Summit of 2011, the most significant meeting of business leaders in the region. The first session was called ‘The future redefined” and here Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong, and two CEOs discussed how dramatic regional and global developments in technology, politics and the natural world change the way in which we prepare for the futures of our societies. Participants had the chance to engage with these leaders through the Q & A time, which provided a great forum for more discussion.

Voices delegates had the opportunity to mingle with the CEOs at morning tea and lunch at the Sheraton. US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Francisco Sanchez, spent half an hour with us at the Royal Hawaiian hotel. He encouraged us that as much as we are the voices of the future, we need to be the voices of today. The main point that stood out was when he was asked a question around the issue of the  environmental impacts businesses are having on our climate. He replied with a remark that “investing in a sustainable planet is not a burden, rather an opportunity and a necessity”.

We then attended the “21st Century Workforce” seminar with Australia Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, ABAC Chair and Asia Pacific leader of Procter & Gamble, Deb Henretta & the World Bank managing director. This was probably the liveliest discussion of the summit so far, with great questions being asked from the attendees that resulted in great responses. The main points discussed were jobless growth and the need for investment in higher education.

Hillary Clinton made a last minute appearance, in which she stated “reducing barriers to women’s participation in the economy will increase GDP in the US by 9% and Japan by 16%” amongst other insightful discussion points.

We all finished the day off at Paradise Cove. In this beautiful setting we were exposed to the Hawaiin tourism industry through cultural performances and a traditional meal. This resort style experience really puts into context the rich cultural education and insight we have received during our prior activities.

We are really looking forward to tomorrow where we will get the chance to hear President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao as well as meet with Deputy Prime Minister Bill English. Stay tuned for more on this!

Saturday 12th November

We have reached the final day of the program and what a way to finish! We observed the second day of the CEO summit, and the day began with the topic of ‘Redefining Health: An Economic Asset and Competitive Advantage’. The discussion was lead by Patricia Janiot, Senior Anchor, CNN en Español, and included the likes of William C. Weldon, Chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson.
Following this, President Hu Jintao of China spoke for half an hour. It seemed his focus was on easing concerns about important issues that have arisen relating to China, such as Intellectual Property Rights and Foreign Investment policies, and announced China’s intention to take on an increased role in promoting free trade and investment liberalisation.

There was a big buzz in the air as the time for the next speaker to take the stage approached – as you would expect with the USA as the host nation. President Barack Obama took the stage to a huge round of applause.  He addressed the areas of: China relations, China currency, intellectual property, the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) and the Euro zone crisis. While a lot of his speech was just skimming the surface, there were messages in between the lines. Specifically, Obama telling China that if they wanted to enter agreements like the TPP, they would have to follow the rules and it would be on very specific terms.

After hearing such amazing speakers and leaders, all the delegates were filled with enthusiasm. We stepped outside of the conference room and were lucky enough to spot some business leaders from NZ and spent some time networking with them.

We were  invited to meet with our Deputy Prime Minister, Bill English, that afternoon. He was very down-to-earth and relaxed, which encouraged a free-flowing conversation. Nick asked what sort of attention APEC was giving to liberalising investment flows between APEC countries, as many countries restrict foreign investment (e.g. Chinese buying dairy farms) for xenophobic reasons. These restrictions can hurt, not benefit, the potential recipient country. Deputy Prime Minister English responded by saying that the xenophobia in New Zealand is not as bad as the media portrays it to be, using the example of a German bank recently setting up without trouble. It was amazing for us to have the chance to meet such an important leader in such a relaxed environment.

We were then straight back to the CEO Summit to hear Russian President Medvedev speak at the Closing Ceremony and watch the handover to Russia to host APEC 2012 in Vladivostok.

We then rushed back to our own Voices of the Future Closing Ceremony, where we went back to Kamehameha School, who had hosted us so well throughout the week. We ate dinner and socialised, with gifts from each country exchanged and reflections upon the week had. There were then performances from each country, showcasing our various cultures.

Today was extremely action-packed, but incredible. If any single event had happened alone in that day, it would have been a life-long memory. We had a truly amazing experience at APEC and would like to say a huge mahalo to Victoria University of Wellington, Auckland University of Technology, Asia:NZ Foundation, Te Puni Kokiro and VTM-NZ Trust for making this possible. Aloha!